Willie Young (footballer, born 1951)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William David Young | ||
| Date of birth | 25 November 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Central defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1970–1975 | Aberdeen | 133 | (10) |
| 1975–1977 | Tottenham Hotspur | 54 | (3) |
| 1977–1981 | Arsenal | 170 | (11) |
| 1981–1983 | Nottingham Forest | 59 | (5) |
| 1983 | Norwich City | 6 | (0) |
| 1983-1984 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 | (0) |
| 1984 | Darlington | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 430 | (29) | |
| National team | |||
| 1972–1975 | Scotland U23 | 5 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
William David "Willie" Young (born 25 November 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.[1]
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.
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 never played a full international for Scotland having been banned for life after an incident in a Copenhagen nightclub in 1975.[2]
Young left the game completely after his retirement, and after running a pub near Nottingham, he now owns kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire.
References
- ↑ "Willie Young". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
- ↑ "Nightclub Incident". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 September 2015.