COBY MADE HIS CASE AND STILL DOES

A CONSIDERABLY YOUNGER JIM COCKBURN

Only the most avid of historians with a Kilmarnock F.C connection are able to say they are aware of the significance of the 16^th November 1985 and the story that goes with the date.

Killie were hosting Morton in a run of the mill Scottish First Division league game that day, a match that will forever be memorable for their opening goal by Jim Cockburn who took possession early in the first half and dribbled down the left side past a couple of defenders, prior to cutting inside and firing a shot into the far corner of the net past Ton goalkeeper Davie Wylie.

Paul Martin and Scott Cuthberson also netted in a comfortable 3-0 victory but what made Coby’s goal deserve `special ` status was it being his first for his Ayrshire club and as it transpired his one and only score in an acclaimed Killie career spanning all of 209 appearances across 11 seasons.

The nowadays 64 year old was born and bred in Kilwinning on a farm known as Farley Bog, located not far from where the town’s present day Sports Centre can be found.

He attended Ravenspark Academy in Irvine and quickly established himself as the first choice left back in not one but a couple of the school teams ???.

He explained ,” Initially, I went to Ravenspark with designs on playing left midfield but there were too many decent middle of the park types, most notably Iain Jardine who played for Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle and Hearts among others.

“Left full back became my recognized position and throughout my school years I alternated between turning out for my own age group (say Under 14’s) or turning out with the Under 15’s if they were facing important games against better opposition.

“It was tough going as I wasn’t all that big physically but there’s no denying it was a great grounding for later years.”

The youngster’s performances caught the eye of no less than the groundsman who cut the grass on the school pitch and he arranged for Coby to join Kilmarnock Boys Club where he recalls playing alongside the likes of Willie Murray, Tom Paton, goalkeeper Andy Robinson and Kenny Armstrong (later of Southampton) who were subsequently all called up by Rugby Park bosses

Coby wasn’t and the disillusionment felt from this apparent snub saw the 15 year old elect to walk away in favour of turning out for home town side Corsehill Amateurs, run by his uncle John Evans , and he stayed there for a full season before joining another local team , Abbey Rangers, back then reputed to have tenuous links with Kilwinning Rangers.

He recalled , “Abbey Rangers were nothing more than a bunch of Kilwinning guys who came together to play football but not all all that seriously if truth be told however we found ourselves coming up against quality sides such as Ayr United Boys Club containing Stevie Nicol, Robert Reilly and Ian McAllister so not unsurprisingly they were regularly romping away with the league title and Cup competitions.

“Our Abbey team folded after a season and a bit so I was then approached by Jim Lochhead and talked into a move to Bellfield Boys Club who were recognized as a nursery team for Kilmarnock and if memory serves me right I took part in two 1977 trial matches against Ayr United and Hamilton Accies that led to Willie Fernie signing me.

“Ironically ,I had been looking forward to being a reunion with my former Kilmarnock Boys Club team mates but as I was coming in the door ,they with the exception of big Armstrong, were leaving by another after being released !”

He added,” Just holding down a place in our very strong Reserves team of that time was no easy matter and I remember us winning the Reserve League Cup , after coming out on top in a two-legged Final against a Hearts side fielding John Robertson up front .

“We had looked dead and buried after losing 3-0 through at Tynecastle but at home we proceeded to run out 4-0 winners on a night when Jim Doherty (who went on to play first team )scored all our goals

Coby’s own impactful displays as a regular starter for an impressive Killie second string comprising of future Junior star turns ,Albert Morrison and Ally Wilson (Auchinleck) along with Gordon Wilson and Jim Hughes (Pollok), soon had him chapping on a first team door whose worthy inhabitants around that time included powerful centreback pair Paul Clarke and Derek McDicken ,Stuart McLean, Alan Robertson, Davie Provan, Gordon Smith, George Maxwell and goalkeeper Ally McCulloch.

KILMARNOCK PLAYING SQUAD CIRCA 1979/80

A defining moment arrived when team boss Fernie was replaced by former Killie playing legend Davie Sneddon not least because he clearly considered Coby to have served his apprenticeship and threw the then 20 year old into a daunting first team debut at Ibrox against Rangers whose 1979 line-up was composed of Scottish footballing stalwarts Sandy Jardine, Peter McLoy, Colin Jackson and Coby’s direct opponent Tommy McLean , the much feted Scotland international and former Killie winger.

Having made the breakthrough, homegrown Ayrshire boy Coby’s tenacious playing style saw him become a Killie fans favourite through featuring (with no little distinction) under Sneddon and managerial successors Jim Clunie and Eddie Morrison prior to eventually being released by his one and only Senior club in 1988.

Asking if he had any regrets evoked a typically thoughtful reply, “ I signed for Kilmarnock just as they were going from full time status to part-time and within months of my departure, the club went the opposite way from part-time to full time which has often made me wonder what might have been.

“It was never a level playing field for those of us holding down a job away from football and trying to compete against the full-timers of Rangers, Celtic , Aberdeen , Hearts and Hibs.”

His day-job with the Ayrshire and Arran NHS coincidentally led to Coby’s next stop on his footballing journey after colleague Ross Findlay persuaded him in 1989 to put pen to paper for an Auchinleck Talbot side, fresh from celebrating three consecutive Scottish Junior Cup triumphs , 1986-88.

He recounted , “ I gave it my best shot but breaking into that Talbot side was near impossible particularly in view of the fact theirs was a really settled back four and my preferred left back slot was being filled by the one and only Billy Young who was team captain and also happened to be playing out of his skin most weeks.

“The need to be playing regularly at my age made my decision to move on to Kilwinning Rangers an easy one and more so given my uncle John Evans, assisted by Peem Frew was in charge of a team boasting Willie Walker, Jimmy Murray, Alan McLuckie, Danny Sloan (older brother of Tucker) and Billy Thomson among others.

COBY (second from right kneeling) WITH KILWINNING RANGERS

“That first season highlight has to be scoring one of the goals to beat Dundee Downfield in reaching the Junior Cup quarter finals but we unfortunately lost out to Linlithgow Rose and the season then ended on a sour note when the Buffs were relegated.”

Coby remaining in and around the Abbey Park scene through the various management tenures of Evans, John Crawford , Davie Wells and Jim McSherry meant he was conveniently placed to take up a coaching post offered by his former Talbot team mate Bobby Dickson when he took up the reins ahead of the 1998/99 season when their Kilwinning side picked up a remarkable haul of silverware prizes (six in all) inclusive of the Scottish Junior Cup following a 1-0 Final victory over Kelty Hearts.

“ Ian Gallagher, Jim Duffy , Branco, (Mark Cameron), Gerry Peline , Noggin (Norman Montgomery), Tommy Sloan and Alan McTurk to mention a few, are just some of the names that still trip of my tongue to this day” insisted Coby.

“ It was a wonderful group of players that could and would have gone on to win many more honours had Club Chairman Alan McLuckie not decided to sack Bobby after we were knocked out of the following season’s Scottish Cup, in January if I remember right.

“ Most of the guys went their separate ways before Gary Faulds was appointed as the new man at the helm which is when I decided to leave and take up a role working with up and coming Kilmarnock Youth prospects in tandem with my former Rugby Park team mates Alan Robertson , Stuart McLean and Paul Clarke”

Coby’s enjoyment at working with players in their formative years might have opened the door for another career path but a phone call from the aforementioned Dickson, revealed he was on the verge of being installed as Cumnock’s new gaffer and wanted his close ally by his side.

Their Kilwinning Rangers successes were never going to be repeated but putting together a Townhead Park side built around such as Paul Kerr, Graham Potter, Stevie Farrell and Simon Black appeared to be a step in the right direction or so Coby …and Dickson felt…

He reminisced, “ There was a lot of mumbling and grumbling one Saturday after a 3-2 defeat by Talbot when Cumnock had been 2-0 up .

“On the Sunday, I received a telephone call from a leading club official (whose name I’ll keep to myself) asking if I knew the whereabouts of Bobby as the Committee had been trying to reach him without success?

“Upon saying I didn’t, he then added ` Well when you see him , tell him he’s been sacked …Oh and by the way you’re gone too.

“It would have been laughable but for Bobby , whom most people will remember had won a tribunal case for Unfair Dismissal against Kilwinning, deciding to go down the same road with Cumnock whose response was to come to an agreement with him over the remainder of his contract.”

Coby reverted to again helping the development of Kilmarnock Youths while also keeping his eye in with Scotland Seniors at Over 50’s level , initially playing in the same team as George Wall and George Watt though the trio are nowadays more centred on organizing a Scottish team, whose ranks contain ex-Renfrew goalkeeper Iain Wilson, one time Cumnock front man Rusty Harkness and celebrities Rashid Sarwar and Gordon Mackay, to play against England, Northern Ireland and Wales in a round-robin format.

The one time full back admitted ,”Rugby Park, Merthyr Tydfil and Watford’s training ground in St Albans are some of the venues for the games but sad to say Scotland have never won the competition though we did tie for first one year with Northern Ireland who tend to be the top dogs.”

COBEY AND RAYMOND MONTGOMERY EITHER SIDE OF HIBS GREAT PAT STANTON

His reputation as a former player and standing as a Kilmarnock great has also seen Coby bestowed with the honour of carrying out club ambassadorial duties on match days so it’s commonplace for him to be rubbing shoulders with media commentators Stevie Naismith, Cammy Bell, Kris Boyd and not forgetting Andy Walker whom he recalls was close to signing for Kilwinning Rangers during a particularly bleak winter when the Buffs played only one game , a 1-0 victory over Ardrossan Winton Rovers in which the former Celt scored the only goal of the game.

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 5^th AUGUST (Kick Offs 2 PM unless stated): P.D.M HUWS GRAY Premier Division. Troon v Largs Thistle, Pollok v Rob Roy, Gartcairn v Auchinleck Talbot, Clydebank v Glenafton , Arthurlie v Benburb, Beith v Irvine Meadow, St Cadocs v Cumnock, Darvel v Hurlford Utd. P.D.M HUWS GRAY PDM Buildbase First Division. Shotts Bon Accord v Neilston, Blantyre Vics v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Cambuslang Rangers v St Rochs,Renfrew v Kilwinning Rangers, Drumchapel Utd v Rutherglen Glencairn, Petershill v Ashfield,Johnstone Burgh ,Maybole v Thorniewood Utd, Whitletts Vics v Johnstone Burgh.PDM HUWS GRAY Second Division. Ardrossan Winton Rovers v Glasgow Perthshire,Wishaw v Bonnyton Thistle, St Anthonys v Forth Wanderers , Vale of Clyde v Yoker Athletic, Kilsyth Rangers v Larkhall Thistle, Cumbernauld Utd v Glasgow University , Craigmark v Caledonian Locomotives, Maryhill v Muirkirk . PDM HUWS GRAYThird Division. Irvine Vics v Vale of Leven, Finnart v Bellshill Athletic, Port Glasgow v Glasgow Utd, West Park Utd v Kello Rovers, Lesmahagow v Dalry Thistle, Lanark Utd v Girvan, Threave Rovers v Greenock v Kilsyth Athletic. PDM HUWS GRAYFourth Division. Saltcoats Vics v Giffnock S.C, Royal Albert v Rossvale, Newmains Utd v Campbeltown Pupils, Thorn Athletic v Lugar Boswell, BSC Glasgow v East Kilbride Thistle, Knightswood v Carluke Rovers, Eglinton v Glenvale, Easterhouse FC v St Peters.

Regards

Jim O’Donnell