PETER AND LEO HEADING OUT
“I don’t want to make me sound as if I’m over the top in a parochial sense “laughed Peter Monan. .
“But it bugs me and always has to some effect that many of the so called Ayrshire lesser lights tended to follow the path taken by the bigger clubs and sign players based in Glasgow and further afield yet arguably some of the best Junior talents going the rounds were to be found on their very own doorsteps?”.
He and I were talking whilst putting the final touches to a resume of the nowadays 71 year old’s somewhat chequered career which if you discount Schools and Youth Football was played out across a mere six clubs.( And yes they all have an Ayrshire postcode “).
The former Junior Scotland internationalist added,” To think that such as Bobby Stevenson ,Frankie Clarke , John Sheehan, and the brothers Ally and Stuart Mauchlen among countless others had to head out of their home towns in search of a regular game only makes me wonder what might have become of Ardeer Thistle, Saltcoats Vics and The Winton (Ardrossan Winton Rovers) in the grand order of things if they had just concentrated on cultivating local talents?”
Peter, born and raised in Ardrossan, turned out to be one of this select band himself after his own footballing prowess…as a striker no less…firstly came to prominence when he attended St Peters Secondary in the town and was part of a school team also containing former Kilmarnock and Kilbirnie Ladeside legend Davie McIlroy (now sadly deceased) as well as Frankie Clarke later of Saltcoats Vics, Irvine Meadow and Junior Scotland renown.
“We played for the School on Saturday mornings and for St Peters Boys Club in the afternoons and I can remember many more top players in our teams who might well have gone on to greater things but for them drifting away from the game over the years ”
The young Monan was one of those to stay the course and aged 15 he progressed to Ardrossan amateur outfit Corinthians before his stepping up to Saltcoats United Boys Club at Under 18 level brought him to come under Senior scrutiny , namely from Clyde , which resulted in Peter and Saltcoats goalkeeping team mate John Miller being asked to play in a Shawfield trial match against Kilmarnock.
He recalled , “ I recognized the centre half as Willie McVie but for the love of me I couldn’t tell you anything about the rest of Clyde’s line-up because not one player spoke to me…even to ask my name …so it was a bit surreal to then have three of the Kilmarnock players whom I knew from playing Boys Club football in Ayrshire , Jim Clark, Brian Rodman and Cammy Evans to make a point of coming over to shake hands and wish me all the best.
“Maybe not surprisingly, I didn’t show up well in the game and deep down had already surmised Clyde would not be following up their interest before the coach (I think Rikky Valente was his name) spoke to me afterwards to say I had looked good on the ball but in his opinion I didn’t do enough when not in possession.”
At every one of his clubs during these formative years, Peter would claim the top goalscorer award as he did with Saltcoats Vics in a solitary season spent at Campbell Park after being persuaded to make the move there by team boss John Frye (ex-Hibs,Queen of the South and Hamilton Accies and the older brother of Freddy).
At his own behest ,he was then reinstated back to the Ayrshire amateurs ranks with Dirrans Athletic where his netfinding abilities playing alongside acclaimed notables Bobby McGregor, goalkeeper Jimmy Duncan and Mikky Mitchell in a side that went to the semi-final stage of the Scottish Amateur Cup brought him to the attention of Beith for whom he put pen to paper after an impressive showing in a trial outing against Neilston.
Said Peter, “Beith ‘s Match Secretary George Anderson was the man who signed me but then in my second Bellsdale season , Bobby Dick who had twice won the Scottish Junior Cup with Johnstone Burgh in the 1960’s arrived at Bellsdale as team manager and proceeded to ring the changes.
“Back then I had dropped back to playing midfield and was holding down a regular jersey , no easy task when the likes of the legendary pair Ian Balmer and Tam McGill were among those vying for engine room jerseys ,so you can imagine I wasn’t best pleased when before a game against Port Glasgow Bobby said he wanted to try playing me up front.”
He recounted “ But I went out and scored four goals in the game and even though a third of the season had already elapsed by that point , I went on to score a total of 46 times to finish top scorer in the Ayrshire Juniors ,just ahead of Kilbirnie Ladeside’s Davie Clarke.
“Looking back now, I was blessed to be having one of those seasons in a million when everything I hit at goal ,even the scuffs, ended up in the back of the opposition net, so it has to go down as one of my biggest disappointments ever that our Beith side didn’t win any of the silverware prizes..”
Another contender for topping his table of regrets, occurred early into the following season after then Kilmarnock coach Davie Sneddon invited the 21 year old to play as a trialist in a Rugby Park staged Reserve match against Aberdeen , won 3-1 by the Dons.
He recounted “ Unlike my previous experience with Clyde, I felt as if I’d done myself justice with how I’d played for Killie and though no signing offer was put in front of me ,my confidence was boosted by Davie Sneddon asking if I would be prepared to let him have another look at me .
A BEARDED PETER(third from left kneeling)IN HIS IRVINE MEADOW DAYS
“ Unfortunately he never did ask me back again and I played out the rest of that season at Beith before a signing approach from Irvine Meadow led to me moving there in the summer of 1975 when the core of their 1973 Junior Cup winning side , Eddie Bashford, Con Renfrew, Ronnie Adams, Eric Morris and Alan Johnstone were still at the club along with the little genius that was pulling all their strings …Ada McLaughlin .”
Kilbirnie Ladeside and Pollok where Bobby Dick was installed as team boss had both made more lucrative transfer bids in attempting to pip the Irvine club for Peter’s signature but he opted for the very ambitious Ayrshire big guns who had acquired a reputation for snapping up the best players going the rounds as their latest recruit soon discovered.
He remembered “ The three top goalscorers in Ayrshire around that time had been myself , Davie Clarke and Bobby Neil who were all signed by the Medda and played in the same team despite the fact our playing styles were not exactly suited to each other,
“Nevertheless they were a terrific club to play for with an immaculate pitch into the bargain and I stayed for all of seven years but only the first three as a striker before reverting to midfield and then a full back role when I also captained various sides containing outstanding Juniors like John Minford, Frankie Clarke, Tommy McIntyre, Jimmy Flynn ,Bobby Stevenson and not least of all midfield dynamo Ally Mauchlen who went on to play for Kilmarnock and Motherwell up here as well as Leicester City in the English First Division.”
The start of the 1981/82 campaign brought a veritable string of telephone calls to Peter from then Cumnock manager Sanny McAnespie pleading with him to come on board with his side but Irvine Meadow were just as keen to retain his playing services and were not for allowing him to go right up until a Cumnock defeat by near neighbours Glenafton in the Jackie Scarlett League Cup led to Sanny persuading his up to then swithering club officials to up their already sizable transfer bid.
And there can be no denying they received decent value for their considerable outlay given that Peter was to spend the next 11 years at Townhead Park , initially if his memory serves him right , as a midfield stalwart in a side containing worthies Laurie Docherty, Bobby McCulloch, Alex Bell, Ian McHarg, Tommy Reynolds , Willie McMillan and Willie Kelly.
“My very first Cumnock game was a 1-1 draw against Auchinleck and was an eye opener even for someone of my experience not least because there was every bit as much happening off the ball as there was on it.
“That team of ours won the Ayrshire First Division at a canter thanks to going through the season undefeated and we again won the title in 1983/84 as well as several other local trophies but Sanny was sacked after we rather embarrassingly lost out to Haddington Athletic in the Junior Cup and Jamesie Kirkland , someone who came across as knowing everything about every opposing player was appointed in his place.”
“By now I was playing as an out and out sweeper behind Bobby McCulloch whose reputation preceded him and I could understand why after taking a few digs to my kidneys when I’d previously come up against him as a striker with Beith.
“However his aerial ability, ball winning qualities and willingness for a physical contest made him a dream partner for someone like myself with a liking for bringing the ball out of defence back at a time when the more accepted way of things was to hear ` Get The Ball Up The Park` shouts emanating from dugouts.”
PETER (second from right front row) AFTER A JACKIE SCARLETT CUP WIN WITH CUMNOCK
The twin centrebacks established themselves as near permanent fixtures at the heart of Cumnock’s backline , firstly as Kirkland’s transfer dealings heralded the arrivals of Johnny Walker, Craig Ferguson and Peter Dolan among others before the appointment of co-management pair Dennis Gray and Brian Lannon instigated another raft of new recruits ,most notably goalkeeper Tony Bryden, Gerry Philips, Jimmy Creaney, Barclay Feeney , Raymonf Day, Joe Smart and not forgetting nippy front man Derek Love who was to gain legendary status with the East Ayrshire club after scoring the only goal of the game as Cumnock ran out Scottish Junior Cup winners over Ormiston Primrose in 1989.
Peter was 37 years of age playing in that Rugby Park finale and seriously contemplated hanging up the boots believing he had won “every possible winners medal “as well as being capped for Junior Scotland just two years previously when he teamed up in defence with Auchinleck duo Derek McDicken and Billy Young in a line-up that also contained Gary Faulds (Irvine Meadow) and Jackie Myles (Bonnyrigg Rose).
He scoffed , “ I was at a recent Irvine Meadow event with Ross Findlay (Talbot) and the words were hardly out of my mouth before Ross took great delight in pointing out my only West of Scotland Cup gong was for being runners-up to him and his team mates in the 1983/84 Final .”
His starting out the following season at Townhead proved fortuitous after Cumnock’s parting of the ways with Gray/Lannon led to club officials approaching Peter to take up a player/manager role assisted by his one-time Irvine Meadow team mate Eric Morris and both the Ayrshire Cup and Ayrshire League Cup were won under their tutelage.
But Peter was finding the management of a football team did not sit easily with the requirements of his day job with the Kerelaw Residential School for children with behavioral issues and recalls on more than one occasion sitting in dugouts wondering where the boys left in his Saturday charge had gone while Cumnock’s game raged in front of him .
He winced , “Having to constantly answer phone calls as well as making arrangements ahead of our games was a time consuming chore and I would never have managed to hold things together but for the respect shown towards me by the players.
“Eventually and in fairness to them, I called it quits (1992 I think) and just having the weight of responsibility lifted from my mind saw me only too willing to go down and help Davie McIlroy at Winton Rovers when he asked for a last roll of the dice playing season from me.
“I retired afterwards and resorted to another of my favourite pastimes ,playing tennis out of either Prestwick or West Kilbride where I’ve been a club member in the past and have managed to win a couple of minor tournaments as well as competing in events over in France with my Doubles partner Sebastian .
“Both my wife Linda and I are avid walkers and cyclists which takes up a lot of our spare time in retirement and as if that’s not enough to be getting on with , we’ve now also got ourselves a Springer Spaniel called Leo who is constantly at our ankles wanting to be exercised and is so much part of the family that he’s off to Spain with us on Saturday .
” Obviously I won’t be back for Cumnock ‘s attempt to lift the Junior Cup again when they face Rutherglen Glencairn but take it as read that I’ll be rooting for them.”
FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 27th MAY 2023 (2PM unless stated). PDM Buildbase First Division. Cumbernauld Utd v Rossvale, Benburb v Gartcairn, Bonnyton Thistle v St Cadocs ,Thorniewood Utd v St Rochs , Blantyre Vics v Johnstone Burgh,Neilston v Shotts Bon Accord, Rutherglen Glencairn v Kilbirnie Ladeside..PDM Buildbase Second Division. Renfrew v Maybole, Glasgow University v Craigmark, Ashfield v Muirkirk, Greenock v Wishaw,, Glasgow Utd v Yoker Athletic, Glasgow Perthshire v Glasgow Utd, Ardeer Thistle v Kilsyth Rangers, Forth Wanderers v Yoker Athletic, Maryhill v St Anthonys..PDM Buildbase Third Division. Saltcoats Vics v Carluke Rovers, Dalry Thistle v Lesmahagow, Lanark Utd v Finnart, Bellshill Athletic v Ardrossan Winton Rovers, Larkhall Thistle v Kello Rovers, East Kilbride Thistle v Lugar Boswell, Vale of Clyde v Newmains Utd, Girvan v Royal Albert, Vale of Leven v Irvine Vics. South Challenge Cup Final .Spartans v Drumchapel Utd (Sunday 3PM Broadwood Stadium).
| Regards Jim O’Donnell |
About Author
439 appearances for Cumnock and 39 goals in his 11 season.