Scott Thomson Testimonial Forum

Dick and Bert return for Nipper's evening of fun with Jim McIntyre, Roy Barry, Stewart Petrie and Stevie Crawford. Story added.

On Thursday 20th March a Fans Forum was held in Legends with Scott Thomson as part of his Testimonial Year events.  Three of his Managers - Dick Campbell, Bert Paton and Jim McIntytre - formed the panel with Nipper for the first series of questions.

Dick and Bert were back at East End Park for Nipper's Testimonial night

Bert Paton was the first to pay tribute to Scott:-

"Obviously he has turned out to be a very good buy but he has seen more managers go out of here than John Yorkston has.

Dick Campbell enjoyed being back at East End Park:-

"We are on dangerous territory here tonight; I signed Stevie Crawford and Bert and I signed Stewart Petrie, and Bert and I signed Nipper - they are the three that got me the sack. Scott was playing down at Shrewsbury and the Assistant Manager was a boy called Ian McNeill. He phoned me up and said look this laddie, an Aberdeen laddie, is a right good player, sign him because he is home sick. He came to Brechin the next night and we signed him and within six or seven months we got £100,000 for him from Aberdeen which was magnificent. When we asked a £100,000 for him Alex Smith said 'it's not the full team we want' but we stuck to our guns'. We sold Paul Ritchie the next week for £90,000 so the two of them argue whose new stand that is at Brechin!

"Scott's biggest asset was his flexibility; we signed him as an inside right, then we changed him to midfield player, striker and then Jimmy Nichol turned him into a full back."

Jim McIntyre was asked how difficult it had been to change from player to manager:-

"Four months ago I was a team mate and if we went for a night out, we went out but you need to show a wee bit of distance and gradually wean yourself away from it because at the end of the day there has to be that line where the players can't cross. For myself it has just been a case of gradually doing that but also because I am still playing I do not want to detach myself too far from it either. It is just about gradual change but if you were to ask Nipper, they know who the boss is."

Testimonial Chairman, Roy Woodrow (third from left) with the panelists

Bert had a few words of advice for Jim McIntyre in answering a question on players becoming managers:-

"It is funny that you come up with that question because I was talking to Jim about it earlier. It is very very difficult when you have been a team mate of the boys that you are now going to manage. When you have been travelling through from the west as pals but then all of a sudden you have got to tell them that they are not good enough, or you have to discipline them - he has a fight on his hands and he needs all of your support."

Dick came in to comment on his route into management:-

"I was very lucky and so was Bert. We all served our time as players but we had also served our time on the coaching side of the game and as Assistant Managers. Bert was down with George Farm down at Raith Rovers before that was a coach at Lochgelly Albert. It was a process to become a football manager. I went to Rosyth and I always remember Bert saying to me 'come on Dick, come down and give me a hand.' I had a pub at the time and I said to Bert I wasn't going back but agreed to go down and give him a hand on a Tuesday night. There was me, Bert and wee Mo Hutton, the kit man here. There was three management staff but only two at the training!

"Bert is unique in terms of his management skill; he always gave me my head and just let me get on with things but he never once missed a training session. He would walk at the back of you and say 'watch that, watch Stevie the day, watch Thomson today'. It let him take a back seat and the reason why I am telling you this - Jim has just gone straight in to be a football Manager at a club that has big, big expectations. I feel for him to go from a player to take over the role as Manager of Dunfermline Football Club is a massive compliment to himself as a guy but it is a hard, hard job. He has brought in staff to help him. He will make mistakes, we all make mistakes and it can be a very lonely job at a club like this when they are not doing as well as they are expected to do. I wish him all the best.

"Football management is football management. There is one thing Jock Stein used to say to Bert:- 'you are never really a Manager until you have been sacked. My answer to that is I must be the next Jock Stein then!"

Roy Barry with Bert Paton (left) and (right) Bert with Jim McIntyre

Dick, Bert and Jim were asked which other football teams do they follow. Dick Campbell was a ball boy at Cowdenbeath and played for them under Andy Matthew for five or six years before signing for Dunfermline. But Dick felt that after playing for Dunfermline he could not go back to Cowden. Bert explained that as a Valleyfield boy the only team he could support was the Valley Bar. "If I don't support them there would be a contract out for me!"

Jim McIntyre confessed:- "I am from Dumbarton and was a ball boy at Dumbarton and I am a Celtic fan!"

The next question was whether or not he would approve of any of his penalty takers copying his semi final style?

"I have done that penalty five times now and it has worked. Once it failed in a reserve game at Airdrie when big John McVeigh was the Manager and he absolutely went through me like a dose of salt. Anybody that knows John knows he is a hardy character. If somebody copied it? Well for me your penalty taker decides how he is going to take it. For me, I wouldn't be a problem if he missed it that way."

Bert didn't know what his reaction might have been "It depends what it cost us!"

With seven goals in European competition Bert was asked to speculate when that record might be overtaken but said that you never know how things are going to pan out. He recalled his best game in Europe as the 4-0 defeat of Bordeaux: - "They were going to murder us when they got us back to Bordeaux. When we got there you come out through a tunnel along the park behind one of the goals to come on to the playing area. It was a such a rough, dirty game we decided that at the end of the game we would all meet in the middle of the park so that we would be safe in numbers going back to this tunnel but when the final whistle blew we all hot footed to the tunnel but it was a right battle and that is one I will never forget. Two or three of them were going to cut my throat that night but I am pleased to say I am still here!"

A further question to Bert on his best ever game led him to recall a Celtic match at East End Park on 19th November 1966. Nine goals were witnessed:-

"We were 3-1 up just before the half time whistle. We scored direct from a corner kick to make it 4-1 but being against Celtic it was chalked off. Celtic came back at us at 4-4 in the last minute of the game Roy Barry punched out a ball that was going into the net. Joe McBride took the penalty kick and duffed it but unfortunately our goalkeeper (Eric Martin) dived the other way and it trickled into the net. That for me was the most exciting game I have ever played in."

Scott was asked his preferred playing position and he said that he had told every Manager, including Macca, that his best position is just off the front two:- "No one will play me there but I do like centre half. That's my favourite position now because I am getting a wee bit older and slower" he joked.

Jim McIntyre was asked if he felt cheated by Gretna playing in the SPL without a stadium and with their reported financial problems?

"No I don't. Sometimes these things happen in football. Their infrastructure behind the scenes, with one man controlling things has back fired on them a bit with Brookes' illness but I do not feel that we have been cheated."

Asked to comment on the prospects of Mark Burchill and Paul Gallacher being at East End Park next season, Jim McIntyre added:-

"We are in discussions with them at the moment. They are two players that I would like to keep but we ply our trade in the First Division now and the budget is half what it was for the previous season. Finances will dictate."

Bert joked "I have missed Nipper in a few games" when asked if we regretted not signing any particular player. "I have sold players that I didn't want to sell. Jackie McNamara comes to mind. Raith Rovers had a good player at the time, a player called McAnespie and I told the Bolton scout involved in that deal that we had a better guy at East End Park. McAnespie went for £900,000 and we only got £600,000 for Jackie."

After the break and quiz Stewart Petrie and Stevie Crawford joined Nipper for some more questions.

Asked about his greatest memory as a player in all the teams you played for, Scott answered:-

"Probably when we stayed up at Dundee United. We had to go there and win.  I think it was an own goal, Mace (Gary Mason) is still trying to claim it but that was unbelievable.   It was like a home game for us with all the fans there but we went down to Kilmarnock and gave them a bit of a fright."

Scott would not be drawn into commenting on the team talk of his managers:-

"They have all been good, all been different. Willie Miller used to come in and grab you by the throat, that didn't go down too well with the boys."

Dick Campbell praised the stadium that Dunfermline have:-

"I signed for Dundee United in 1970 and I always liked the atmosphere up there. I am not a Celtic or Rangers fan either way but I love beating them especially here at East End Park. I think Dunfermline is a magnificent arena to play football, when they are playing well!"

Stewart Petrie, Scott and Stevie Crawford were asked if they would like to go into football management.  Stewart felt that there was still some pace left in his legs to continue playing. Management was something that he would like to do in the future and he had started collecting the required coaching badges. Nipper has done the Youth badges 1, 2 and 3 and will go for his B Licence in September.  "You just want to keep playing as long as you can but eventually I'd like to go into management as well. Stevie Crawford said he might not be nasty enough to be a Manager but would like to get involved at a club in the youth system.

Stewart was asked about his days in Australia after he left Dunfermline.  He described the set up with eight teams drawn from the major cities and said that it worked out "fabulous".

"When I first went out there the standard was very average. The standard has gone up every year and I'm sure that they would give the First Division teams and some of the SPL teams a run for their money."

Stevie Crawford talked about his return to Dunfermline:-

"I was at a couple of teams after I came back (to Scotland).  Some people tell you that it's treading on thin water to come back to a club that you have had a wee bit of success at.  It was a four year deal I went down for (at Plymouth) but didn't work out. Looking back on it I should probably have come back here first time but we all make mistakes.  I moved to Dundee United and then I went up to Aberdeen to join up with the two Jimmies.  I wasn't enjoying my football so I was delighted to come back to my hometown team and I am enjoying it again."

The evening concluded with numerous photocalls.