Scottish footballer and sports commentator
Patrick Timothy Crerand
(born 19 February 1939) is a Scottish former
footballer
who played as a
right half
. After six years at
Celtic
, he moved to
Manchester United
where he won the
English League title
twice, the
FA Cup
, the
FA Charity Shield
twice and the
European Cup
. He also gained 16 international
caps
for
Scotland
. He is considered one of the best midfielders of his generation, possessing an extraordinary sense of sight and having a particularly prolific partnership with talisman
George Best
.
[3]
Crerand spent one season managing
Northampton Town
and has since forged a career in the media. He started on radio, and later commentated on matches for
MUTV
.
Early and personal life
[
edit
]
Crerand was born to Irish immigrants in the
Gorbals
area of
Glasgow
on 19 February 1939. His father, Michael Crerand, was from
Newtownstewart
,
County Tyrone
, and his mother, Sarah Boyle, was from
Gweedore
,
County Donegal
, where Crerand spent much of his childhood.
[4]
His father was killed on 12 March 1941 in a
German
air raid
on
John Brown's shipyard
in
Clydebank
, where he was working the fire watch on the night of his death; Crerand was two years old.
[5]
Crerand married Noreen Ferry, a Scottish girl of Irish descent, in 1963. They have three children including
Danny
, who was also a professional footballer.
[6]
He also has eight grandchildren. A cousin,
Charlie Gallagher
, also later became a footballer with Celtic.
[7]
In 2007, he released his autobiography
Never Turn the Other Cheek
.
Crerand became involved in Irish politics during
the Troubles
.
[4]
He said in his autobiography that he was a friend of
John Hume
and he had talked to
IRA
members, including
Martin McGuinness
, in an effort to resolve the rent strikes of 1975.
[4]
Crerand signed for
Celtic
, following a spell playing
Scottish junior football
for
Duntocher Hibernian
alongside future
Australia
international
Pat Hughes
.
[8]
After six years at Celtic, making 120 appearances and scoring five goals, he signed for
Manchester United
on 6 February 1963, the fifth anniversary of the
Munich air disaster
. Crerand made his debut against
Blackpool
. A hard-tackling
right half
known for his tenacity, he was also an accurate passer, creating chances for attacking players such as
Bobby Charlton
and
George Best
.
If pace was not one of his attributes, pugnacity was: "Where I was brought up, you had to be able to run or fight, and you know about my running," he once told a journalist.
[9]
His pugilistic skills, as well as accurate passing, were much appreciated by his teammate George Best who was frequently the target for some rough treatment by opponents, especially in European matches. At such times, Best recalled: "I always looked around for Paddy Crerand. He's not a dirty player but he's a case-hardened tough Scottish nut when it comes to a fight."
[10]
Crerand helped United to the league championship in 1965 and 1967 and won the
1963 FA Cup final
and
1968 European Cup final
. He represented the
Scotland national side
on 16 occasions
[11]
and the
Scottish Football League XI
.
[12]
Crerand was inducted into the
Scottish Football Hall of Fame
in November 2011.
[13]
In 1967, Crerand was involved in an incident which led to a change in the International Laws of Association Football. On 13 May 1967, Stoke City visited Old Trafford to play Manchester United. Crerand had an altercation with Peter Dobing of Stoke, which was dealt with by referee Pat Partridge by holding Crerand close, such that his head was over the referee's shoulder. Unknown to the official, TV cameras picked up Crerand spitting over his shoulder at opponent Tony Allen. Crerand and Dobing were cautioned for their confrontation. Partridge later received a letter from the Football League, asking for his observations on the incident. Partridge was unable to respond with conclusive evidence, but nevertheless the International Board changed the Laws of the Game to put spitting on a par with violent conduct and therefore a dismissible offence.
Crerand retired from playing in 1971, having appeared in 401 games. He became a coach at Manchester United and was assistant manager under
Tommy Docherty
in December 1972. However, Docherty added
Frank Blunstone
and
Tommy Cavanagh
to his coaching team soon after, and Crerand was sidelined. Crerand left Old Trafford in 1976 and was manager of
Northampton Town
in 1976?77. He covered Manchester United matches on local radio in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Media career
[
edit
]
Today, he appears regularly on
MUTV
, Manchester United's television channel, as a co-commentator on its coverage of all Manchester United first-team and reserve matches, as well as appearing as a pundit on the phone-in show 'The Paddy Crerand Show", where he receives calls from supporters and discusses all things Manchester United. Crerand had previously summarised United matches for
Piccadilly Radio
in the 1990s before joining MUTV.
In February 2009, Crerand was part of the Manchester United contingent that visited
Malta
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Malta Manchester United Supporters' Club, the oldest supporters club in the world. During this visit, MUTV and Crerand provided local fans with the opportunity to form part of the audience for his phone-in show.
In 1995, Crerand supported
Eric Cantona
during the time of his infamous
kung-fu
kick on
Crystal Palace
fan Matthew Simmons. Both before and after this incident, Crerand became known for being a 'cheerleader' for the Old Trafford club in media. Speaking in October 2014, former United captain
Roy Keane
criticised Crerand and
Bryan Robson
for being biased towards the club in their media work.
[14]
Keane cited an incident where Nani had been sent off in a Champions League tie against Real Madrid which Keane believed was a correct decision, but Crerand and Robson had believed was incorrect.
[14]
[15]
On 10 December 2012, Crerand had a hostile reaction during an interview on
BBC Radio 5 Live
, where he was asked about
Rio Ferdinand
being struck by a coin from the home crowd during the previous day's
Manchester derby
.
[16]
Career statistics
[
edit
]
International appearances
[
edit
]
National team
|
Season
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Scotland
[17]
|
1961
|
7
|
0
|
1962
|
4
|
0
|
1963
|
1
|
0
|
1964
|
?
|
1965
|
4
|
0
|
Total
|
16
|
0
|
Honours
[
edit
]
Manchester United
Scotland
Individual
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Pat Crerand"
.
Barry Hugman's Footballers
. Retrieved
7 March
2017
.
- ^
Ronnie McDevitt (2016).
Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s
. Pitch Publishing.
ISBN
9781785312458
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
White, Jim (29 September 2007).
"Man Utd diehard Paddy Crerand still kicking"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London.
- ^
a
b
c
"Crerand met with IRA"
.
Derry Journal
. Johnston Publishing. 4 September 2007
. Retrieved
14 November
2011
.
- ^
Crerand, Paddy; Mitten, Andy (2007).
Never Turn the Other Cheek
. London: HarperSport. pp. 1?2.
ISBN
978-0-00-724761-5
.
- ^
"Sons and Daughters"
. Bob Dunning. Archived from
the original
on 31 August 2010
. Retrieved
11 September
2010
.
- ^
McGuirk, Brian (2009).
Celtic FC ? The Ireland Connection
. Black and White Publishing.
ISBN
9781845022488
.
- ^
Fowlie, Brian (15 November 2015). "Aussie Scots got a Korean lesson in boiling Cambodia".
The Sunday Post
. Dundee, United Kingdom. p. 12.
- ^
McIlvanney, Hugh (1996).
The Best of McIlvanney on Football
. IPC Magazines & Mainstream Publishing.
- ^
Parkinson, Michael (1975).
Best: An Intimate Biography
. Hutchinson.
ISBN
0091234204
.
- ^
"Pat Creand ? The Donegal Influence at Celtic"
.
Association of Donegal Celtic Supporters Clubs
. Archived from
the original
on 10 October 2008
. Retrieved
28 May
2007
.
- ^
"SFL player Patrick Timothy Crerand"
.
London Hearts Supporters' Club
. Retrieved
27 November
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Pattullo, Alan (14 November 2011).
"Pat Crerand and Terry Butcher among new boys in Hall of Fame"
.
The Scotsman
. Johnston Press
. Retrieved
14 November
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Taylor, Daniel (22 October 2014).
"Roy Keane takes aim at Manchester United's old boys 'mafia'
"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
18 May
2018
.
- ^
"Paddy Crerand hits out at Keane over Nani red card"
. BBC Sport. 6 March 2013
. Retrieved
18 May
2018
.
- ^
"Paddy Crerand in radio outburst over Manchester derby coin-throwing incident"
. The Scotsman. 10 December 2012.
- ^
Pat Crerand
at the
Scottish Football Association
- ^
Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977).
Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977?78
. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 490.
ISBN
0354 09018 6
.
- ^
Association, The Football.
"The website for the English football association, the Emirates FA Cup and the England football team"
.
thefa.com
. Retrieved
18 May
2018
.
- ^
Edwards, Glyn (30 May 1968).
"Manchester United win European Cup in extra time"
.
The Glasgow Herald
. Retrieved
23 October
2014
.
- ^
Horne, Cyril (16 April 1962).
"England beaten at Hampden Park"
.
The Glasgow Herald
. p. 9
. Retrieved
23 October
2014
.
|
---|
2004
| |
---|
2005
| |
---|
2006
| |
---|
2007
| |
---|
2008
| |
---|
2009
| |
---|
2010
| |
---|
2011
| |
---|
2012
| |
---|
2013
| |
---|
2014
| |
---|
2015
| |
---|
2016
| |
---|
2017
| |
---|
2018
| |
---|
2019
| |
---|