Legends of Our Time - Tommy Coyne
LEGENDS OF OUR TIME
(The first in an occasional series)
I can think of only one player on the current playing staff who is likely to be remembered as a true legend when I sit down with my grandkids and tell them about the good old days – that would be Tommy Coyne. I would choose Tommy for a number of reasons;
1. The fact that he has now become our most capped player with 13 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
2. In 1994 he became the first Well player to appear in a World Cup Finals – in fact the only player to ever have done this!!
3. His remarkable scoring record of 51 goals in 117 games (up to the 20/1/98)
These are facts that cannot be denied but there are also those other memories and moments that won’t be forgotten. I remember when he signed in 1993 thinking that Tommy McLean was off his head as Coyne was one of these players that we could never take to when he played for anybody else!! But we then went on a crazy 18 month spell after he joined us – finishing 3rd one season, then 2nd the next.
It is not always his goals that will be talked about with my grandchildren but his off the ball work which creates spaces and time for others to play in. At Tannadice in the 0-4 defeat in October he ran his socks off with no service, and even hung his head in despair after another run across the Utd back line had not been spotted and the ball never arrived. He kept on going despite the abuse he was getting from fans who thought he had done nothing all afternoon! I will also forever remember the pass he played for Dougie Arnott to score against Rangers in 1994/95, when he cushioned a long ball across the box between the Gers defence and the goalie.
Unfortunately during 94/95 and 95/96 Tommy suffered from lengthy injuries which led to us having our longest run of matches without winning and scoring in the Premier League. This contributed to these seasons being the struggle they became. Maybe this is the biggest indicator of the contribution he has made over recent times. This season he started with a bang with two goals at East End Park, one of them being the cheekiest back heel you’ll ever see. Many consider Tommy to be past his best BUT I still think we are fortunate to be able to watch such a master craftsmen in action week in week out.
On the down side I will always remember his miss against Borussia Dortmund in Germany when he slipped the ball past the post when he was clean through. You never know if that had gone in and we had gone on and put them out maybe it would have been us who would have gone on to win the European Cup a few seasons later!!
Lets hope TC goes on for a while longer and we can enjoy a few more Cobra strikes – nevertheless TC is the first member of the GLF Hall of Legends!!
Graham Barnstaple
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