From rejection to putting one over on Pele
GoldEN yEARS
Hearts have been busy trimming their squad, with players heading to places as diverse as Atlanta and Arbroath.
Alan Welsh left Tynecastle for England 54 years ago, without ever kicking a ball for the club.
He was dismayed not to get a chance to prove himself with his boyhood heroes.
But he was embarking on a football journey that included defeating Pele and taking on Manchester City in a League Cup semi-final.
His time in English football only came to an end after 12 years when a manager took exception to him controlling the ball with his backside!
Alan recalled: “I was one of 15 children in an Edinburgh family and was thrilled when I heard that Hearts wanted to sign me from Edina Hibs.
“I was still a schoolboy when my father took me to meet the manager, Tommy Walker, at Tynecastle. I was Hearts daft.
“While I was in his office, I looked down and realised I had my shoes on the wrong feet. I made sure he didn’t see that because I feared it would put him off signing me.
“Hearts sent me to train with junior team Bonnyrigg Rose, but I never played for them.
“I trained with them twice a week and would then get £2.50 in a wee brown packet.
“One day I came home and was introduced to Millwall manager Billy Gray.
“I had no idea where Millwall was, but I was told he was signing me as a professional.
“I signed the form and was put on a train to London.
“It was quite daunting to arrive in a dressing room with players like Alex Stepney and Eamon Dunphy when you were only 17.
“I hadn’t known it at the time, but my future brother-in-law, Billy Neil, had been playing at Bonnyrigg and was now at Millwall.
“Another Scot, Tommy Wilson, showed me how to tie the laces on my boots properly and then told me to put my feet in a bucket of hot water.
“He said I had to shrink my boots to fit and once they were tight, I’d be able to strike the ball wherever I wanted.”
Two years later, Alan moved on to Torquay United and his career caught fire.
He said: “Frank O’Farrell was the manager, but he was soon on his way to Leicester.
“I had great days playing with guys like John
Bond and Ken Brown. Our Scottish goalie, Andy Donnelly, became a great friend of mine.”
Alan scored 45 goals in 146 appearances at the Gulls – impressive figures for a winger.
A five-year spell was ended when Plymouth Argyle made a successful bid for his services. He went on: “It was the best thing I ever did. “We played against Pele’s team – Santos of Brazil – not long after I joined.
“We beat them 3-2 in front of 40,000 fans at Home Park. It was an amazing occasion.
“Then there was a great run in the League Cup. We made it all the way to the semi-final.
“I think one of my greatest nights came in the fourth-round against QPR at Loftus Road.
“I scored two in a 3-0 win and really terrorised their defence. We lost the semi-final against Manchester City in the second leg at Maine Road.”
That was Alan’s last game for Argyle before being sold to Bournemouth.
He said: “I never really felt at home there. Harry Redknapp was a team-mate but things were going badly at the club.
“We were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Wycombe Wanderers.
“We were playing a friendly in Tunisia when I was asked if I wanted to go back to Millwall.
“I had another spell there in a promotionwinning season.
“A team-mate, Frankie Saul, encouraged me to practise controlling the ball with my backside in training.
“We did it in a game against Cardiff and the manager, Gordon Jago, fined me a week’s wages. That was my last outing for them.”
Alan, now 72 and living in London, played in South Africa with Cape Town City before returning to the UK to work in the building trade.