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Willie Young (footballer, born 1951)

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Willie Young
Personal information
Full name William David Young
Date of birth (1951-11-25) 25 November 1951 (age 72)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
Seton Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1975 Aberdeen 133 (10)
1975–1977 Tottenham Hotspur 54 (3)
1977–1981 Arsenal 170 (11)
1981–1983 Nottingham Forest 59 (5)
1983 Norwich City 6 (0)
1983–1984 Brighton & Hove Albion 4 (0)
1984 Darlington 4 (0)
Total 430 (29)
International career
1972–1975 Scotland U23 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William David Young (born 25 November 1951) is a Scottish former footballer. Playing as a defender, he featured for Aberdeen, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Darlington throughout his career.[2]

Club career

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A large, physically intimidating centre back from Heriot near Edinburgh, Young attended Ross High School in Tranent. Nicknamed "Big Willie", he first played professionally for Aberdeen, all in all making 187 appearances for the Dons between 1970 and 1975.[3] He was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in September 1975, and while playing under Terry Neill made 64 appearances for Spurs in two seasons. In March 1977, Young once again signed for manager Neill so as to link up at Highbury with Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal.[4][2][5]

Young immediately became a regular in the Arsenal first team, and played in all of the Gunners' trio of FA Cup finals;[3] after losing to Ipswich Town in 1978, Young was on the winning side the following year, with a 3–2 defeat of Manchester United. Young was a runner up in the 1980 FA Cup Final, where he made an infamous tackle on West Ham United's Paul Allen and also a runner up in the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.[4][6]

Young continued to be Arsenal's first choice centre back until the 1981–82 season, when he lost his place to Chris Whyte.[citation needed] Having played 237 times and scoring 19 goals for Arsenal, the 30-year-old Young then joined Nottingham Forest in December 1981 for £50,000, and played 59 times over two seasons there.[4][7][5]

In 1983, he joined Norwich City, but with injuries dogging him, he failed to secure a regular place in the side.[8] He then had short spells at Brighton and Hove, followed by Darlington before his retirement from the game in November 1984.

International career

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He was capped 5 times, scoring one goal for Scotland's U23s. Young never played a full international for Scotland having been banned for life after an incident in a Copenhagen nightclub in 1975.[3][9]

Personal life

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As a player at Aberdeen, Young worked on oil rigs during the summer to top up his earnings. He is married to Lynda; they have three children. After retiring from football he spent 19 years running a pub called Bramcote Manor near Nottingham, and then bought kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire.[9]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]

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Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1970–71 Scottish Division One 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - - 10 0
1971–72 26 3 3 1 1 0 4 0 - - 34 4
1972–73 30 2 4 0 11 2 2 0 - - 47 4
1973–74 34 2 1 0 10 0 4 0 - - 49 2
1974–75 31 3 4 0 4 1 0 0 - - 39 4
1975–76 Scottish Premier Division 3 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 - - 9 0
Total 133 10 12 1 32 3 11 0 - - 188 14
Tottenham Hotspur 1975-76 First Division 35 2 2 0 6 1 0 0 - - 43 3
1976-77 19 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 - - 21 1
Total 54 3 2 0 8 1 0 0 - - 64 4
Arsenal 1976-77 First Division 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 14 1
1977-78 35 3 6 1 7 0 0 0 - - 48 4
1978-79 33 0 10 2 1 0 6 1 - - 50 3
1979-80 38 3 11 0 6 0 9 3 1 0 65 6
1980-81 40 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 - - 45 4
1981-82 10 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 - - 15 1
Total 170 11 28 3 20 1 18 4 1 0 237 19
Nottingham Forest 1981-82 First Division 25 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 25 1
1982-83 34 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 34 4
Total 59 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 59 5
Norwich City 1983-84 First Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 6 0
Total 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 6 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 1983-84 Second Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 4 0
Total 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 4 0
Darlington 1984-85 Fourth Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 4 0
Total 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 4 0
Career total 430 29 42 4 60 5 29 4 1 0 562 42

Honours

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Arsenal[4][6]

References

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  1. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 0362020175.
  2. ^ a b "Willie Young". World Football.net.
  3. ^ a b c 1975 | All Change in Scottish Football, Aberdeen FC, 19 March 2020
  4. ^ a b c d "Willie Young". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Crossing the divide: players who have represented Arsenal and Tottenham". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. ^ a b "Willie Young". 11 v 11.com.
  7. ^ "Willie Young". Sporting Heroes.net.
  8. ^ "Willie Young". Ex Canaries.co.uk.
  9. ^ a b Smith, Aidan (28 March 2015). "'Big bad' Willie Young recalls Scotland life ban". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
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