UNSUNG GEORGE STILL GOING STRONG

EVEN TODAY GEORGE LIKES WEARING THE LARGS COLOURS

It’s not to George Wall’s liking that no team manager worth his salt is ever likely to reveal the thinking behind their decision to follow up …or not… on a signing recommendation.

If only they did then the soon to be 65 year old (in July) would relish the opportunity to pose a few pertinent questions of Udo Lattek former Borussia Monchengladbach head coach between 1975-79 in the hope of putting fierce Auchinleck Talbot playing adversary Ross Findlay’s gas at a peep..

George tells the story, “ Back then I was a teenager turning out for a Dalry Thistle, side whose gaffer was the former Rangers goalkeeper Erik Sorenson and he took me aside one night to say he’d spoken to the Borussia boss, a friend of his, about coming to have a look at me.

“I’d no reason to think Erik was telling porkies even though I never did hear anything more about Borussia’s interest however my big mistake was many years later letting Ross know what had occurred when we were chatting about our footballing what might have beens .

“Never once has he said my story sounds like a fabrication but whenever our paths do cross, he tends to poke fun at me by asking if I’ve a German passport or am I fluent in the language yet?”

Ross might well be a Doubting Thomas but it’s not as if Greenock born and bred George needs to talk up a footballing career that got underway when he attended Greenock High in the Inverclyde town and was part of a school team containing Colin Neil and John Laird who both had trials with Chelsea as well as John McLurg ,later of Kilmarnock, Morton, Pollok and Largs Thistle among others.

He twinned playing for his school with firstly turning out for Gourock United alongside even more illustrious company in the shape of Joe McLaughlin, and Neil Orr ,whose outstanding defensive displays with Morton were to earn them moves to Chelsea and West Ham respectively.

George , after aspiring to Port Glasgow Rangers as a 16 year old , also ended up at Cappielow at the behest of then manager Joe Gilroy and he played with no little distinction on the left wing of a Reserves side that at various times comprised of Charlie Palmer, Michael Hepburn, ,John McNeil, Mark McGhee, Ian Sneddon and Ross Irvine to name but a few.

WALL BEFORE THE CEMENT WAS DRY

The onset of 1976 saw Gilroy replaced by Benny Rooney whose signing of Andy Ritchie proved inspirational for Morton’s fortunes but not those of the up and coming George because he was duly loaned out to Ayrshire Second Division outfit Dalry Thistle where one time Cappielow gaffer Sorenson was at the helm.

“ Erik was one of your larger than life characters who caused ructions wherever he went, just like he did by driving his pink Jaguar car ( I did say pink) into the scheme where I stayed on the night he persuaded me to sign forms for Dalry.” revealed George before adding.

“But he was a terrific motivator into the bargain as well as very knowledgeable when it came to building a team and he brought in decent players from in and around the Greenock area such as John Ellis, Marty Caine, Franny Breslin and David Anderson older brother of the Morton central defender George, and I seem to recall us finishing second top of the table .

“Someone else who was on the Dalry books in those days was our goalkeeper Jim Leighton (later of Aberdeen and Scotland renown ) whom Erik obviously recognized as having great potential because he used to get Jim to come in at least an hour early on training nights for one-to-one coaching.

“ Jim would come in to our dressing room caked in mud and change into new kit before going back out with the rest of us.”

A string of top notch performances for Dalry helped George no end in 1977 when his free agent status after being released by Morton led to Irvine Meadow and Kilbirnie Ladeside vying for his signature.

He recalled , “I didn’t lack confidence but neither did I particularly fancy my chances of getting a regular game for Kilbirnie seeing as they had just won the Scottish Junior Cup with a 3-1 victory over Rob Roy so I plumped instead for the deal offered by Irvine Meadow’s manager Johnny McIntyre.

“And it’s not as if there was anything second rate about the Meadow Park dressing room , not when it was inhabited by guys of the quality of Davie Clarke, Peter Monan, Ally Mauchlen, Jimmy Flynn, Tommy Bryce and Bobby Stevenson along with remnants of Medda’s 1973 Scottish Cup winning side ,Alan Johnstone , Ronnie Adams and Con Renfrew.

“Ours was a wonderful mix of experience and up and coming players which really should have picked up a few silverware prizes but Auchinleck, Cumnock and to a lesser extent Kilbirnie were also immensely strong at that time which maybe explains why that Medda team came up short.

“We did hit the bar by reaching an Ayrshire League Cup Final played at Dam Park but Talbot beat us 3-2.”

Any disappointment felt by the 19 year old was considerably softened on the day following that Final reverse when he headed down to Birmingham for a pre-arranged week’s trial with Aston Villa .

George recounted, “Ron Saunders was the Villa team boss and the plan was that I should take part in a few training sessions along with a couple of Reserve team outings but a mix up with the registration paperwork was discovered that stopped me from playing any games.

“Nevertheless it was a fabulous experience just mixing with the likes of Gary Shaw, Colin Gibson, Brian Little, Allan Evans Alex Cropley and of course Andy Gray even though nothing ever came of my trial and I was soon back up the road to Meadow Park.”

George was to spend three seasons with the Irvine club and his stay might well have been longer but for legendary Kilbirnie gaffer Bobby `Sconie` Davidson luring him and Davie Clarke to Valefield to team up with fellow recruits Paul Halley, ex-Rangers centreback Ian Thomson, Stuart Gordon as well as feted 1977 Cup winning pair Jim Marner and Ada McLaughlin on their respective returns to these shores from Australia and Canada.

George reminisced, “Playing alongside someone of Ada’s ability was an education for someone like me but unfortunately he was only back at Valefield for a couple of months before emigrating again whereas I was there for three years but only played for two of them after a massive fall out with Sconie (everyone did at one time or another) over £50 .”

He explained ,”Jim Marner and I travelled together from Greenock for training and games so we came up together by car when it came to resigning talks with Sconie and our club officials at the end of my second season.

“Jim went in first and came back out to say he had knocked back a £250 resigning fee which I remember thinking was decent but when it came to my turn , the offer was just £200 so myself and Sconie had a blazing row and the upshot was I angrily refused to sign and he retaliated by putting me out of the game under the retention rules that operated back in those days.

“Rather than give in to him I stayed away while keeping myself ticking over by playing games under an assumed name at amateur level however I’ve always thought I would have played at least another season for Ladeside if only I’d gone in for talks before Jim Marner!”

GEORGE (second from right sitting ) IN FIRST LARGS THISTLE SPELL

George’s very own career crossroads arrived in 1984 when Largs Thistle manager Crawford Boyd took up a recommendation (another one) from the aforementioned Sorenson and struck a transfer deal with Sconie taking the now left sided defender to Barrfields where Ian Hook , Jimmy White and former Ladeside skipper Jim Inglis had previously been team bosses..

“ I enjoyed playing under Crawford but Largs really took off as a force when Dickie Brock took up the manager’s chair and put together a team inclusive of Frank Lovering ,Jimmy Boag , Robert Burns and Stevie Quigg that against all the odds went on to win the West of Scotland Cup in 1991 with a 1-0 Final defeat of Renfrew.”,

Dickie was to further strengthen us with the acquisitions of John Hagan, Frank Malone , Jim Marner, Bobby Stevenson and latterly Charlie Brown admitted George who continued.

GEORGE AND LARGS THISTLE WITH THE WEST of SCOTLAND CUP

“ We were a close knit bunch and had high hopes of picking up more of the big prizes but things started to unravel the following season when Dickie stepped down after being appointed Junior Scotland manager and I broke my leg in a Junior Cup game against Dunipace (I think).”

Around this time , George went out to the U.S.A. and was working abroad for fully a year until his return in 1993 sparked a phone call from Largs Thistle management duo Ossie Louden and Kenny Lynn pleading with the then 34 year old to play for in a Jackie Scarlett Cup contest against Kilbirnie.

He performed admirably despite not having kicked a ball competitively for nigh on 15 months and kept his place in the team for the next game, an embarrassing 10-1 hammering at the hands of Beith which brought the axe to fall on the unfortunate Louden.

His replacement, former goalkeeper Davie McKellar , wasted no time in installing the reliable George as his assistant but the one time Rangers , Kilmarnock and Carlisle United No I had other irons in the fire because only a matter of months later he called it quits after accepting a full time team management job offer out in India.

McKellar’s shock decision to call time on his Largs tenure appeared to clear the way for George to take his first steps into management but instead the Seasiders` club officials brought in the vastly more experienced John Crawford whose first move after coming through the door was to state the veteran had more worth on the playing side than as part of any backroom team.

And George was to prove him right by having a role to play when the Crawford steered Largs made history with a first ever Scottish Junior Cup triumph in 1994 when Pat McCurdy scored the only goal of an explosive all-Ayrshire contest against Glenafton.

The Ibrox staged Final is probably best remembered for four sending offs, Jimmy Murray and Andy Elliot of Largs and the Glens pair of Alex Kennedy and Ian Gray however George’s abiding memory is from getting the nod to come on as a substitute.

He laughed , “ We were leading 1-0 but under growing pressure from Glenafton as the clock ticked down and I don’t know if John was having thoughts about making substitutions but his mind was made up for him when our centre half Barclay Feeney ran over to the dugout during a lull in play and pointed at me while screaming `get him on.`

“ I was then able to play out the closing stages and proudly become the third member of our dressing room , along with Stevie Quigg and Alan Rodgers , to have won the West and Scottish as Largs Thistle players.”

His brief Final appearance had put the bit between George’s teeth and he opted to extend his playing career by joining his home town team Greenock, aged 35, (George Glancey and Danny Gault were in charge of playing matters) and his displays as an out and out sweeper brought him the Player of the Year award despite the competition from Gus Gault, Alan Blaikie and goalkeeper Kenny Meechan among others..

Said George, “ I also persuaded Frank Lovering to play for Greenock during my three seasons there so I was never going to turn him down when he got the job as Beith manager and asked me to be his No 2.

“Neither of us had ever managed before but we were still able to bring together a more than decent side , inclusive of Billy Borthwick, Alan Ewing, Jim McCann, Frank O’Hara and twin goalkeepers Rab Hamilton and Jim White., that reached the Scottish quarter finals and lost out to Talbot in the Jackie Scarlett Final .

“I remember many more good times than bad but we were sacked after Frank had a massive row with a club official and ended up at Largs Thistle where something similar had led to the ousting of Sandy McLean.

“We wouldn’t have taken a job in those circumstances but the Largs Committee were adamant Sandy was getting the heave-ho whether we agreed to come or not so moving there became a no-brainer.

“Largs were relegated that first season but the introduction of Bobby Donnachie, Kenny Meechan, Gordy Graham (brother of Gary) Neil Murray and a few more of that ilk saw us promoted a year further down the line as Ayrshire Second Division title winners until Largs made the mistake f backing Frank into a corner.

“He’s a long-time friend whom I know better than most and he’s someone who will always react against outside interference which is what Largs did when even before our title winning season was over, they were pressurising him to reveal his thoughts over what players would be coming and going.

“Frank’s response was to tell them where to stuff their job and he then departed for St Anthonys while I spent the next two years as a Morton Youth Coach under Joe McLaughlin who had moved on to be head of Youth Development at Cappielow.”

George was then approached by a relegation threatened Largs Thistle and assisted by Robert Ahlfield ,one of his Morton Youth sidekicks , he took up the reins from Stevie Quigg and Archie Halley and set about enlisting he combined playing abilities of Phil Cannie, James Marks, Stevie Connick to help the Seasiders preserve their Second Division status over the ensuing six months .

We’ll never know( and neither does George) if he would have remained in-situ because an out of the blue telephone call from ex-Port Glasgow gaffer Brian Heron was to dramatically change his career direction .

Heron had been appointed manager of a Maryhill side in decline following the departure of Ronnie McDonald and Alan Maitland to Clyde and needed Wall’s help though only in the short term .

George mused, “ Brian had taken on the role in conjunction with Davie Hopkin , formerly of Leeds United and Morton ,but Hoppy being Hoppy had other fish to fry and would not be available for up to six weeks, hence the reason Brian had turned to me .

“The time frame was not a problem but what was supposed to be six weeks became five years in total and it was anything but an easy shift with next to no transfer monies available to make team strengthening moves.”

Craig Ferguson, Mark Stanley, Paul Callander and Mark Sideserf were among the future worthies unearthed during the management duo’s stint at Lochburn Park however arguably their biggest star turn was defensive stalwart Martin McGoldrick who would later win three Scottish Junior Cups playing for Auchinleck Talbot.

“Goldy was something special wasn’t he ?” insisted George before adding , “His qualities made him stick out like a sore thumb and I always believed he deserved to be on the bigger stage which is why I gave Talbot boss Tommy Sloan the head’s up about him .”

George eventually quit Maryhill (along with Brian ) but has remained on the outside of the game looking in, other than a season when he was aged 61 and the pair were mentoring Port Glasgow co-managers Eddie Walton and Paul Coyle.

GEORGE IN HIS NORTHERN IRELAND ATTIRE

Quite astonishingly, George continues to pull on the boots to the present day as part of the Largs Thistle over 35’s side and he previously turned out with Scotland’s over 60’s before converting to Northern Ireland’s over 60’s (though whether that’s because he has an Irish granny or a skillset likened to that of George Best ) I’ll leave for others to decide .

Defiant as ever, he insisted “Age is just a number and as long as I feel able and can make a contribution then I’ll keep going.”

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 6^th MAY 2023 (2PM unless stated. P.D.M.Buildbase Premier Division. Darvel v Beith, Irvine Meadow v Auchinleck Talbot, Kilwinning Rangers, v Largs Thistle, Arthurlie v Hurlford Utd , Clydebank v Glenafton Rob Roy v Cambuslang Rangers , Troon v Cumnock. PDM Buildbase First Division. St Rochs v Benburb, Thorniewood Utd v Gartcairn, Whitletts Vics v Shotts Bon Accord,Blantyre Vics v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Neilston v St Cadocs(Friday 7.15PM), Rutherglen Glencairn v Rossvale, Drumchapel Utd v Johnstone Burgh. PDM Buildbase Second Division. Yoker Athletic v Glasgow Utd (Friday 7.30 PM), Ardeer Thistle v Maybole, Ashfield, v Glasgow Perthshire ,Criagmark v Maryhill , Kilsyth Rangers v Renfrew, Muirkirk v Wishaw, Glasgow University v Forth Wanderers. PDM Buildbase Third Division. Carluke Rovers v Saltcoats Vics, Vale of Clyde v Newmains Utd, Port Glasgow v Ardrossan Winton Rovers, Dalry Thistle v Lugar Boswell, Vale of Leven v Bellshill Athletic, Girvan v Lesmahagow, Larkhall Thistle v Royal Albert, Kello Rovers v Finnart , East Kilbride Thistle v Irvine Vics.