Willie Irvine (footballer, born 1956)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Irvine | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Whitburn, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1972–1975 | Celtic | ||
| 1975–1977 | Fauldhouse United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1979 | Alloa Athletic | 54 | (17) |
| 1979–1982 | Motherwell | 121 | (49) |
| 1982–1986 | Hibernian | 88 | (25) |
| 1986 | → Falkirk (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Ayr United | 20 | (6) |
| Total | 291 | (97) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Willie Irvine (born 26 May 1956) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Irvine, a direct, left-sided forward, started his senior career with Celtic, but failed to break into the first team.[1] After playing in junior football for a spell, he signed for Alloa Athletic.[1] His play for Alloa quickly attracted the attention of Motherwell, who paid £25,000 to Alloa for his services in 1979.[1]
Irvine had a successful spell with Motherwell, as he was their top scorer with 21 goals during their promotion season of 1981–82.[1] Like his manager Davie Hay, Irvine left Motherwell soon after that success, choosing to join Hibs.[1] Irvine was also initially successful with the Edinburgh club, forming a strike partnership with Bobby Thomson that led to him being the second top goalscorer in the Scottish Premier Division in 1983–84.[1] After this, however, Irvine enjoyed less success, and he was loaned out to Falkirk before joining Ayr United.[1]
References
- Willie Irvine at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
- Jeffrey, Jim (2005). The Men Who Made Hibernian F.C. since 1946. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3091-2.
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Use dmy dates from December 2016
- Use British English from December 2016
- Articles without Wikidata item
- 1956 births
- Living people
- People from Whitburn, West Lothian
- Footballers from West Lothian
- Association football forwards
- Scottish footballers
- Celtic F.C. players
- Alloa Athletic F.C. players
- Motherwell F.C. players
- Hibernian F.C. players
- Falkirk F.C. players
- Ayr United F.C. players
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish Junior Football Association players
- Fauldhouse United F.C. players