THE NUMBERS ADD UP FOR…EDDIE

There must be something amiss with entertainment value on offer in the game nowadays when someone whose career spanned 24 years as a player and coach, scoring close to 400 goals in the process… as a winger… says “I thought I would miss football but can’t say I have.”

Now I’m pretty sure the longer in the tooth aficionados among you will guess this  paragraph opener refers to Eddie McKim , whom the history books will one day suggest was a Junior thoroughbred in his goal poaching heyday…and rightly so.

Paisley born and bred Eddie first stood out as a midfielder in a fairly successful St Mirins Academy school team, where he partnered up in the engine room with Willie Young ,whom Arthurlie supporters will recall from an all too  brief Dunterlie playing stint prior to him signing (along with Barrhead team mate Tommy Graham) for Aston Villa  and going on to make his first team debut against Manchester United.

By then, Eddie was moving in somewhat less exalted circles, turning out for local boys team Williamsburgh whose amalgamation with Pollok St Convals brought greater attention from Junior club scouts and one of their number reckoned Eddie and team mates Keir Jamieson and Eddie Broadfoot had the potential to play for Pollok.

The nowadays 67 year old recounted those early beginnings “ Keir was thought the best player among the three of us not least because he was the Scotland Under 18 captain but he picked up a bad injury at Newlandsfield which saw him drop right out of the picture while a lack of game time meant Eddie did not  last long either.

“Fortunately the Match Secretary Bobby McIntyre and his coaches John Murdoch and Stuart Hamilton felt I could do their team a turn .would you believe as a right sided  midfielder???,  so I was kept on to play in a Pollok side whose recognized stalwarts were Dickie Brock, Bruce Livingston, Tony Connell, John Redburn and striker Joe Ball.

“There was also a fellow midfielder at that time , Phil Smith, blessed with  energy reserves that were second to none which helped his get about the pitch playing style yet  he was the very same of it because he always rode  a bicycle to and from our training sessions despite staying quite a distance away from Newlandsfield “

Eddie remained at the Southside club for all of four seasons during which time he converted to playing as an out and out winger while a plethora of dressing room comings and goings saw the arrival at various times of notable worthies  Joe Sweeney, Nikky House , Ian Taylor, Andy Dailly, Stevie Howie, Andy McQuade and Jonah Jones , however it was  changes in the dugout that  heralded his own exit.

He revealed, “It was the way of things back then for the Pollok A.G.M to vote for a new Match Secretary every year and after Bobby McIntyre’s ousting , I remember playing under club officials Max Smith , Billy Ellis and latterly Tom McAllister who brought in as his coach , Tam Young, someone  who for reasons best known to himself, didn’t fancy me as a player.

“That much was made abundantly clear in our crazy 1977/78  season that ended with  Pollok relegated to the old Central B Division yet we still managed to win the Central League Cup by beating Cambuslang Rangers 3-1 in a Friday night Final  at Southcroft Park that I played in.

“Now it had been arranged beforehand for the players to come into Newlandsfield on the Saturday morning for resigning talks so you can imagine how upbeat was the banter when we all met up however the talks in my case were rather blunt and to the point because there’s not a lot to be said when you’re the only player told “We’re putting you on the transfer list”.

Glasgow Perthshire expressed a signing interest which Eddie rejected because of his dislike for the Possil outfit’s black ash Keppoch Park playing surface but he had no such misgivings when then agreeing to the terms offered by Benburb gaffer Abi Burnett ahead of the 1978/79 season.

Frank Sheridan, Paul Doctor, Billy Walker ,Ronnie Miller ,John Kennaway were forming the core of the Tinto Park playing squad ,coached by ex-Celtic full back Ian Young, that Eddie joined however none of them had parts to play the following season when a totally  transformed Bens side  with Eddie forming a much vaunted forward line threesome along with Grant McIntosh and Stevie Whitehead   made it all the way to Hampden Park to face Bailleston in the 1980 Scottish  Junior Cup Final . 

The legendary wing ace insisted,” Getting to the Final was truly a team performance and not down to any individuals however if any credit is due then nobody is more deserving of it than our manager Tommy Douglas.

“He stuck to his guns by continuing to play emerging youngsters like Micky Livingstone, Whitehead,and goalkeeper Ian Kilpatrick in the big games while also having the necessary foresight to make key buys in the more experienced pair of Jimmy Quigley and Wee Nippy (Neil Pirrie).

“Neily didn’t particularly like the  nickname which came about because he had  a bit of a temper on him  but even he  fell about laughing when we all watched a recording of  the  televised 2-2 first game against Bailleston and Arthur Montford described him as “ a nippy wee player”.”

Billy Patterson and Jackie Goodal scores enabled Bailleston to run out 2-0 extra time winners in the replay however Eddie whose levelling the initial Hampden showpiece occasion at 2-2 earned him and his Govan team mates their second bite at the cherry has always maintained the Cup was lost in the first game’s injury time when he hit the post from close range and the ball rolled along the line before going out for a bye-kick.

“If ever there was a time when I needed a lucky break then that was it.” was how he succinctly put it yet Eddie’s confidence in front of goal remained largely unaffected by the near miss as his going on to rack up remarkable stats of 326 goals in 13 Benburb seasons will forever testify.

Yet somewhat surprisingly, his striking prowess derived little in the way of silverware prizes other than the Govan outfit’s 4-2 penalty kicks triumph over Port Glasgow (Billy Peacock made three shoot-out saves) in the 1983 West of Scotland Cup Final which was all the more impressive for the Bens playing 84 minutes as well as extra time with only ten men following Ally Edmiston’s early dismissal.

Following in the footsteps of Douglas after he stepped away from the dugout was no easy task as a sequence of new managers , Jim Leckie , ex-Motherwell stalwart Joe Wark and Ian Johnstone were to discover before Benburb’s relegation in 1988 led to club officials asking their all-time record goalscorer  and goalkeeper Peacock to jointly take up the reins as co-managers.

Eddie mused, “ I was still playing at the time  but this added complication didn’t prevent our rebuilt team comprising of stalwarts such as Tommy Campbell, Stuart Storie, Malky McDonald, Stevie Miller, and Jim Sands , romping away with the B Division title after winning 20 and drawing 6 of our 26 league games.

“Winning promotion brought a new set of challenges but then Billy packed it in and I found it difficult to continue in a joint player/manager role particularly when it came to picking myself in the team ahead of another player.”

The start of the 1991/92 season brought the curtain down on his Tinto Park tenure and a 36 year old Eddie initially trained at Rutherglen Glencairn .where Davie McDermott and Willie Harvey were in charge of playing matters, but when nothing came of this` trial `, he elected to take up an offer to join Johnstone Burgh.

“Jim Leckie and Mick Dunlop were assisting George Walker and the intention was for me to lend a bit of added experience to their team in the presumed twilight of my career but I weighed in with a decent number of goals to help win back to back promotions and was still retained on the books as a player nine years later, when we faced Whitburn in the Junior Cup Final.

The Firhill staged finale in 2000 has anything but pleasant memories for Eddie and not just because a Burgh side ,with Lee Martin, David Brolly, Derek Heaton, Alan Frater, Johnny Miller and Grant Clark in their ranks and  skippered by Colin Lyndsay, lost 4-3 on penalty kicks after  a 2-2 draw against their East Region opponents.

He thought back “I remember during our pre-match preparations relating a story about some incident from the Benburb v Bailleston game only for one of the younger guys in our Burgh squad, Charlie Miller, to point out he wasn’t even born when that Cup Final was played.

“That raised a few laughs but the smile was soon wiped from my face when George proceeded to read out his Final team and I hadn’t even made the substitutes bench.

He added “To say I was disappointed would be an understatement and then some because my abiding memory is of the game entering `next goal’s the winner` latter stages and George turning to his bench and bemoaning the fact he didn’t have anyone else  to throw up front…if only???

The season’s conclusion brought a signing approach from Irvine Vics for Eddie but he opted instead to finally call time on his playing days and team up with Archie Halley as Walker’s coaching team at Keanie Park .

EDDIE AFTER HANGING UP THE BOOTS

Their combined know how worked a treat to help clinch the last ever Central Premier Division League title in 2002 (Central and Ayrshire amalgamated the following season) but a subsequent fall-out with Burgh officials led to Walker tendering  his resignation which resulted in the managerial appointment of former skipper Lyndsay in his stead.

Big Ces was keen to bring in his own backroom team so Eddie found himself without a club but not for long after Walker took up the reins at Kilbirnie Ladeside and installed him as his Valefield No 2.

Their wheeling and dealing to bring on board, Kenny Gillies , Jim Hughes, Andy Heafey, Brian Miller, Derek Rhodden and Brian Welsh acted to significantly improve the Blasties’ playing lot however long term injuries ruling out cornerstone defenders Anton Smith and Mario Pacitti  among others brought both a downturn in results and Walker’s resignation following a near 15 months tenure .

Said Eddie, “We returned to the Burgh for the start of the 2003/04 season but the first two seasons were a bit of a struggle as George was not for ploughing his own money into strengthening the team which led to  several rows behind the scenes .

“Things did eventually  settle down a bit  and Keanie Park was our lot for the next eight years until 2014 when we decided that overseeing a team continuing to blow  hot and cold out on the pitch was not for us .”

Close to 400 goals as well as  40 years involvement at Junior level (26 of them as a player) surely marks Eddie out as one of the game’s all-time greats yet it’s astonishing to think his  only major honour for the many miles ran up on his clock , the West of Scotland Cup winners medal apart , is a solitary Junior Scotland cap

He recalled, “ “John ”Yogi” Hughes was the team manager and he picked myself in a 1980 squad along with the respective Cup Final goalkeepers ( Ian Kilpatrick) Benburb and John Hunt (Bailleston)

“If memory serves me right we lost 1-0 against England up at Bo’ness United’s ground and the likes of Dougie Friedman (Petershill) , Norrie Fulton (Pollok) and Dennis Gray (Auchinleck Talbot) were among my team mates but I cannot for the love of me remember much about the actual game .”

Taxi driver Eddie freely admits he never imagined staying away from the game would be so easy.

He said , “ I had a bit of a health issue last year and caught pneumonia so it’s a risk I’ll avoid unless there’s something special like a Benburb v Johnstone Burgh cup game taking place.

FIXTURES FOR SATURDAY 28^th JANUARY( Kick Offs 1.30 PM unless stated): Strathclyde Demolition Cup Final.Renfrew v Whitletts Vics(Friday 7.30PM at New Tinto Park).P.D.M Buildbase Premier Division. Auchinleck Talbot v Petershill, Cumnock v Largs Thistle, Beith v Pollok, Clydebank v Cambuslang Rangers, Glenafton v  Rob Roy, Kilwinning Rangers v Hurlford Utd, Arthurlie v Darvel, Irvine Meadow v Troon.PDM Buildbase First Division. Gartcairn v Kilbirnie Ladeside, Cumbernauld Utd v Rutherglen Glencairn, Drumchapel Utd v Bonnyton Thistle,Rossvale v  Johnstone Burgh, Blantyre Vics v Benburb,  v St Rochs v Neilston, Shotts Bon Accord v Thorniewood Utd. PDM Buildbase Second Division. Greenock v Craigmark,Muirkirk v Glasgow Perthshire,  Wishaw v Maryhill, Kilsyth Rangers v Ashfield,St Anthonys v Forth Wanderers Maybole v Yoker Athletic.PDM Buildbase Third Division. Lugar Boswell v Girvan, Irvine Vics v Royal Albert, Lanark Utd v Vale of Leven, Newmains Utd v Kello Rovers , Ardrossan Winton Rovers v  East Kilbride Thistle, Port Glasgow v Dalry Thistle,Saltcoats Vics v Larkhall Thistle , Vale of Clyde v Carluke Rovers, Bellshill Athletic v Lesmahagow. PDM Buildbase Fourth Division. Glenvale v Harmony Row, Campbeltown Pupils v Rossvale Academy,West Park Utd v Eglinton, Thorn Athletic v Kilsyth Athletic, Easterhouse F.A v St Peters, BSC Glasgow v Threave Rovers.

Regards   Jim O’Donnell

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