Charlie “Chico” Speirs is an amiable sort, unassuming to a fault and not the type to take himself too seriously despite a fairly chequered footballing career spanning some 30+years.
His birth in the infamous Bundy scheme of Pollok was followed not long afterwards by the Speirs family relocating to a Pollokshaws address which in turn led to the young Charlie coming under the Glasgow Southside catchment area and attending Holyrood Secondary where he recalls playing for a “`reasonably successful” school team.
His side’s star turn back then was forward Paul O’Brien later of Queens Park and Dunfermline renown which itself is no mean feat considering Charlie and a further trio of team mates, Owen Coyle, Gerry Bonnar and Andy Robertson (not that one) were showing sufficient promise to be invited up to train and play trials for Dundee United when Jim McLean and No 2 Walter Smith were in charge of playing matters
Nothing ever came of that Tannadice trip for any of the quartet however there was no shortage of rival suitors queuing up to express a signing interest and the Davie McParland steered Hamilton Accies won the race for the S form capture of a 14 year old Charlie.
“ A lot of people laughed at me and said it was the wrong move for me to make at such a young age and that I should hold off and see if one of the so-called bigger clubs would come looking. “ says the nowadays 56 year old.
“But just two years further down the line I made my first team debut which saw me mixing with top notch Senior players such as Brian Wright, John Brown, Graham Mitchell, Alex Forsyth ,Brian McLaughlin as well as the legendary Danny McGrain so it wasn’t a bad roll of the dice after all.”
CHARLIE WITH A COUPLE OF HIS OLD ADVERSARIES
The no-nonsense stopper’s ball winning qualities established him as a fans favorite as well as an integral part of the Accies side that went on to win First Division titles in both 1985/86 and 1987/88 however those successes didn’t prevent him being used as the `makeweight` in a 1988 player/swap transfer taking him to Clyde whose midfielder Craig Napier moved in the other direction.
Charlie revealed,” John Clark was the gaffer at Clyde with John Cushley as his assistant so it was a real feather in my cap to have defenders of their calibre rating me highly but it turned out to be a different kettle of fish when they shipped out after about four years and Alex Smith arrived at the club.
“He clearly didn’t fancy my style right from day one and that much was made abundantly clear after a midweek reserve match where I knew deep down that I had played particularly well yet when he read out the names of 7 players being called up for first team duty the following weekend… mine was not one of them.
“ I knew then and there my time was up at Clyde so I was only too willing to drop into the Junior ranks when the Irvine Meadow manager Ian McQueen came knocking at my door.”
Charlie, playing alongside established Junior likes Martin Ferry, Mick McCabe, Gary Faulds as well as Dougie Fontana and partnered at the heart of the Medda backline by Cammy Stewart (father of Sunderland and Scotland striker Ross) , was an instant hit with the Ayrshire club’s fans however signing only a short term deal until the end of season saw a huge demand for his services prior to the onset of the 1993/94 campaign.
And little wonder that Shotts Bon Accord, with a trump card up their sleeve through having Charlie’s former Clyde boss John Clark occupying Hannah Park’s hotseat, landed the 27 year old’s signature and he has fond memories of sharing a dressing room with the late Frank McGarvey as well as stalwarts Andy Cunningham, Colin Walker, John Richardson, and Robert Clark though his 4 years playing stint will forever be tainted by the SJFA imposing a season-long playing suspension (1995/96) as punishment for the North Lanarkshire outfit being found guilty of `sickness certificate ` irregularities in the lead up to a 1994 Central League Cup tie against Thorniewood United.
“The ban fiasco knocked the total stuffing out of Shotts and a number of our officials felt they had no option other than to turn their back on Junior football altogether however the players themselves were given SJFA dispensation to be loaned out to other teams as long as we reverted back to being Shotts signings for the start of the following season.” mused Charlie.
“Myself and Andy Willock were enticed into joining Albion Rovers by manager Davie Shanks but as luck would have it, he was sacked after half a season and replaced by Vinnie Moore who was anything but keen on the idea of building a team around loan signings and wasn’t long in showing us the door.
He added , “And changes had also been afoot at Shotts where John Clark tendering his resignation over the club’s treatment had brought Rab Sneddon to the gaffer’s job and he made a raft of new defensive signings so I played less than a handful of games before taking up the option of a return to Irvine Meadow.”
Charlie encountered few if any problems settling in for a second time around stint at Meadow Park given that many of his former Medda team mates were still in situ however the same could not be said of the dugout where the ousting of Willie Knox just a few months later resulted in former Hamilton Accies team mate Davie McKellar assuming the managerial reins.
SPEIRS AND McKELLAR AS TEAM MATES
“I had no issues whatsoever with Davie taking charge and could easily have remained at the Medda but for a very persuasive Dennis Curran at Shettleston insisting I move through there in a player/coach capacity.” he said.
“ He just wouldn’t take no for an answer and though not playing as many games as I’d have liked ,it was a delight to work with a team that had a wonderful midfield pairing of Jamsie McNeil and Stevie Jackas well as Mark Lang in goal and Peter Lamont up top .
“Hugh Kelly took over as Shettleston ‘s main man around that time but thankfully he wanted me to stay on as one of his backroom team along with Tam Donnelly because otherwise I’d have missed out on the guys doing the double of First Division title and Central League Cup with a playing squad containing an unheard of three sets of brothers …John and Davie Dickson , Stuart and Gary Kelly and of course the Jacks , John and Alan..”
2001 was also the year when Shettleston ,with Tommy Coyne up front and Charlie’s former Hamilton Accies sidekick Graham Mitchell shoring up their defence along with the equally experienced Budgie McGhie, enjoyed a memorable Scottish Junior Cup run , only ended at the semi-finals stage by a 2-0 Dens Park defeat at the hands of Carnoustie Panmure.
He recalls, “Back then I was getting on towards my 36th birthday and realized my playing time was likely to become more and more limited with up and coming youngsters like Crooksy (John Crooks) coming to the fore so Hugh Kelly’s promoting of Tommy to the role of Shettleston Team Boss at the start of the following season provided the ready-made excuse I needed to agree on a move to help out Dennis at Vale of Clyde.”
“All told, I was only there for a year and a bit however I found it extremely enjoyable to be working under Dennis and trying to get the best out of livewire characters such as Rab Torrance and Danny Taylor.”
This far from brief spell with the Tin Pail coincided with ex-Celtic striker Coyne leaving Shettleston and taking charge of Bellshill Athletic along with close friend Rab McKinnon so Charlie then found himself making the `incredibly tough decision` to return to Greenfield Park as a member of gaffer Kelly’s coaching staff.
He takes up the story, “I was only there until Xmas when an unseemly fall out erupted , ironically before a Fullarton Park game against Vale of Clyde, the likes of which I had never came across before.
“Players were asking for a bonus they said had been promised if Shettleston were top of the table by Xmas and we were leading the way at that stage however the club argued ours was a false position due to second top Clydebank, only a couple of points worse off, having a number of games in hand.
“Several of the guys were making noises about not playing against the Vale until I managed to talk them round however it was clear the unrest bubbling beneath the surface was not going away so I decided to call it quits immediately after the game.”
He was not idle for long because Tommy Coyne got in touch to enlist him to help out on the coaching side at Bellshill and when the former Celtic hitman quit in 2005 , Charlie made what proved to be his final curtain call in the Junior ranks with a four year stint at Rob Roy ,assisting his former Shotts Bon Accord team mate John Richardson and John Mitchell in winning back to back league titles.
He admitted, “ I was 48 years of age when John and Mitch left Rob Roy and I just felt the time was right for me to call it a day.
“Playing the game at the level I did was truly memorable and I would probably rate the two First Division title successes with Hamilton Accies as my biggest achievements however that’s not to take away from the Juniors where I had an absolute ball and met so many wonderful characters whom I count among my friends to this day.”
FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 7th JANUARY 2023( Kick Offs 1.30 PM unless stated): P.D.M Buildbase Premier Division. Arthurlie v Pollok, Cambuslang Rangers v Largs Thistle, Darvel v Petershill, Irvine Meadow v Cumnock.PDM Buildbase First Division. Rutherglen Glencairn v Thorniewood Utd, Benburb v Bonnyton Thistle.PDM Buildbase Second Division. Ardeer Thistle v Kilsyth Rangers, Glasgow Utd v Craigmark, Renfrew v Wishaw, St Anthonys v Greenock, Maryhill v Maybole, Glasgow University v Glasgow Perthshire. PDM Buildbase Third Division. Bellshill Athletic v Saltcoats Vics, Vale of Clyde v Lanark Utd,Girvan v Royal Albert , Carluke Rovers v Ardrossan Winton Rovers,Dalry Thistle v Newmains Utd, Irvine Vics v Lugar Boswell, Larkhall Thistle v Irvine Vics, Lugar Boswell v Port Glasgow. PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Campbeltown Pupils v Glenvale, Eglinton v Harmony Row, St Peters v Rossvale Academy(Friday 7.30PM), Threave Rovers v Easterhouse F.A.South Challenge Cup.Whitletts Vics v Lesmahagow. West of Scotland League Cup.Gartcairn v Blantyre Vics, Kilwinning Rangers v Thorn Athletic, Beith v Shotts Bon Accord, Kello Rovers v Neilston, Hurlford Utd v Rob Roy, Cumbernauld Utd v Finnart, Glenafton v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Troon v Ashfield, Forth Wanderers v Cumbernauld Utd, Kilsyth Athletic v Clydebank, Auchinleck Talbot v Johnstone Burgh, West Park Utd v St Cadocs, Yoker Athletic v Rossvale.
Regards
Jim O’Donnell
About Author
Great story Jim. Big Charlie was brilliant at Shettleston and was a massive part of the League / Cup win that we had. Would not have settled as I did without the big man. Hope your well Charlie if reading this.
Crooksy
First met Charlie as part of the coaching staff at Rob Roy. A great guy and very passionate about football. Signed off the juniors with successive championships. Can’t speak highly enough of Charlie.