Charlie Nicholas
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| Charlie Nicholas | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 30 December 1961 | |
| Place of birth | Glasgow[1], Scotland | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1980-1983 1983-1987 1987-1990 1990-1995 1995-1996 |
Celtic F.C. Arsenal F.C. Aberdeen F.C. Celtic F.C. Clyde F.C. Total |
74 (48) 151 (34) 78 (30) 114 (37) 31 (5) 448 (154) |
| National team | ||
| 1983-1989 | Scotland | 20 (5) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Charles "Charlie" Nicholas (born December 30, 1961) is a former Scottish professional football player. He started his career with Celtic, making his debut in 1980, at the age of 19. He had a superb 1982-83 season which saw him score fifty goals and win the Scottish Footballer of the Year and Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year awards.
Nicholas had the envious choice of being offered a contract at Liverpool F.C and Manchester United F.C. He had interviews at both clubs. The Scottish players at Liverpool at that time were trying their best to persuade Nicholas to join them. Nicholas later stated in his autobiography that turning down Liverpool was the biggest mistake of his career.
He moved to Arsenal in June 1983 for £800,000. However, Nicholas did not live up to the hype surrounding his move;[2] for all his skill and ability, his workrate let him down[citation needed] and his lifestyle in the capital was the subject of much tabloid speculation, earning him the nickname "Champagne Charlie"[3]; he only scored 11 goals in his first season (although two were a memorable brace against Tottenham in the North London derby). Nicholas barely broke double figures in the following seasons,[4] and fell out with Arsenal's new manager George Graham with the latter's arrival in 1986.[citation needed] Despite scoring both goals in Arsenal's 2-1 League Cup final victory over Liverpool in 1987, Nicholas was dropped at the start of the 1987-88 season in favour of Perry Groves.[citation needed] In all he scored 54 goals in 184 matches for the Gunners.
He was sold to Aberdeen in January 1988 for £400,000,[5] and rediscovered his form before returning to Celtic in 1990. He played briefly with Clyde before retiring in 1996. He won a total of 20 caps for Scotland, scoring 5 goals.
He now earns a living as a pundit on the Sky Sports News programme Soccer Saturday and as a part-time newspaper columnist. However, his forthright views on Scottish football, particularly the national team during Bertie Vogts' ill-starred managerial tenure, have earned him many enemies, amongst players.[specify][6]
He currently lives in Newton Mearns with wife Nancy and their daughter.
[edit] References
- ^ CHARLIE NICHOLAS at the Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
- ^ BBC Sport: Were you there?
- ^ Arsenal's A to Z: N is for...
- ^ 1986-1987 Remembered: George Graham’s Arsenal win the League Cup
- ^ Arsenal.com On this day in...
- ^ McFadden attacks Sky's Nicholas for criticism of team
| Preceded by John MacDonald |
Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 1981 |
Succeeded by Frank McAvennie |
| Preceded by Paul Sturrock |
Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year 1983 |
Succeeded by Willie Miller |
|
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