Willie Young (footballer born 1951)
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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. Infamously, during his third Cup final in 1980, Young hacked down West Ham United's Paul Allen when Allen was clean through on goal. At the time, there was no specific rule against committing a professional foul with a tackle from behind, 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 lost his place to Chris Whyte. Having played 237 times for Arsenal, the 30-year-old Young then joined Nottingham Forest in December 1981 for £50,000, and played 59 times over two seasons there. In 1983 he joined Norwich City, but with injuries dogging him, he failed to secure a regular 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, he now owns kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire. He can occasionally be seen on television as a football pundit on STV's Scotsport.
| Preceded by Jim Hermiston |
Aberdeen FC captain 1975 |
Succeeded by Bobby Clark |
