Season 1 (1983/84) - An Empty Dawn

For Country & Western fan, Jim Leishman, an amatuer actor, the words of Patsy Cline, may well have come to mind.

His first game in charge was against Queen of the South, on the 19th November. Despite taking only four points out of eight, while caretaker manager, Jim was surprisingly upbeat about the situation, and in his first match-programme column, talked of a "new era" being "just around the corner".

Though Dunfermline were to win this match, with a controversial winning goal, there was little to suggest that anything was "around the corner", except to fall further behind. The teams catching the limelight in 1983/84 were Forfar Athletic, runaway winners of Division 2, and East Fife, featuring Gordon Marshall, Steve Kirk and a young Inverkeithing lad called Gordon Durie.

Dunfermline's final league position, 9th in Division 2, was to be their worst ever. Crowds were also at their lowest and could sometimes be measured in hundreds, the average gate for the season being just over 1,000. However, even in that bleak year the seeds of future success were being sown. Several of the players who were to feature prominently in the rise to the Premier League were already at East End Park. Those included Bobby Robertson, Norrie McCathie, Steve Morrison, Trevor Smith, Grant Jenkins and Bobby Forrest. More than half a team. The signing of a player from Hong Kong Rangers, just before Christmas, hardly created much of a stir at the time. But that player was John Watson, soon to become something of legend at East End Park. Another shrewd signing came at the end of February. Gregor Abel, had recently stepped down as manager of Falkirk, unable to combine the role with his full-time career as a PE teacher. His appointment as team coach was undoubtedly one of the major reasons for Dunfermline's success in the years to come.

On the field, another indicator that things were moving in the right direction came in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup.

An excellent win against league leaders Forfar, earned Pars a trip to Ibrox. No-one could have forseen what was about to happen. For much of the match, Dunfermline (who had been hammered 8-1 by Dundee Utd, over two legs of the League Cup, earlier in the season) were put under the cosh. But this was not one of the best Rangers sides. Chance after chance was missed, and as so often happens, fustration had set in amongst the Rangers fans. Midway through the second half Dunfermline striker, Rab Stewart, broke through and scored. For a while it looked as if Dunfermline were going to pull off one of the upsets of all time, until, late in the game, Colin McAdam, and then, a young, Ally McCoist, put Rangers in front. Dunfermline went out with their heads held high. In a dismal season, it was the one highlight. The "Scotsport" cameras had featured the game, giving Jim Leishman his first opportunity to charm the media with an after-match interview. Few viewers outside Dunfermline knew who he was. Within a few short years, Jim Leishman and Dunfermline Athletic were to change all that. The giant was awakeing.

The years that were to come were to be dramatic indeed.