Duncan can’t believe he was once a City player
He was one of the heroes of Aberdeen’s first Premier Division title triumph yet Duncan Davidson finds it hard to believe he once played for Manchester City.
Having eased their way into the quarter-finals of the Champions League last week, the Sky Blues are now the bookies’ favourites to win European football’s biggest club prize.
And with Pep Guardiola’s stars top of the Premier League and in the last eight of the FA Cup, fans are dreaming of a glittering Treble.
As Davidson says with a laugh, it is a lot different from when he was brought to the club by Billy Mcneill, his old Dons boss, back in 1983.
“I have fond memories of being at Manchester City, it was a really friendly club,” said the 67-year-old ahead of his appearance at a Steve Archibald event in Aberdeen this week.
“However, when I look at the giants of the game they have become I do find it quite amazing to think I played there.
“Without doubt it was a very different set-up in the early 1980s.
“We played at the old Maine Road. The training pitch was a 10-minute walk away and getting there was like being in an episode of Coronation Street.
“You had all these wee terraced streets that people connect with Manchester. There was a strong Scottish connection at the time, though.
“Derek Parlane was there, Jim Tolmie who played for Morton, Neil Mcnab and Asa Hartford.
“City had won the old First Division title 10 years previously but when I was there we were in the second tier.
“When you look back and see that Chelsea and Newcastle were in the same division it tells you how times have changed.
“My last game was against Newcastle and their forward line was Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle.
“They got promoted the following year but unfortunately I had a bad injury while down there and had to give up even though I was just 30.”
Davidson found his way to Manchester by way of Toronto and Hong Kong but it’s his stint at Pittodrie, where he made up a forward line that also included Steve Archibald and Joe Harper, for which he is best remembered.
“They had a great partnership. Playing alongside them was a treat for me,” said Davidson.
“I probably did all their running for them but they got the goals and we won the league so it worked out well.
“Stevie was an exceptional player, probably underrated by a lot of people.
“He was single- minded, very ambitious and it was a good thing because it helped him get to the very top of the game.
“I got on well with him. He did not have that much to say but when he did he was very forthright so you knew where you stood with him.
“I left just after the league win. The likes of John Hewitt and Eric Black were coming through and it was starting to stop me getting as much game time as I wanted.
“Then suddenly I got the opportunity of playing abroad, something I had always fancied.
“I went to America with Tulsa Roughnecks and then Toronto Blizzard and had a great time.
“From there I had a year in Hong Kong before going on to City.”
While Guardiola’s side does not contain any Scots right now, Davidson argues that could happen in the near future with some standouts at their Premier League rivals.
“Scotland have guys going well at some of the best teams,” he said.
“We have Andy Robertson at Liverpool, Manchester United have Scott Mctominay and Kieran Tierney is going very well at Arsenal.
“Tierney has even been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona and I do think he is an outstanding player. He always impressed me when I saw him playing against Aberdeen.
“Often the modern full- backs are more interested in attacking than defending but he can do both. He is a very intelligent player.
“And when you also consider that Billy Gilmour has a future with Chelsea and the form John Mcginn has been in at Aston Villa it is very encouraging for the country.”
For tickets to see An Audience with Steve Archibald in Aberdeen at the Tivoli Theatre on Wednesday or An Audience with Steve Archibald at Easter Road Stadium on Friday 18