Willie Young

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the player who played for Torquay United, see Willie Young (Torquay United).

William David "Willie" Young (born November 25, 1951) is a Scottish former footballer.

A large, physically intimidating centre back from Edinburgh, Young first played for Aberdeen, and made 187 appearances for the Dons between 1970 and 1975. He was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in September 1975, and made 54 appearances for Spurs in two seasons. In March 1977, Young signed for Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal for £80,000.

Young immediately became a regular in the Arsenal first team, and played in all of the Gunners' trio of FA Cup finals; after losing to Ipswich Town in 1978, Young was on the winning side the following year, with a 3-2 defeat of Manchester United. In his third Cup final in 1980, Young infamously hacked down West Ham United's Paul Allen while Allen was clean through on goal. At the time, there was no specific rule against committing a professional foul, meaning Young got away with a booking, instead of being sent off; Arsenal however lost the final 1-0 after a goal by Trevor Brooking.

Young continued to be Arsenal's first choice centre back until the 1981-82 season, when he was ousted by Chris Whyte. Having played 237 times for Arsenal, the 30-year-old Young joined Nottingham Forest in December 1981 for £50,000, and played 59 times in two seasons there. In 1983 he joined Norwich City, but with injuries dogging him, he failed to secure a place in the side; short spells at Brighton and Darlington followed, before retiring from the game in November 1984.

Young left the game completely after his retirement, and after running a pub near Nottingham, now owns kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire.

Willie can occasionally be seen on stv's Scotsport.