The following post was kindly submitted to us by Gordon McCreath, who is a keen Ayrshire junior football historian.
Craig Brown was one of the high profile guest speakers at the Irvine Meadow Wednesday Club last season. He was manager of the Scotland Under 21 team for seven years before taking over the full international team from 1993 until 2001. During that time he led Scotland to the finals of UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, making him both the longest serving and arguably the most successful Scotland manager. He also had spells as manager with Clyde, Preston North End, Motherwell and Aberdeen.
He entertained around 40 members in a packed Social Club with stories on a range of football topics, including his time as a provisional signing with Rangers who saw him as a top prospect, facing up to Brazil, Ally McCoist and having his mobile phone hacked by a national newspaper. He also had a lot to say about Junior football…
GMcC: Were you ever involved in Junior football?
Craig Brown: I was a Junior. I was eleven years in senior football trying to be a player, but my best year was the year when I was a provisional signing for Rangers and they put me out Junior and I played with Coltness United in the Lanarkshire Junior League. It was far better than the Ayrshire league, of course. A newspaper had a weekly Junior player of the week and they all added up and at the end of the season it was to be the Junior Player of the Year chosen from the top six. And I was lucky I was in the last six. Well, it was an Irvine Meadow player who won it. He was a lovely guy. Bobby Carroll.
GMcC: Do you think Junior football was a better preparation for young players who were aiming to play in Senior football?
Craig Brown: I keep telling everyone, see all these schemes that they have and the various reports like “Project Brave” and all that nonsense to try to improve Scottish football. Scottish football was at its best when the young players went from their youth team or their school team to a Junior team. And they played Junior and then they went Senior. And I keep saying why are you wasting your money? Do what they used to do.
GMcC: Are you fighting a losing battle there? How can you convince them?
Craig Brown: Celtic won the European Cup and every one of the outfield players except one had played Junior. I could just about tell you the Junior clubs they played for. Bobby Murdoch played with Cambuslang. Wee Jimmy Johnstone was at Blantyre Celtic. Billy McNeill played Junior and I played with him in the schoolboys’ team. He was at Blantyre Vics. The biggest story of all was Stevie Chalmers who scored the goal that won the European Cup for Celtic. He played for Ashfield Juniors until he was 23 and then Celtic signed him. All these guys played Junior.
GMcC: Is pumping money into player development not the answer?
Craig Brown: No. People say to me they are trying another project to improve Scottish football, or are paying a lot of money to get advice from foreign coaches. Just let the boys go to a local Junior club and they’ll learn more there in a year, and then call them to the Seniors. I’m biased because I loved the Junior grade. I played for the Lanarkshire Juniors. They had a good team and we had no problems against the Ayrshire Juniors. That was easy. The Central League was even easier. The Lanarkshire team was very, very strong at that time as you would imagine, with players like Billy McNeill, Jimmy Johnstone and guys like that. The coach was from Carluke Rovers so half of his team was in the Lanarkshire team. I have a great feeling for Junior football and I think it is neglected in terms of player progress. You’ll not get a better progression to the Senior grade than through the Juniors.
You know I loved it when I had the Scottish national team. When anyone had played Junior you could tell. Maybe I’m biased, but he had that bit of hardness about him that the rest of them didn’t have.
GMcC: Overall, you seem to be a great supporter of Junior football.
Craig Brown: The Junior game is dear to my heart and I loved my season as a provisional signing at Coltness united. Then the next season Tommy Gemmell came to Coltness United and his career was slightly different from mine.
The Lisbon Lions in junior Football
Craig Brown mentioned that 9 of the 10 outfield players who played for Celtic in the European Cup final against Inter Milan had played Junior football. The odd one out was right-back Jim Craig who played in amateur football for Glasgow University when he was studying there to become a dentist. The nine Lisbon Lions who had played Junior football were:
Tommy Gemmell – Coltness United
Bobby Murdoch – Cambuslang Rangers
Billy McNeill – Blantyre Victoria
John Clark – Larkhall Thistle
Jimmy Johnstone – Blantyre Celtic
Willie Wallace – Kilsyth Rangers
Stevie Chalmers – Ashfield
Bertie Auld – Maryhill Harp
Bobby Lennox – Ardeer Recreation