Are 'keepers bonkers? Willie Whigham certainly was.

 Taken from Stan Anderson's Captain of the North Autobiography. 

Stan was the Middlesbrough manager in the mid 60s through to 1973. 

Thankfully, I was boosted shortly after by being able to persuade Airdrie’s goalkeeper Willie Whigham to (Middles) 'Boro. He was to play a big part in the club’s climb back and he might have given Jim Platt a more challenging time for the ‘keeper’s jersey later on if he hadn’t been such a big drinker.

One of Willie’s sessions sticks in my mind. We played AS Roma away in the Anglo Italian cup in the summer of 1970.  Willie’s drinking partner, Hugh McIlmoyle,  had been given permission to miss the second game away to Lanerossi Vicenza  a week later to fly home because his marriage was in trouble, And before he went he and Willie got totally wrecked. When Jimmy Greenhalgh  went to wake Willie, he had no luck. Hours later he finally managed to rouse himself and I told him to put on his training gear.  Jimmy and I worked him as hard as any player I’ve been associated with. To his credit he never said a word and when we played Vincenza he had an excellent game. He was particularly skilled in getting down to save shots and he was a great handler of the ball.

The previous season Willie had flattened Jimmy with a ‘Scot’s kiss.’ I wasn’t bothered about the reasons; Football is a passionate game and people fall out all the time. Sometimes there’s violence involved. I told him he had to apologise; he refused and saw I dropped him for the game of Blackpool.

His deputy, Maurice Short, was a 17-year-old who benefited by making his debut in a one-one draw. Willie played the rest of the games that season. He was never fazed by who we were playing and sometimes in the days leading up to the game didn’t even know who we faced.

‘Who are we playing on Saturday?’

‘Bury.’

‘Oh great, where at?’

A few weeks later.

‘Who are we playing on Saturday?’

‘Manchester United in the FA Cup.,

‘Oh great, where at?’

Once, at Norwich, Willie made a sprawling sea from the ex-Newcastle man Albert Bennett, whose momentum was such that he stopped just in front of the ‘keeper.

Next thing I know he is chasing Albert across the pitch and I have no idea why.

 Willie and running were never suited so Albert had no problems keeping  his distance before the referee’s whistle brought Willie to his senses.

Gordon Jones ran over to explain that the Norwich man had looked down at Willie after he made the save and said, ‘ you must be the ugliest ‘keeper I have ever seen.’

Albert was lucky Willie did not catch him as he would not have looked a pretty sight himself afterwards.