GLF 63: Another classic in the Top Ten Ted series

Man of many (and I really do mean many !!) Clubs.Indeed he is part of that special group of players who've played for 4 different Scottish Clubs in Europe.I'll let you guess the other four* !Of course his wonderful goal at Mount Florida circa '91 has made him a legend at Fir Park despite his stunning exploits for the Jambos and Huns against Bayern and Inter.Workrate on the pitch was sadly further down his list priorities than his hair !

 

Andy was a very clever,intelligent Striker (shame he didn't take that talent onto Scotsport !) who had the ability to hold the ball up or take defenders on.Who could forget the way he turned the mid-eighties League Cup Semi against Celtic,when he appeared as a second half sub to inspire a comeback from the mighty Steelmen.Sadly the width of the Hampden crossbar denied us our night of glory in the penalty shoot-out.

 

Just how much the Club paid Spenny is anyones guess,although we may find out shortly in the upcoming court case.John was a class act,and left us with plenty of nice memories for Motherwell fans to get out and dust down occasionally.The winner against the Huns on his debut,a stunning strike against the Hearts at Tynie,and of course that goal at McDiarmid.His time at Motherwell ended under a bit of a cloud,but let's remember the good times and if we do there can be NO doubt he deserves his place in this chart.

 

Andy arrived with Andy Dornan after they both failed to make it at Pittodrie.Andy was never destined to be a superstar with his style of play.Brilliant in the air considering his height,he was a notcher of goals rather that a scorer (if that makes any sense!!).Pace and silky skills Andy didn't have in abundance,but his never say die attitude endeared him to a Motherwell support who at that time had been punched just once too many times.

 

The above stats only refer to his first stint in darkest Lanarkshire as I don't think the second term was even worth a mention so bad was it. Brian was homesickat Aston Villa when he arrived on a free at Fir Park.We quickly realised we had a bit of a player on our hands.Strong, difficult to dispossess and a happy knack of being in the right place at the right time in the box sold him to the Motherwell faithful. Unfortunately a fortnight to remember when we came from behind to beat Celtic 2-1 and Rangers 3-0 with Chalky scoring 4 goals (he did claim 5, but Dave McKinnon scored an og against Rangers) also sold him to Parkhead.My most despised Motherwell manager ever thought his head was to big for his boots and punted him for £95k to Celtic.Funny how Celtic moaned about being "robbed" when Man. United took him 3 years later for the paltry sum of £900,000 !!!!!

 

From memory Kirkie wasn't the quickest player,but boy could he finish.Most of his goals seemed to be passed into the net rather than hit.A goal every third game was a fine return for a player who didn't play in the best of Motherwell teams.After four or five years the big man signed for Falkirk,but as with all Motherwell legends we got the best out of him.Best memory was him finishing a fine Motherwell move at Ibrox in a Scottish Cup Replay defeat around 1972.

 

Less than three years at Fir Park but Coyle scored so many important goals it's hard not to include him in any top ten Motherwell strikers, even though he'd played for Airdrie for far too long.Owen was a proven goalscorer when he arrived,but I don't think many of us realised how good he was.Great touch,great finishing,great vision and more importantly a great influence on the team.Top moment must be the double he scored at Castle Greyskull to deny the light blue hordes their conga all the way to George Square.

 

Aaaaah Goldie.The big man didn't look like a footballer,but his touch and finishing power defied all logic and baffled defenders for years.Goldie was picked up from the juniors,as was the norm then,the season before Motherwell had been relegated in 1968.The second division proved to be a great grounding for this legend whose form improved consistently over the next 4 or 5 years.For me though his pinnacle in Claret and Amber was scoring the winner in a Texaco Cup tie against the then mighty Stoke City featuring the famous Gordon Banks (England World Cup winning 'keeper, for you young uns!) at Fir Park in front of nearly 15,000 fans.

 

Dougie didn't have the most deadly of goals to appearances ratio,but boy did he make up for it in the quality of his goals and his desire when wearing the Claret and Amber.His bullying of big opposing Centre Halves was legendary on the old East Terracing.A steady stream of goals particularly against the Old firm endeared Dougie to a certain generation of Motherwell fans.

 

A goal every second game is a record any striker would be proud of.If that record is for the team you support,then it virtual guarantees you aplace at the legends table.Willie came from Hibs after he failed to make the grade,but the change in colours must've brought the best out of Willie,or "aw teeth an' talent" as my dear old Mum used to call him.Who can forget the "chance of a lifetime for Pettigrew" goal at Parkhead, or the classic which completed the Scottish Cup comeback of all time atFir Park against a Kenny Dalglish inspired Celtic.WP,a true legend, and a true gentleman.

 

 

The flip side of the top ten of anything is the dross at the bottom of the pile. Richard Offiong was briefly plucked from obscurity before being dumped back to Newcastle, Khaled Kemas was another who didn't last long after a horrendous missat Pittodrie.Harry Hood came with a decent Celtic career behind him,but he was basically pants whilst both Mario Dorner and Paul Baker had brief,but awful stints as our main striker.

After lots of gnashing of teeth though the player who pips John Hendry into the first strikers spot in my scream team is …………. John Reilly 52(14) apps 17 goals.His good goals per game ratio hides the truth behind Reilly.The words headless and chicken spring to mind. He was one of the guys Jim McLean sold to his wee brother at Fir Park for a laugh.John had no first touch at all,and because he didn't fancy the harder side of football he didn't even make his second touch a tackle.If only you younger guys had seen John Reilly you might be givingDavie Clarkson an easier time of it !!!

 

 

Scream Team, 1. Stevie Woods.Dream Team, 1. Keith McRae.

2. Peter Carr.2. Martyn Corrigan.

3. Billy Dickson.3. Joe Wark.

4.Allan Mackin.4. Brian Martin.

5. Karl Ready.5. Miodrag Krivokapic.

6. John Capaldi.6. Tom Forsyth.
7. Mike Cormack.7.John Gahagan.

8. John Reilly. 8. Willie Pettigrew.

 

 

* The other four players who've played for four different Scottish Clubs in Europe are;Billy Thomson (St.Mirren,Dundee United,Motherwell, Rangers),Gary Bollan (Dundee United,Rangers,St.Johnstone,Livingston), Davie Kirkwood (Rangers,Hearts,Dundee United,Hibernian), John O'Neill (Dundee United,Hibernian,St. Johnstone,Gretna).

Eddie Steelman

 

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