The "Record Breaking Red Lichties!"

ARBROATH Football Club gaining promotion would mean as much as winning the World Cup, according to George Williams, lessee of the east coast town's Portcullis pub and a staunch Arbroath supporter.

The Portcullis, which is S.L.T.N.'s (Scottish Licensed Trade News) reigning Sports Bar of the Year and Community Pub of the Year, has long-supported Arbroath FC - known as the Red Lichties after the red lights on the fishing boats coming into the town's harbour.

The Porty, as it's affectionately known, has always been a football-orientated pub, said George, who began working part-time in the venue 29 years ago and took over the lease four years ago. But in recent years the pub has become much more involved with Arbroath FC - it is now the base camp for the 36-0 Club - the official supporters club so-called after Arbroath FC set a world record, which still stands today, when it beat Aberdeen club Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup tie in September 1885. The 36-0 Club's buses to away matches leave from the Porty and supporters, both of Arbroath and visiting teams, flock to the 250-capacity pub when games are played at Arbroath's Gayfield ground, which is about a mile away.

Fund raising social events are a regular feature and the 36-0 Club, headed up by Sye Webster, organises games nights, quizzes, race nights and other fund raising events throughout the year.

"The Portcullis has always been a community pub with a strong focus on football," said George, who runs the pub with his wife Lorraine and around 16 staff.

"But I'd say its connections with Arbroath Football Club have definitely become stronger in the last few years, especially with the number of events the 36-0 Club holds here."

The Arbroath division of the Tartan Army uses the Porty as its base too, he said.

And as well as being a popular haunt for football fans, the Portcullis also attracts players and officials from Arbroath FC and beyond.

The entire team was in for a meal last month and Andy Goram visited recently and chatted to locals. The Porty is also used for Arbroath FC function, such as the end of season awards presentation.

"We do like to get involved and support the team where we can," said George.

"We have a couple of shirts displayed in the bar which were worn by players the Portcullis was sponsoring and we regularly sponsor programmes, calendars and the match ball.

"My wife and I are invited to the boardroom for hospitality at some of the matches and it's nice to be welcomed like that - they obviously appreciate the support they get from the pub which is nice."

But the Porty's support for football in Arbroath doesn't only involve the second division team. Local boy's football club St Murdoch's, which the Portcullis sponsors every year, and the Arbroath Victorias, which is also sponsored annually by the pub, hold meetings at the function suite at the Portcullis.

George is also involved with Saturday team 'the Portcullis', which plays in the Dundee League, and the Porty FC, which has won the Forfar Sunday league for the last five years. He even had two changing rooms and five showers installed in part of the basement for the teams to use.

The pub's support for grassroots teams is important because George reckons they're the Arbroath FC players of tomorrow.

The Porty has a large games room where three pool teams and Ladies' and Gents' darts teams practice and compete; a dominoes league takes place and major sporting events are shown on big screens.

But as far as George and most of the regulars are concerned Arbroath is the most important team to watch.

The club was, as this section of S.L.T.N. went to press, sitting ninth out of the ten teams in the second division. "We are in the relegation zone but we have been getting some good results, said George.

"Hopefully they'll avoid relegation but if they go down they'll be fighting for promotion.

"If they got promotion it would be like winning the World Cup for Arbroath and we'd definitely organise a celebration."

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE SCOTTISH LICENSED TRADE NEWS, APRIL 14, 2005
© S.L.T.N. 2005


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