with Willie Falconer

Former Players Interview | Willie Falconer

In the latest of his series of interview with former players, RedMatchday’s Sean Graham talks to one who was a youngster at Pittodrie during the glory days. Willie Falconer played 1oo games for the Dons between 1982/83 and ’87/88, scoring 17 goals. The midfielder then went on to enjoy a very successful career south of the border.

Willie, you started off playing for Lewis United, can you tell me a bit about them and what position did you play there?

When I signed for Aberdeen at the age of 16, they farmed me out to Lewis United. I played for them most Saturdays and played with the reserves in the old East Reserve League during the week. The six months I had there were the best for growing up quickly on the football pitch. The juniors was a tough league back then, with tackles flying in from all angles – and that was just the opposition committee members! The guys at Lewis were brilliant and I learned at that age what team spirit was all about.

Who was it that spotted you and recommended you to Aberdeen?

I was playing with my school team Northfield and Aberdeen Lads Club at the time when I got an invite down to Pittodrie to train with a select team every Thursday evening on the car park across from the Stadium. It was under the guidance of Lenny Taylor, Bobby Clark and Teddy Scott. I signed for Aberdeen at the age of 14 on an S form and then signed full time at the age of 16. My parents were so proud I had joined my local team.

The club have always had a great youth policy and with guys like Teddy Scott around, you must have felt right at home?

Teddy Scott was beyond his time, so much knowledge and he knew how to nurture young footballers through the ranks at high speed but still keep their feet on the ground. Ted was the buffer between the management and the younger players – he saved us from a few hair dryer moments from the manager and Archie! Teddy’s training methods were different every day, keeping it fresh and alive, although climbing trees in Seaton Park would not go down well nowadays with the health and safety!

How easy was it to fit in at Aberdeen?

At that time, there was no honeymoon period, you were thrown in at the deep end, most of us made our debuts at the ages of 17 or 18, so you grew up quickly. The older pros always made you feel welcome and that’s how there was such a good team spirit. Derek Hamilton (Deeks) stayed round the corner from me, so I used to get a lift to training with him before I could drive. He had an old purple Ford Escort car that had so much rust on the floor, holes were appearing – it looked like Fred Flintstone’s motor!

As a player you normally get excited when you make your debut for your new club – what do you remember about yours?

My first game for the first team was against Waterschei in the second leg of the ECWC – I had only turned 17 a couple of weeks before. We had won the first game comfortably so the manager had put a few younger ones on the bench. I was lucky enough to get the shout in the second half, came on as a sub and as usual with these things, they pass that quick it’s hard to take it all in, but I was up and running in football terms . My full league debut was against Celtic at Pittodrie on the 23rd April, a full house and a great atmosphere. We won 1-0. I remember my first touch, then getting clattered from Roy Aitken, his words ringing in my ear: “Welcome to the game son!”

What was the build up like for the ECWC final?

Sir Alex and Archie looked after the whole club from players, wives, girlfriends down to every member of the staff who worked behind the scenes, by taking them all to the final. Unfortunately myself and Ian Porteous had been picked for Scotland U18s to play in the European Championships down in England. We could not believe the timing, the same week as the final. We watched the game in our hotel room. I was gutted at missing out and knew I would have to listen to every celebration story when the guys returned.

Not content with winning the ECWC, they followed that up with a Super Cup win over Hamburg to become the best team in Europe. It must have been great for any player at that time to be involved with the club?

I was lucky to be on the bench for the two Super Cup games against Hamburg. I had been brought up with the rest of the guys, having this winning mentality drummed into you from the management, and winning trophies just seemed the norm. It’s not until later in your career that you realise how difficult that is to do.

Domestic success would follow the European trophies with league titles, Scottish Cups and a League Cup as Aberdeen proved they were the top dogs. The manager continued to build new teams but nothing lasts forever – did it come as a shock when Sir Alex left Aberdeen to go to Manchester United?

Sir Alex’s stock was rising as a manager, but it still came as a shock when he left to go to Manchester United. The younger players would be out at Seaton Park most afternoons with Archie, working on our game. Then this one afternoon, the manager’s wine coloured Mercedes pulled up, Archie disappeared inside it for about an hour. That was obviously the conversation about leaving Aberdeen, because a couple of days later, he was away.

It seems like a daft question but what was Sir Alex like to work under?

To work with Sir Alex was both enjoyable and scary if that makes sense? Again, it’s not until you are older and experienced that you realise that the things he did back then would better your overall game and give you a great grounding for the years ahead.

Fergie had won everything in Scotland and almost led the team to back to back ECWCs but the team lost both semi-finals (v Porto) and also fell short in a couple of European Cup games, losing on penalties v Dynamo Berlin and away goals v Gothenburg. Do you think Fergie had done all he could with the Dons?

I don’t think it was a case of him taking us as far as we could go. I think it was a case of he was hot property now and wanted to be at one of the biggest clubs in Britain to test himself there.

Ian Porterfield had a difficult task in replacing Fergie and it didn’t help when the club won nothing the season after he left, but he almost brought a trophy back to Pittodrie after a thrilling 3-3 League Cup final draw with Rangers. The Ibrox club won the match on penalties, but what do you remember about the game? You scored one of the goals in a great match?

Ian Porterfield was always up against it after replacing Fergie, but he was a really nice guy and got on well with all the players. The ’87 League Cup Final was a great game to play in and a great advert for the game. My memories of the game were the crowd inside the old Hampden, three quarters of the stadium was terracing so the fans were jammed into the rafters and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I remember being brought down by the Gers goalie Nicky Walker for our first goal, with Jim Bett slotting away the penalty, then with about six or seven minutes left, I managed to get my head on the end of Jim’s cross and it flew into the top corner to make it 3-2. At that stage you think you you’ve just won the cup for your home club, then Fleck pops up in the box to make it 3-3, then you go through the agony of getting beaten in the final on penalty kicks.

Did you enjoy your time at Pittodrie?

I loved my time at Aberdeen, it was a great club to be at at the time and the fans were different class home and away.

You decided to head to England and spent time with Watford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United. Did you enjoy your time there?

My contract was up at the end of that season, and I had become a regular, so I was playing well and scoring a few goals along the way. That had a few scouts from England showing a bit of interest, so I thought a change of scenery would be good. I spoke to Leicester, Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Norwich but opted for Watford – it was probably because of the first meeting over lunch with the manager and his Chairman, an up and coming singer called Elton John!

The experience of playing in England was an eye opener at the time, the crowds, the stadiums and the players you were up against week in week out were all on a different level to what you were used to. I left Watford after three years and moved up to Middlesbrough, a great club with brilliant fans. The first season we got promoted to the Premier League and just missed out on the League Cup Final with Manchester United beating us over the two legs in the semi. We took them to extra-time in the second leg with a young Ryan Giggs scoring the winner for them.

You came home to sign for Celtic who had been going through a barren period and you experienced the highs and lows of playing for one of the Old Firm clubs, losing the Coca-Cola Cup final v Raith Rovers but winning the Scottish Cup v Airdrie.  Did you enjoy the Celtic experience?

I was at Sheffield United when I got a phone call from my manager Dave Basset, saying Celtic were interested in taking me back up to Scotland. I was playing regularly in the Premier League and enjoying it – to be fair to Dave, he had always told his players if bigger clubs came in for us, he would not stand in their way. It was a strange one because at first I turned it down because Celtic were going through all sorts of problems pre Fergus McCann, but eventually after a couple of conversations, I went up and signed for them.

The Raith Rovers game was a hard one to take, getting beat on penalties. I scored the first one and unfortunately Paul McStay missed the last one. The Airdrie Scottish Cup Final game was the most nervous affair I think I have ever played in due to the Raith game months earlier. Big Pierre Van Hooijdonk scored in the first half and we could not get the second to kill them off, so when the final whistle, went it was the biggest relief to win 1-0 and lift the cup.

I loved my time at Celtic, but when I first joined it was like a rollercoaster ride with the old board being ousted and Fergus McCann coming in, then with the stadium getting an overhaul, we had to play at Hampden for a season which was not ideal for the supporters. You were expected to win every week so the pressure was always on you, you had to have a mental strength about you because Rangers were flying at that time and we could not get near them in the league.

Second place in Glasgow does not come into the equation, but I was lucky enough to win a Scottish Cup medal. One thing about Celtic is the supporters, home and away, they would turn up in their thousands and get right behind the team.

Playing for so many clubs in your career, do you have many happy memories of your time in football and do you look out for any of their scores?

I have memories of all the clubs I played for, whether it be the characters at these clubs, the games I played in, or just picking up the knowledge of how different coaches and players look upon football. I still look out for the Dons’ score, it’s just a natural thing to do on a Saturday

The game in Scotland has changed so much over the years since you last played, but do you think it is for the better?

The way forward for the Scottish clubs is to get their product back up to scratch and if that means investing more in the academies to get the kids coming through then it has to be done. It’s very hard to get the supporters back on board when they have drifted away, there are so many things outwith football now for families to fill their Saturday afternoons with.

Looking on now Willie, how do you think that Aberdeen will do in the future?

It’s very hard to achieve what the club did back then with the financial state of the Scottish clubs, but they should be challenging for second place and winning the odd cup.

What are you up to these days Willie?

I was in at Motherwell coaching the U19s for a while until Mark McGhee thought he wanted to change it all about and got shot of a few coaches for no reason (myself being one of them), then left to go to Aberdeen about a month later – as you can imagine he was not very popular with these guys! I am now in at Partick Thistle looking after the kids there, and still enjoy the coaching.