A Tale of Two Managers

Former Pars players become consecutive managers of what is arguably the biggest football club in the world - M

Dunfermline Athletic has made the news a lot in recent times, but not always for the best of reasons. However this past week has provided a story that has brought the nationals asking just what was it about the Pars that has seen their former players become consecutive managers of what is arguably the biggest football club in the world - Manchester United.

We've covered the Alex Ferguson story many times, and although he was associated with other clubs, specifically Aberdeen and Manchester United, for a lot longer than any time he spent here, he has always had a soft spot for the Pars. And why shouldn't he? After all, it was at East End Park that he went on record-breaking form, scoring 45 goals in season 1965/66, among which was a record (which remains unbeaten to this day) of 31 league goals in a season in the top league.

It was here that he got his first taste of the joys of European football, and in those days Dunfermline were no Euro pushovers. In fact, in the two seasons he did compete in Europe for the Pars, Dunfermline's progress was halted only by the teams that eventually won the competition.

It was something that clearly whetted his appetite for the future. It was here that he got his first international recognition, firstly playing for the Scottish League against the English League in March 1967, and then being selected for the Scotland Tour of the Far East, Australia and Canada in 1967. It was here that he played full-time football for the first time, and it was here that he gained his first coaching certificates to put him on the road to management. And finally it was here that he felt the elation of reaching a major Cup Final for the first time, to then feel the pain of finding out with less than an hour to go before kick-off that he had been dropped from the team.

Three years ago in his introduction to our book The 125 Greatest Pars of All Time, Sir Alex wrote in relation to his playing career and his time at Dunfermline that, "?there is no doubt that those were the happiest days of my footballing career." We'd like to think that it was here at East End Park that Sir Alex developed the skills, the character and the temperament that helped him to become the person, who in many eyes, is the greatest football manager of all time.

Replacing the Irreplaceable

The man who has the unenviable task of replacing him at Old Trafford was, like Sir Alex, a Dunfermline Athletic player for three seasons, although the circumstances surrounding his arrival were very different. In the summer of 1990, Dunfermline had been in turmoil following the sacking of Jim Leishman to be replaced by the much less popular Iain Munro. One of Munro's first tasks was to shape the team the way that he wanted it, and on 21st August 1990 he signed David Moyes, a 27 year old central defender who had experience of playing in the lower leagues in England.

David's career began promisingly - he was on Celtic's books from the age of 12 before signing professional forms at age 16. By the time he was eighteen he had made his Celtic debut, in remarkable circumstances replacing the injured Danny McGrain in a European Cup match against Juventus. While at Parkhead he played against Dunfermline in a League Cup tie in 1982 which Celtic won 6-0. However, the dream was not to last and in October 1983 he signed for Cambridge United, then a second tier team in England. After that followed three years at Bristol City during which he had two trips to Wembley for the Freight Rover Trophy Final, and two and a half years at Shrewsbury Town, before joining the Pars. In England, Moyes had been made captain of all three teams that he had served, even then an indication of the leadership qualities he possessed.

Perhaps because of the mood in the camp at the time, Moyes' arrival did not meet with universal acclaim and he found himself at the end of the fans' anger after some poor performances. He alluded to this in an interview with The Pars Programme in March 1991:
"There were so many upheavals when I arrived, and I knew I had replaced popular players like Grant Tierney and Doug Rougvie. It also took me time to adjust - maybe I tried too hard. It's not nice for any player to be barracked, but I feel things have got a lot better."

Unfortunately things didn't really get a lot better. In his first season he missed just one game but Dunfermline finished eighth in the Premier League (out of ten) in a fairly forgettable season. The following season Dunfermline failed to win a league game until 20th November when David Moyes scored the only goal to defeat Falkirk at Brockville. By then manager Iain Munro had long-left, sacked in September to be replaced by Jocky Scott.

The one positive distraction Dunfermline did have was a League Cup run that, thanks to a 4-1 win (in which Moyes scored) over today's opponents Alloa, good victories over St Mirren and Dundee United, followed by a very fortunate semi-final win against Airdrieonians, led to a Cup Final appearance, the Pars first since the 1960s, against Hibs in October 1991. Despite the fact that Moyes possibly had his best game in a Pars shirt at the Final, Dunfermline lost 2-0. In many ways, it provided the kick in the teeth that players and fans didn't want, and the rest of the season was played out meekly accepting relegation. The Pars biggest problem had been scoring goals, and the fact that Moyes finished the season as top goalscorer with just five league goals says it all.

So it was into the First Division for the Pars but due to injury David Moyes didn't kick a ball in earnest until October 1992. Everyone assumed that with quality players like George O'Boyle, Billy Davies, Hamish French and Neale Cooper, it would just be a matter of time before Dunfermline won the title. However it didn't work that way and with three games to go till the end of the season, Dunfermline needed to defeat Cowdenbeath at East End to have any chance promotion. Moyes didn't play, the Pars lost 2-0 and Jocky Scott departed.

Bert Paton came in as the Pars new manager but David played just one game under him - a 3-2 league defeat to Falkirk in the first match of the season on 7th August 1993 - when he departed for Hamilton Accies, now managed by Iain Munro. He had made 117 appearances for the Pars, scoring 14 goals.

In some respects, it felt like a slight to Pars fans that he had departed for a club that was not as highly ranked as Dunfermline. It seemed even stranger that he had turned down a move to Preston North End in England to go to Accies. The trick however, was that Moyes had been offered a Player/Coach role with Hamilton. Possibly before his arrival at Dunfermline but certainly during it David Moyes had had a fascination for coaching so at the age of 30 he was already plotting his future path.

Like Ferguson before him, Moyes used his time at Dunfermline to get into coaching. He was prepared to travel around the country to get to courses, and by all accounts from his contemporaries, he was a tremendously hard worker. On the pitch he was a good leader and he was later able to transfer that to his work with players. So while in playing terms Moyes career at Dunfermline was modest perhaps in comparison to Ferguson's, it still provided the basis for him to plan out his own future.

And what a future that turned out to be. He moved quickly from Hamilton to Preston still as a player and spent five years there before taking over as Manager from Gary Peters. He took Preston from being a struggling club in Division Two to winning the league then taking them to the First Division play-offs the following season. In March 2002 he took over from Walter Smith at Everton and has enjoyed a fantastic period of consistent success at Goodison, culminating in a season just ended where despite his much lower budget than rival clubs, has taken Everton to the top six in English football.

We wish Sir Alex a very happy retirement, and David every success with Manchester United. And by the way, please bring a team to East End Park!