Frank McAvennie

Francis McAvennie (born 22 November 1959) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a striker for St Mirren, West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with each of these clubs. With Celtic he won the Scottish Premier Division in 1987–88 and the Scottish Cup. He was capped five times at senior level for Scotland during the 1980s, scoring one goal.

Early life

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, McAvennie grew up in Milton and attended St. Augustine's School also in Milton.

Club career

Early career

McAvennie started his playing career in Scottish Junior League football. In 1979 during an amateur game with a local side, the 200 Club, in Kirkintilloch, McAvennie, playing well, came to the attention of local scouts. He was recommended to local junior side Johnstone Burgh signing for them for a £500 fee. He completed a trial for Partick Thistle playing in a single game where he was sent on as a substitute only to be substituted off in the same game and be told by manager Bertie Auld that he would never make a career in the game of football. Before turning professional, he had joined the Territorial Army and later had trials with the British Army but was not accepted for a role with them due to his inability to hit the target during shooting practices. He also had a spell working as a road sweeper. He did not move into professional football until he joined St Mirren in 1980, at the age of 20. His league debut came in the 1981–82 season in a 4–3 defeat of Airdrieonians. Playing as a Midfielder, McAvennie scored two goals. In 1982, he was named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year. He would make 135 league appearances for them over the next five years, scoring 48 goals.

West Ham United

His strong form in Scotland attracted attention from south of the border and McAvennie had talks with Luton Town and their manager, David Pleat, in the summer of 1985. With talks progressing well McAvennie decided not to sign for Luton due to the attitude of their chairman, David Evans. With St Mirren then agreeing a fee with West Ham United, McAvennie met with their manager John Lyall and his staff and he signed for them in June 1985 for £340,000. He made his West Ham debut on 17 August 1985, the opening game of the season, in a 1–0 away defeat to Birmingham City with his first two goals coming in his second game, a 3–1 home defeat of Queens Park Rangers. Originally signed as an attacking midfielder he was played as an out-and-out striker after an injury to Paul Goddard in the opening game of the season. He would go on to keep Goddard out of the team and spark his transfer from the club the following season.
He formed a formidable partnership with young English striker Tony Cottee with McAvennie scoring 26 league goals and Cottee 20. One additional goal in both the League Cup and the FA Cup saw his tally rise to 28 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions.
In his first season, he helped West Ham to their highest ever final position in English football when they came third, just four points behind champions Liverpool. His 26 goals in the league was only bettered by Gary Lineker, who found the net 30 times for second-placed Everton.

At this time McAvennie's success on the pitch came to the attention of TV producers. He appeared on the BBC's Wogan show, hosted by Terry Wogan, an event which McAvennie claims changed his life and introduced him to a celebrity lifestyle. He is quoted as saying "''Then I signed for West Ham and money and girls were thrown at me and, hey, who was I to say no? Then I went on Wogan and it really took off. I was never under any illusions why it was happening. It wisnae because of my looks, it was because I was a footballer''."

West Ham were denied UEFA Cup action for the following season due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions, which had started a year earlier due to the Heysel disaster.
The following season was less successful as they finished 15th as McAvennie scored just seven league goals from 36 games and eleven from 47 games in all competitions. He began the 1987–88 season still at West Ham.

Celtic

McAvennie played eight games for the ''Hammers'' at the start of 1987–88, failing to score, before he moved to Celtic for a then club record fee of £750,000 on 2 October 1987. Graeme Souness had approached him to join rival club Rangers at the 1986 FIFA World Cup which would have made him the first Catholic player to play for the Protestant club, but he refused, being a supporter of Celtic. He made his debut for Celtic the following day in a 1–1 draw at home against Hibernian.

McAvennie made a slow start at Celtic and his progress was not helped when he got involved in an on-field fracas with Chris Woods, Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts in an Old Firm game in November 1987. McAvennie and Woods were sent off in the initial incident, whilst Butcher was sent off later in the game. All four were later reported to the Procurator Fiscal and appeared in court on disorder charges relating to their conduct in that game. McAvennie was found not guilty, Roberts not proven, whilst Butcher and Woods were both convicted of Breach of the Peace.

McAvennie eventually found his form at Parkhead, and his 15 goals in 1987–88 helped Celtic to a Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup