Tributes paid as United legend Milne loses battle with demon drink
THINK back on the life and career of Ralph Milne and one moment of brilliance rises serenely above all others.
May 14, 1983, and four minutes into the greatest day in Dundee United’s history, their mercurial, brilliant No 8 picked up the ball in the centre circle in the heat of a Tayside derby. The tension was palpable.
In the days when the Premier League was a cut-throat competitive affair, United needed a win at Dens Park — of all places — to see off Celtic and Aberdeen and capture the first, and only, Scottish league championship in their history.
In the dug- out, the scowling, volcanic figure of Jim McLean patrolled his territory like an uncaged tiger. He almost smiled that day. Almost.
From the instant Milne ghosted past Dundee’s Stewart McKimmie, dragging t he ball infield, lifted his head and chipped — yes chipped — the ball high i nto the net from fully 25 yards, the title wa s effectively won. In the circumstances, under that pressure, it was an i ncredible, memorable strike now captured for posterity on YouTube.
‘I’ll always remember his goal that set us up for the win at Dens and led to us winning the title,’ said ex-team-mate Paul Hegarty last night.
‘It was typical Ralphie — cutting in with the ball at his feet and hitting that cheeky chip over the keeper. He’ll go down in United history for that goal and will be etched in people’s minds forever for it.’
At the age of 54, Milne’s death from a liver condition caused by chronic alcoholism was confirmed last night.
His story has become a Scottish footballing cliché. The brilliant, pacey, tortured talent touched by brilliance, who spent all his money on birds, betting and booze and squandered the rest. When the cheers and the smell of Liniment were no more, Milne became a slightly tragic figure.
He remains one of the finest players never to earn a cap for Scotland. McLean, with whom he had a fraught, troubled relationship, once described him as an ‘ outstanding f ailure’, despairing of his attitude and professionalism. Milne was once fined a week’s wages by McLean for leaving the gym light on.
He was some failure. That goal at Dens Park was his 21st of the title-winning season. He also won two League Cups and scored 15 goals in Europe. In 1984, United were cheated out of an appearance against Liverpool in the European Cup Final. Milne said to the end that Falcao, Roma’s key man in a semi- final defeat blighted by allegations of bribery years later, was the only man who ever got the better of him.
Gambling and alcohol — especially alcohol — were his vices. Urged to stop drinking in 2007, he was rushed to A&E, so severe was his alcohol abuse. So high were his consumption l evels his body couldn’t cope without the drink. He returned to Dundee to live in Broughty Ferry, but rumours persisted he had fallen on hard times.
‘It’s a very sad day,’ said Hegarty, his former captain at Tannadice. ‘He was still a young man in relative terms, only in his mid-50s, and that is the biggest tragedy of all.
‘Ralphie was a one-off as a player, a talisman and a guy who could change games at the drop of a hat. He had everything and he was the kind of player you’d pay money to watch because he entertained.
‘He was just the type of boy who could do something special when the team needed somebody to dig us out a hole.
‘A lot was made of our defence being solid but we had some great players in the forward areas and Ralphie was one of them.
‘We were a tight-knit bunch back when we won the league in 1983. Jim McLean used a small squad and we all backed each other up. That’s why it’s so desperately sad to learn he has passed away.’
Milne’s greatest regret was his inability to win a Scotland cap. Like Andy Ritchie of Morton, he was selected as an over-age player in one Under-21 squad by Jock Stein. That was it. When Scotland played in the Mexico World Cup in 1986, he was working in a second job in a Dundee factory to make ends meet. Milne blamed McLean for that.
‘ He didn’t manage to win a Scotland cap,’ added Hegarty, ‘but there’s no doubt he would have had the ability to play on the i nternational stage. His time coincided with Scotland having a lot of talent in the wide areas in the 80s and it didn’t happen for him.
‘But after he left United, he was signed a couple of years later by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and that tells you everything you need to know about how good a player Ralphie was.
‘Sir Alex knows a talent when he sees one. He and Jim McLean knew their football inside out and Ralphie was a player they both wanted to have in their team. That says it all.’
He earned notoriety at Old Trafford, playing just 22 games and scoring three goals.
In the Old Trafford dressing room, the pegs on either side were occupied by Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath. Temperance was never high on their list of priorities. He would sneak to Ascot without Ferguson’s permission with Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson.
Inevitably, in a regime where discipline was everything, he was branded one of Ferguson’s biggest mistakes. He made one more move after leaving Old Trafford, moving to Hong Kong to join Sing Tao after changing into a tracksuit behind a tree in London’s Green Park and launching the ball into the face of a Chinese agent. They still signed him.
In his autobiography, Milne expressed some bitterness at his treatment f rom McLean, but softened over time.
‘I have absolutely no regrets and wouldn’t change a thing,’ he said in one of his final interviews.
‘I’ve got some fantastic memories of my time as a footballer and loved every minute of it. I got the chance to play for Dundee United, Manchester United and scored some fantastic goals along the way. What more could a man want?’