Ernie McGarr - the interview

Former Pars keeper claims "If we had the gloves that the guys have nowadays, most of us would still be playing!

Goalkeeper Ernie McGarr was guest of honour in hospitality at the recent home match against Airdieonians. Ernie was signed by Manager Alex Wright in January 1971 from Aberdeen. He explained that a two to three year run in the Dons first team came to an end when Bobby Clark got back into the Aberdeen team and Gerhard Nief was signed from Rangers as back up.

"I asked for a transfer and I think I was away within a fortnight" said Ernie who prior to that had displaced Clark so much that he had been playing centre half in the Aberdeen reserves.

"I knew that I had to seek pastures new. Bobby Clark was the first player that Eddie Turnbull had signed for Aberdeen because both of them had been at Queens Park together."

Two Scotland caps recognised McGarr's abilities. He continued:-

"It was terrific, the first one was a friendly in Eire. I was also there at the time of the Home Internationals - I was reserve goalkeeper for three of the games. I followed the cap against Eire with one against Austria in a World Cup Qualifying game.

"I have only recently received a cap because at that time you had to play three times in Home internationals before you got a cap. They abolished that after 1975 and now they get one cap for every game. I got mine two years ago, 40 years later. It was a great day, I had to go to Hampden with my family to meet Mark Wotte and Campbell Ogilvie, it was a day to remember."

When Ernie McGarr arrived at Dunfermline he displaced John Arrol who had lost form at that time. Ernie recalled his colleague:-

"John was a good goalkeeper. It was the same effect me coming here as Bobby Clark displacing me. John had lost a bit of confidence in the same way as I had. I knew at Aberdeen that I had to move on."

In 1971 few realised that Dunfermline were on a slide that proved difficult to recover from. The problems did not lie in defence or between the sticks but similar to 2014-15 season just past, in scoring goals.

"The defence was solid at that time. Willie Callaghan, Jim Fraser, John Cushley - these were household names at that time. To come into the dressing room on my first day and meet Bertie Paton, John Lunn, Hugh Robertson and Pat Gardner was fantastic."

A highlight of his time at Dunfermline was a Scottish Cup tie against Celtic:-

"We drew 1-1 at Parkhead when nobody gave us a chance. I am sure that it was an ex Celtic boy Joe McBride who scored while playing for Dunfermline that day. We then lost 1-0 here but it was packed."

Avoiding relegation was to be the major achievement in 1970-71 and in an attempt to alter fortunes the Pars turned to youth.

"I think his hands were tied. He had to bring in these players because some of the boys were reaching an end to their career. Jim Wallace, Barry Mitchell, Jim Scott and other young boys were relied upon because the coach Willie McLean had been deeply involved with their development."

In pre season 1971 Ernie played in the Dunfermline side that lost 3-1 to West Ham but he recalled the famous opponents:-

"Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, Harry Rednapp played. That game had something to do with big Cushley coming back from West Ham."

John Arrol won his first team place back during 1971-72 season but manager Alex Wright left in February of that season.

"Alex was too nice a guy but George Miller came in. George was quite an extrovert but I think he got more good out of the young boys. Alex Wright was more of a disciplinarian, through his tongue George got the best out of some of the players."

Relegation did occur at the end of 1971-72 and a certain Mr Leishman never tires of describing the highlight of the season, winning at Ibrox against a team that with only one change to its starting line up was to defeat Moscow Dynamo in the European Cup Winners Cup final only days after.

"Was that the game he scored? I wasn't playing in that game but he never lets us forget that. When I was staying in Glenrothes we used to pick Leish up in Lumphinnans in the morning."

Alex Wright made comment at the time that like Bobby Clark, Ernie McGarr could have made a good outfield player and that he was a particularly talented header of the ball. Ernie explained that all started at Aberdeen in bounce games.

"Eddie Turnbull got us out of the goals, Bobby Clark played centre half and I played centre forward. They wanted us to see how it worked outfield and be able to read the game from a goalkeepers perspective. Eddie was a marvellous coach."

McGarr left the Pars in 1972-73 and was to play with East Fife until 1977. One game there is a favourite of all the Methil faithful of the era. Ernie continued:-

"In a game against Celtic I saved three penalties. Two of them were proper stops but the third one went over the bar. I would like to say that I got a touch to it but if the truth be told I didn't."

A swap deal for John Hughes took Ernie to Cowdenbeath after that where Frank Connor was the manager at that time - another George Miller according to Ernie. Airdrie and Berwick Rangers completed his senior career before going junior with Oakley United where his centre half was former Celtic hero George Connolly.

"He got himself down from fifteen and a half stone to eleven and a half stone and he was terrific. Over my career I played with some really great players. At Largs I was in a squad including Eddie McCready, Charlie Cooke, Billy Bremner, Willie Henderson, Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone, Alan Gilzean it goes on and on. That was the squad I was with for a fortnight. The other goalkeeper was the flying pig.

"Stand out for me was a player that Aberdeen signed from Hungary, a guy called Zoltan Varga. This guy was terrific, truly an amazing player. He never joined anybody in the warm up, he just ran up and down the side of the stand. He never touched the ball but what a player."

Would you have changed any of your career?

"It has been good to me. I got on well with all the players, there were never any cliques. I wouldn't change any of it for a minute."

The development of goalkeeping gloves has made a big difference to the keeper's ability in the modern game claimed Ernie:-

"If we had the gloves that the guys have nowadays, most of us would still be playing! These gloves are unbelievable because the ones that we got issued with were just cotton and when they got wet you had to strap them to your wrists. There was nothing else."

Related Stories

• Captaincy is big thing for Geggs
• Cammy McClair - Interview
• Lothian 68 goes to town
• Royal Bengal Sponsor the Match