A history of East Lane AFC

This week, we look at East Lane, an in form side in the Sunday Central who currently remain unbeaten in this seasons league campaign. They have been in fine form, but we are going to have a look back over the last, almost four years in the history of East Lane. We get a much better insight into the history of the club and the journey to this point. The break away club have enjoyed an excellent season and continue to fly high throughout. We have been lucky enough to catch up with East Lane and they have explained their history. Credit for this history must go to Frazier MacDonald, East Lane Founding Member. 

East Lane AFC were formed in early 2014 as a break-away team from the then Cadogan AFC. Cadogan were a side playing in the charity based league Glasgow and District Sunday Football Championship whom many current players of East Lane played for, however all of the players at that time had a disagreement with the manager and he decided to fold the team. This came at a time when Cadogan were on the up and spirits were high amongst the player, as a result four of the players decided to take it upon themselves to set up a new team. Frazer Macdonald, Adam Ritchie, Andrew Collins and Jamie Henshall went about researching the ins and outs of running a football team and they allocated certain roles between them to do within the club. In the beginning the team had literally nothing except a group of players willing and determined to succeed. East Lane contacted the Glasgow and District Sunday Football Championship to register their interest, however due to it being mid-season their acceptance could not be granted until the beginning of the 2014/15 season pending approval. They were informed that the best way to gain accreditation would be to play friendlies with current GDSFC teams to build reputation before the start of the following season. East Lane managed to guage interest for a potential sponsor from a bar local to the majority of the players in Paisley called Harvies bar, as a show of good faith they decided to name the team after the street in which the bar was situated ......East Lane. East Lane arranged their first ever match against Cowlairs, a top division GDSFC team at Petershill Park. They had limited funds and bought second hand Greenock Rovers kits for £50 for the full set. They took to the park for the first time as East Lane in what was a very daunting prospect playing against a well established Cowlairs side. East Lane turned up with a thin squad lacking quality in certain areas and it showed as they were easily put to the sword with a 7-0 thrashing, however it was their first step in what would be a rollercoaster journey full of ups and downs. The match however gave them a guideline for where they were to where they needed to be. East Lane continued to play friendlies, however it was hard to add quality to the squad due to not playing in a competitive environment. As the new season dawned they gained acceptance to the GDSFC. It was now decided that the club would be run by Frazer Macdonald and Adam Ritchie as Jamie Henshall had work commitments and sadly had to leave the team and Andrew Collins wanted to solely concentrate on being a player for the team. Frazer Macdonald assumed the role of Player/Manager and Adam Ritchie Player/Administrator. With the start of the season looming they were able to add some fantastic players to the squad, which included some ex junior players of high calibre. The season started and so much effort was put in from all the players on and off the field looking to make progress on all fronts and it was very much everyone involved's team. East Lane began strong and soon became known for giant scalping in the cup competitions, beating some of the best sides in the GSDFC despite being in their infancy. East Lane recorded most probably their most historic result when they beat then GDSFC reigning champions Rangers Media in the quarter finals of the league cup at Toryglen. East Lane were massive underdogs and were trailing 3-2 with less than 10 minutes to play when they scored to equalise. The match looked to be heading for penalties which would have been a massive achievement in its own right, however they got a corner in the dying embers of the match and after a goal mouth scuffle it was poked home by none other than founding member Adam Ritchie to win 4-3 and progress to the next round. As they progressed through the 2014/15 season they were able to replace the Greenock Rovers kits with brand new Hummel kits thanks to the generosity of then player Mark Dickie. They decided to opt for the now famous East Lane orange which would not clash with any other league side as they couldn't afford 2 sets of kits. They also designed a new club crest and secured a sponsor which completed the look of the strips. The players could eventually look the part and reap some rewards for their hard work and commitment. In East Lane's first season they earned a high enough position in the league to gain promotion, reached 2 cup semi-finals, stopped a teams 35 game winning run and defeated Rangers Media on 2 occasions. As time progressed Frazer Macdonald remained player/manager, however the backroom staff changed with players John Hutchison taking on the role as club administrator and Mark Stobo as the team treasurer. Ryan Quigley was also appointed as club captain. East Lane grew from strength to strength as time went on finding a consistent squad who were very much establishing themselves as a top side in the GDSFC. The 2015/16 season proved to be a very successful one again finishing a strong second in the 2nd division narrowly missing out on the championship to EK Milan. East Lane also established a new rivalry in fellow Paisley side Todholm AFC. East Lane now found themselves in the top division of the GDSFC, a testament to the hard work put in by all and were very much competing with the top sides. In the 2016/17 season they finished a very respectable 5th in the top division. It was put to all involved at East Lane whether they would remain in the GDSFC league setup or set out to seek a new challenge. It was agreed that the new chapter for East Lane would be to join the Sunday Central AFL, this decision came as this league set up was affiliated to the Scottish Football Association and meant they could play Scottish Cup ties which was a major appeal for the players. With this new chapter came exciting times and more change to the overall set up. Frazer Macdonald, John Hutchison and Mark Stobo made up a five man board comprising of those 3 and the newly appointed Manager Greame Sharp and club captain Ryan Quigley. Sharp and his assistant manager Chris Kincaid came with a very impressive CV and are strongly believed to be the correct men to fulfil East Lane's vision of becoming one of the best Sunday amateur football teams. This also came at the same time as East Lane striking their most successful sponsorship deal in the form of the Clippens Inn pub in Linwood. Earlier this year East Lane made the decision to appointed manager Graeme Sharp... “ [I]was asked by east lane to consider being there manager and having managed teams before I was keen too get started.  I brought in my good friend Christopher Kincaid as he too shares a passion and enthusiasm for football that I like. After having a fairly successful pre season of getting too know the boys and their positions I was keen too start developing them to play the way I like football too be played. My main aim was too get the lads fitter and add more intensity into there game as I knew the standard of opposition would be better than what they were used too. I also added some players I've played with in the past, they bring a certain experience that I thought we were lacking. Training played a big part in my plans too make us a team who press high, win the ball back and use it when we have it. I knew we had the quality but fitness and commitment was an issue. But we have definitely turned the corner and are now sharper and better on the ball. My aim this season is too win the league and win it properly in terms of making a statement of how east lane try and play football. With a maturity and a professionalism. Also the cups are where I think we can judge our progress by hopefully coming up against well established teams that bring a different challenge to our squad. After beating a premiership team in the Scottish cup it gives us great confidence to try and progress into the later stages of the cup competitions. From reading about how east lane started to where they are now it's been a great story. We have young talented players who are only going too get better with the right coaching and I believe we will in the next couple of years be a real force in the Sunday central...” One of the keys to our success is having an active input from our players, one such player is Jason Mcskimming who is a long standing member of the team and has been influential when negotiating with previous sponsors. Due to his commitment as well as being the first player to be awarded East Lanes Player of the Year award, he has affectionately been dubbed Mr East Lane, when asked his thoughts on the team he responded; “...As one of the players who transitioned from the previous Cadogan team to the now East Lane, I have been there from day one, the progress we have made in such a short space of time is something we should all be proud of, and under the new gaffer it seems it's only the beginning as we aim to rise through the ranks of the Sunday Central just as we did in the GDSFC. For such a young team we already have alot of great memories, and a few bad. Some of our best moments have come when we have been written off as having no chance, especially the so called "Giant killings" in our first season. The biggest disappointment was going into the last week of our second season with title glory in our own hands only for it to slip away and be left agonisingly close. I don't think the boys really recovered quickly enough to mount a challenge in the top flight as we got off to a bad start in the league but we can be happy with how we recovered and left the league having gained alot of respect. Going into this new season we are looking forward to getting a good run in the cups, a few good away days in the Scottish, but our main aim is to win the league title, and to do so playing the kind of great football we know we are capable of, the East Lane way. We believe this will be achieved as long as we stick to what the gaffer wants us to do, so onwards and upwards, Mon The Lane!...” East Lane may have surpassed the expectations of many, however it has not to the loyal and committed players and fans who have been there every season since the beginning as they always knew just how far this team could go. A special mention to the loyal players who have been part of the squad in every season since the outset and still are today Adam Ritchie, Mark Stobo, Ryan Quigley, Scott Murphy, Frazer Macdonald, Jason McSkimming, Martin Sinclair, Andrew Collins, Johnathan Hutchison and Dale McCormack. Input and thanks to former Manager & Honourary Committee member Frazer Macdonald, East Lane Manager Graeme Sharp and long standing club player Jason Mcskimming.