St Johnstone F.C.
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the, the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun —an old name of Perth—and the team is nicknamed the "Saints". The club was officially founded in 1884, and the team played its first match in February 1885. Their home since 1989 has been McDiarmid Park; former home venues were the Perth Recreation Grounds and, from 1924 to 1989, Muirton Park. The team's first Scottish Cup appearance was in 1886–87 and they joined the Scottish Football League in 1911–12.
Historically, St Johnstone tended to float between the top two divisions of Scottish football and gained the reputation of being a "yo-yo club". The team won the Scottish Football League First Division, then the second tier of Scottish league football, in 2008–09, bringing a return of first tier football to McDiarmid Park for the 2009–10 season after a seven-year absence. They played in the Scottish Premier League, rebranded as the Scottish Premiership in 2013, for sixteen consecutive seasons, their longest ever stay in the highest league until relegation in 2025. St Johnstone's traditional rivals are the two Dundee clubs, Dundee and Dundee United, with matches between St Johnstone and either Dundee club being called "Tayside derbies".
St Johnstone had limited success in cup competitions for the first 130 years of their history, losing at the semi-final stage on numerous occasions, as well as losing two Scottish League Cup finals. In 2014, they won their first Scottish Cup with a 2–0 win against Dundee United. In 2020–21, St Johnstone won their first League Cup and second Scottish Cup to complete a historic Cup double, becoming only the fourth team to achieve the feat. They defeated Livingston 1–0 in the League Cup final and Hibernian 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final.
They have also won the Scottish second tier seven times, the Scottish Challenge Cup in 2007, the B Division Supplementary Cup in 1949 and the Scottish Consolation Cup in 1911 and 1914. They have qualified for European competitions in seven seasons, including four consecutively from 2013 to 2016. Their highest league position in the top division is third place on three occasions: 1971, 1999 and 2013.
History
Origins
St Johnstone FC was formed by members of a local cricket club seeking ways to occupy their time and keep fit once the cricket season had finished. The cricketers were kicking a football around the South Inch, a large public park beside the River Tay during the autumn of 1884. This is widely acknowledged to be the date of the formation of St Johnstone Football Club, although it was not until early in the following year that a group of footballers, led by John Colborn, held an official meeting that led to the formation of the football club as a separate entity rather than a 'spin-off' from the cricket club.Football was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland and, although there were other local clubs including Fair City Athletic, Erin Rovers and Caledonian Rangers, it was St Johnstone that became the one most associated with the town. The name is traced back to the Middle Ages when Perth was colloquially known as 'St John's Toun' as the church at the centre of the parish was dedicated to St John the Baptist. Agnus Dei, the symbol associated with John the Baptist, forms part of St Johnstone's club badge.
Club members leased a piece of land adjacent to the South Inch, known as the Recreation Grounds, which became St Johnstone's first home ground. After several decades – and regular problems with flooding – it became clear they had outgrown the venue and so, in 1924, they moved to the other side of Perth and built Muirton Park, which would serve as their home for the next 65 years.
1886 to 1972
St Johnstone made their debut appearance in the Scottish Cup in the 1886–87 tournament but were defeated 7–1 in a first round replay by the Erin Rovers club, also based in Perth, after a 3–3 draw at home. In the 1910–11 Scottish Division Two season, Port Glasgow Athletic F.C. finished next to bottom and declined to apply for re-election. They were replaced for the 1911–12 Scottish Division Two season by St Johnstone, who finished fifth in their first season with ten wins and eight defeats.St Johnstone were promoted to the old First Division in 1924–25, by winning the Second Division title, and appointed David Taylor as team manager. They remained in the top flight until 1929–30 when they finished bottom of Division One. Two years later, under new manager Tommy Muirhead, the Saints were runners-up in Division Two to gain their second promotion. They performed well in Division One through the 1930s, reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in 1933–34 and finishing fifth in 1932–33 and 1934–35. In the final season before World War II, St Johnstone played well under manager David Rutherford to finish eighth.
The Scottish Football League suspended competition for the duration of the war but sixteen clubs were able to form a regional Southern Football League that managed to operate each season. St Johnstone were closed for most of the war and lost their top flight status as a result. The Southern Football League continued through the post-war 1945–46 season but with two divisions to incorporate clubs that were restarting, including St Johnstone. The Saints played in the 1945–46 B Division and finished sixth of fourteen clubs. When the Scottish League restarted in 1946, the Southern League set-up was used as the first post-war competition, so the A Division became the new First Division and the B Division the new Second Division. St Johnstone had lost all the ground gained in the 1930s and could only finish ninth in Division Two in 1946–47.
Jimmy Crapnell became the team manager for the 1947–48 season and was succeeded by Johnny Pattillo for 1953–54. The Saints remained in the Second Division throughout the tenures of these two managers. Bobby Brown took over in the summer of 1958 and, in his second season 1959–60, the club finally won promotion again. Brown and his successor Willie Ormond both managed Scotland after leaving St Johnstone. In 1970–71, under Ormond, Saints finished third in the league and qualified for the 1971–72 UEFA Cup.
Cup competitions
The club historically has had little success in national competitions. Prior to winning the Scottish Cup in 2014 their only cup successes were limited to successes in the Consolation Cup – a competition for clubs knocked out of early rounds of the Scottish Cup – in 1911 and 1914. The club have appeared twice in the Scottish Challenge Cup final, losing 1–0 to Stranraer in 1996, and winning the trophy in 2007 with a 3–2 victory over Dunfermline. Saints' Scottish Cup win came after seven semi-final appearances dating back to 1934. They have never won the top league. There were two appearances in the final of the League Cup, losing first to Celtic 1–0 in 1969 and 2–1 to Rangers in 1998, with Canadian internationalist Nick Dasovic scoring for Saints.In 2020–21, St Johnstone won their first League Cup and second Scottish Cup to complete a historic Cup double, becoming only the fourth team to achieve the feat. They defeated Livingston 1–0 in the League Cup final and Hibernian 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final. Defender Shaun Rooney headed the winner in both matches.
Willie Ormond era
In terms of the league, the club's highest-ever finish has been third place in the old First Division, which has occurred on three occasions. The first was in 1970–71, when Saints finished behind Celtic and Aberdeen but ahead of Rangers. The team was mostly the 1969 League Cup team, managed by Willie Ormond, who eventually went on to manage Scotland. The club had some notable players during this period, who later went on to success at other clubs, e.g. Henry Hall, Alex MacDonald, John Lambie, John Connolly, and Jim Pearson.This third-placed finish led to a European adventure in the UEFA Cup, beating German giants Hamburger SV and Hungarians Vasas SC before finally going out in Yugoslavia to FK Željezničar Sarajevo. The club continued to play in the top division of the Scottish Football League until reconstruction in 1975, but were relegated from the new Premier Division in its first season, and turned part-time for the first time since 1961.
McDiarmid Park's south stand is named the Ormond Stand in his honour.
Relegations and rebuilding
It took Saints until 1983 to return to the top flight – albeit for a single season and as part-time team – before setting a record through suffering two successive relegations in 1984 and 1985. They eventually found themselves bottom of the entire league in 1986 and skirted with financial oblivion, before local businessman Geoff Brown stepped in.An unprecedented change in the club's focus occurred over the next decade or so, with the move from long-term home Muirton Park to the new purpose-built McDiarmid Park on the outskirts of the city, the first purpose-built all-seater stadium built in the United Kingdom. The new stadium was named to recognise the donation of land by local farmer Bruce McDiarmid. This plus the input of significant transfer funds and the appointment of manager Alex Totten spurred Saints through the leagues. They obtained promotion to the First Division in 1988. Saints then won the First Division championship and promotion to the Premier Division in 1990 during the first season of football at McDiarmid Park. After 15 years as a semi-professional outfit, the club turned full-time again when promotion was achieved.
Saints finished 1990–91 in 7th place, but their season was buoyed by an appearance in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, in which they lost to Dundee United.
The following season proved to be Totten's last at the helm, an eighth-placed finish bringing to an end his five-year reign as manager. He was succeeded by John McClelland for the 1992–93 season. The Northern Irishman didn't fare much better, however, leading the club to 6th place. Another semi-finals cup appearance, this time the League Cup, sweetened the campaign slightly.
St Johnstone's four-year run in the Premier Division came to an end in 1993–94, a 10th-placed finish sending them back to the First Division. McClelland left the club before the season ended, and was replaced by former Dundee United striker Paul Sturrock.