David Alexander Provan (born 8 May 1956) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. While playing for Celtic, Provan won four Premier Division medals, two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. He earned ten international caps and scored one goal for

, and was a non-playing member of their

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

squad. Provan also represented the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

. Provan retired in 1987 after he began to suffer from ME. He has since worked in the media.

Playing career

Kilmarnock

Provan began his senior career at

in 1974, having signed from

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

. In his four years at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...

, A Winger, Provan's skill and prowess in crossing at pace saw him make 139 appearances at Kilmarnock, scoring 10 goals in total. Provan played an integral part in two of Kilmarnock's three promotion achieving seasons in the 1970s (1973/74, 1975/76), and played at the start of their third, 1978/79. His form for Kilmarnock in the mid 1970s saw him capped at

Under 21 Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet * Under (restaurant) ...

level by Scotland in an away match against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in October 1976. In 1978 Provan played for the Scottish League Select in a match against their Italian counterparts in Verona. The same year, he also shone for Killie in their shock Scottish Cup 4th round replay win over Celtic. This was the first time that a club from a lower division had knocked out the holders of the Scottish Cup.

Celtic

New

manager,

Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish football player and manager. He had a long association with Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, manager and club ambassador. McNeill captained Celtic's 'Lisbon Lio ...

signed Provan in September 1978. The transfer fee of £120,000 was at the time a record in Scottish football. He grew up supporting Rangers and his teammates would joke about this while he played for Celtic. Provan quickly established himself in McNeill's revamped Celtic side, scoring his first goal against Hibernian at Easter Road on 18 November 1978. In May 1979 Provan won his first major winner's medal as Celtic clinched the Premier Division by defeating Rangers 4–2 in the last game of the league season. The following year Provan was voted SPFA Player of the Year by his fellow professionals. Provan was proving to be a huge success at Celtic and his distinctive long curly hair, jersey hanging over his shorts and socks down at his ankles made him - visually alone - a standout figure on the field of play in Scotland. Provan went on to win a further three League championships with Celtic (1980–81, 1981–82 and 1985–86), along with one

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

(1982) and two

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

). The latter Scottish Cup saw Provan write himself into football history, becoming only the third player at that time to score direct from a free kick in a Scottish Cup final. Celtic had been a goal down to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

at the time, and following Provan's equaliser went on to win 2–1. The start of season 1985–86 saw Provan in exceptional form for Celtic, resulting in intense media speculation that a recall to the Scotland international side was on the cards. However, Provan had to be substituted during a 3–0

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

defeat at Ibrox in November due to illness. This turned out to be M.E. -

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

- a long-term condition that leaves the sufferer extremely lethargic and unable to perform much in the way of physical activity. Provan made several attempts at rehabilitation but eventually made the decision in the summer of 1987 to retire from playing football. His last game was coming on as a substitute against

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

in January 1986. A testimonial was arranged for Provan, and in November 1987 Celtic played

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

in front of 42,000 fans, losing 3–1.

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

made a guest appearance for Celtic, with Provan playing for the first eight minutes.

Scotland

Provan's success at Celtic saw him capped for

10 times. He made his debut against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in November 1979, scored against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in a 3–1 win at Hampden in a 1982 World Cup qualifier, and was part of

Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...

's 22-man squad for the

finals in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

although he did not actually play.

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

(Nottingham Forest),

Davie Cooper Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David. It can refer to: Surname * Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...

(Rangers) and

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

(Aberdeen) competed with Provan for an international place.

Media work

Since his retirement as a player, Provan has worked in the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

as a pundit and co-commentator for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. Since the 2012–13 season, he has been one of the main co-commentators on Sky's coverage of the Premier League, Champions League and Scottish Professional Football League. Provan was also a columnist for several years for the Scottish edition of the now defunct ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'' and now writes for its sister paper, '' The Sun''.

Personal life

Provan is married to Fiona and the couple have two daughters, Kelly and Anna.

Honours

Club

Celtic *

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) Th ...

: 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1985-86 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Individual

* Scottish PFA Player of the Year: 1980

References

External links

* * *
Podcast of interview of Davie Provan by Harry Brady, published at The Celtic Underground on 18/06/2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provan, Davie 1956 births Living people Scottish footballers Scotland international footballers Kilmarnock F.C. players Celtic F.C. players 1982 FIFA World Cup players People from Gourock Scottish association football commentators Association football wingers Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Scotland under-21 international footballers People with chronic fatigue syndrome Footballers from Inverclyde Port Glasgow F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players