|
At 6 feet 3 inches, sandy-haired Willie Young cut an imposing figure
when Spurs paid £100, 000 to Aberdeen for him in September 1975.
Although the Edinburgh-born defender lacked finesse, he was already a
Scottish international and settled quickly into the heart of the Spurs
defence. Young made his debut in September's 1-1 draw at Leeds United.
This was 1 of 5 consecutive draws before Willie first appeared in a
winning Spurs team, a 3-2 victory at Leicester on October 25th. The
giant defender's first goal for his new club came a week later in a 2-1
home win against Wolves. Young appeared in 35 of the league games
throughout the 1975-76 campaign, his first taste of the North London
derby coming in a goalless draw at White Hart Lane in late September.
Willie notched his 2nd strike for the club, opening the scoring in a 5-0
home win over Sheffield United in March. This match came in a run that
had seen Spurs win 5 consecutive league games, including a 2-0 win at
Arsenal.
In Young's first season, Spurs finished 9th in the table.
Willie stood tall and strong in 6 of Spurs League Cup games. The Scot
opened the scoring, in extra-time, in Spurs 2-0 4th round replay win at
West Ham United. The quarter-final produced a 7-2 home victory over
Doncaster Rovers but Newcastle United ended Young's chances of a Wembley
final, beating Spurs 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final. Terry Neill's
departure in June 1976 led to his number 2 Keith Burkinshaw being
installed as manager. Willie played only 19 games in the league and 2 in
the League Cup for Spurs in 1976-77, his only goal coming in a 2-2 draw
at home to Arsenal on December 27th. In March 1977, having made only 54
league appearances for Spurs, the new Arsenal manager Terry Neill
signed Willie Young for the second time, for a fee of £80,000. (Tony Smith)
|