FERGIE’S TRIBUTE TO PAL ‘ SPUD’
John was club Hall of Famer
Tributes poured in this week after the death of Ayr United’s record appearance holder, John ‘ Spud’ Murphy.
The legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, a former team- mate of Spud’s at Somerset Park, led the praise for his old friend.
The United Hall of Famer, who played at full- back, pulled on the black and white for an incredible 459 league appearances. Fergie told the Post : “John was a very solid human being who deserved everything he got from the game.
“He served Ayr United very well and was just a really great guy.
“He was my dearest friend at the club.”
Former Scotland boss, Craig Brown, added: “He was the best full- back of that era not to be capped.”
Sir Alex Ferguson has led the tributes to Ayr United legend John Murphy who died on Thursday aged 77.
Fergie, who finished his playing days at Somerset Park in 1974, described Spud as his dearest friend at the club.
Murphy, who made a record 459 league appearances between 1963 and 1978, has been hailed as the best one club man never to be capped for his country.
Fergie recalled how he and Spud used to sit in the front seats of the Ayr team bus and regale the younger players with great stories.
He told the Post: “John was a very solid human being who deserved everything he got from the game.
“He was a great player who opted to spend his whole career with one provincial club when others moved from team to team.
“He was a very competent full- back who was difficult to play against.
“He had good pace and overlapped well. He served Ayr United very well and was just a really great guy.
“We always sat together at the front of the team bus, he and I on the left side and Ally MacLeod on the right.
“All the young players would gather round and he would tell them some unbelievable stories.
“He was my dearest friend at the club. I took him on to my scouting staff at Aberdeen for six years and kept in touch with him and his wife Margaret.
“I was shocked when I heard the news as I spoke to Margaret only last week and there was no indication.”
When Spud was inducted into the Ayr Hall of Fame in 2007, Fergie sent a moving video tribute to the gathering.
Sanny McAnespie was a team- mate of Spud for 15 years and used to travel regularly with his close friend.
He revealed: “We lived only two miles apart – I was in Knockentiber and Spud was in Crosshouse.
“Spud loved a wee bet on the horses. When he went into the bookies, I would keep watch outside waiting for the team bus to arrive and then would run inside to get him so that we were never late.
“He was one of the best players in Scottish football who sadly never got international recognition.
“He played against a lot of top wingers like Jimmy Johnstone, Willie Henderson and Willie Johnston and when they came to Ayr, they knew they were in for a game.
“Spud didn’t have a weakness, he was very quick and a great tackler.
“We both signed for Ayr around the same time, he in 1963 from Darvel and me a year later from Craigmark.
“We stayed together all our careers before being released in 1978 after three years in the Premier Division.
“Spud was the best leftback in the country and players who played against him would say that.
“Managers come and managers go but Spud went nowhere. He stayed at Ayr because he wanted to.”
Former Ayr skipper Jim McSherry said he couldn’t remember Spud ever having a bad game.
He recalled: “Spud was a master of the sliding tackle which needed impeccable timing. I don’t recall anyone ever getting the better of him.”
Former Scotland boss Craig Brown remembers Murphy as an outstanding opponent and person.
He said: “When I was assistant at Motherwell, I loved games against Ayr as I lived in the town.
“Spud was arguably the best and most consistent player in a very good Ayr team.
“He was the best full- back of that era not to be capped.”
Ayr were a struggling club and in danger of going out the game in the early days of Spud’s career but things took off with the appointment of Ally MacLeod.
Spud went to form a great full- back partnership with Dick Malone, who later won a FA Cup medal with Sunderland.
He was rewarded with a testimonial against Danish club Aarhus in March 1975, with Ayr winning 4- 1.
Spud was not a prolific scorer, managing only 10 goals in his 15 seasons, but undoubtedly his best remembered is an audacious 40- yard lob to beat Aberdeen 1- 0 on November 29, 1975.
Ironically, it was on Ally’s return to Somerset Park only a month after he had left to manage the Dons.
John Murphy, who was born in Wishaw, spent his last days in Crossgates Care Home in Kilmarnock.
H e i s sur vived by wife Margaret, d a u g h t e r Yvonne, son J o h n a n d g r a n d s o n John.
Margaret’s wishes are that his ashes are scattered at Somerset
Park.
John was my dearest friend at the club Alex Ferguson