Rothesay Brandane A.F.C.
| Full name | Rothesay Brandane Amateur Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Danes | ||
| Founded | 1946 | ||
| Ground |
Rothesay Stadium, Rothesay | ||
| League | Caledonian AFL Division One (B) | ||
| 2015–16 | Caledonian AFL Division One (B), 10th | ||
|
| |||
Rothesay Brandane Amateur Football Club are a football club playing in the town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. They were formed in 1946 and after joining the Scottish Amateur Football Association were accepted to compete in the West of Scotland Amateur League, before transferring to the Scottish Amateur Football League in 1947. After competing in that competition for almost sixty years, they resigned membership in 2004 to play in the Caledonian Amateur Football League, the league they compete in today.
Nicknamed "the Danes", the team have reached the semi-final of the Scottish Amateur Cup on one occasion in season 1948–49, losing by a 4–3 scoreline to Greenock High School Former Pupils. They take the name "Brandane" as this is the term given to indigenous inhabitants of Rothesay.
Also in their history, Rothesay Brandane have won the West of Scotland Amateur Cup, The Coronation Cup, The FA Cup, The Colin Munroe Cup, and on two occasions, the highest scorers trophy.
Their top scorer for season 2008–09 was Neil Whitelaw with 16 goals. Neil also had the most assists, most man of the matches and most mentions in the Buteman for the same season. During the 2015-16 campaign, Liam Neeson was the top scorer for them and also provided the most assists and was given The Buteman's Rising star award. During Neeson's career he has been the top scorer every season with his minimum goal tally being of 20.
Top shinty player, Hector Whitelaw, is involved with the club.
Liam Neeson ( affectionately nick named " taken 2" by team mates) signed for the club in the 2013–14 season and proved he was a worthy striker by " finding" the back of the net 21 times in his first year. He is described as having a very " particular set of skills " by the coaching staff. Neeson was promoted to captain of the Danes, thanks to his impressive goal scoring record.
Neesons continued performances lead many to believe he would be nominated for the "European Golden Boy" award, along with other potential candidates Julian Brandt, Moussa Dembele, Emre Can, Christian Benteke and James Tavernier. He came under criticism however in a match against Perth City United when he threatened to "boot" someone for tackling him when he was about to score his 17th goal of the match. Later on in the match he got into a physical fight with the player again and was sent off for the 12th time that season, which meant he could no longer qualify for the golden boy award.
Neeson's technical ability attracted a lot of scouts from the likes of big money Giants including Celta Vigo and Ross County. Both teams did offer the youth star a contract however they succumbed to nothing as Neeson stated in a recent interview with the Buteman he would never leave the club that he loves so dearly. At the end of 2013/14 season, Neeson decided to take a break from football and left the club. His sudden departure came as a shock to all concerned with the club ( especially his fan base collectively known as the "Rob Roys of Rothesay"). Facts and information on his current life are sketchy at best. In some British tabloids it was speculated that he had moved to Peru and set up neo-evangelical Christian ministry, others speculated that Neeson had moved to southern Germany and set up a small shop in an unknown village making traditional wooden toys and puppets. Although none of these stories can be authenticated, one thing is sure, he is a player who's dazzling ability with a football has been missed greatly at the club.