CHARLIE NICHOLAS

Cannonball Kid was the toast of Paradise and a London legend

Champagne Charlie came through the parkhead youth ranks and made his Celtic debut at just 17.

he quickly established himself with the hoops and was a major player as they won back-to-back titles in 1981 and ’82, along with the 1982-83 league Cup.

The teenager was PFA Scotland’s Young player of the Year in 1981 and overcame a broken leg to claim the full player of the Year and SFWA awards two years later.

Chased by top english sides, nicholas snubbed liverpool to move to arsenal in 1983 for £750,000. Just 21, he reportedly became the highest-paid player in the UK.

nicholas had just over four seasons at the gunners, coming back to haunt the anfield men with two goals in the 1987 league Cup Final.

part of Scotland’s 1986 World Cup squad, he suffered a bad injury in the opening game against Denmark that curtailed his tournament.

nicholas had a number of european options when he left arsenal, finishing with 54 goals from 184 matches, but made a surprise return to Scotland with aberdeen, lifting the league Cup in 1990 with a 2-1 victory over rangers.

nicholas also claimed the Scottish Cup that same season, netting in the penalty shoot-out as the Dons beat Celtic despite already knowing he was heading back to parkhead the following campaign.

The hoops, though, were a shadow of the side he originally played in and nicholas failed to win any trophies in his second stint.

he signed off his senior career at Clyde, with a total of 224 goals – five of those in 20 caps for Scotland. he entered the hall of Fame in 2014.