Andy Young RIP - Raith Rovers legend

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There are Raith Rovers supporters of a certain age who insist that, while Willie McNaught was undoubtedly a fine footballer, deserving of more Scotland caps than the meagre five he collected, their favourite Rovers player was Andy Young. Versatile, consistent, enduring and a match-winner, in all but pace he was the complete footballer. It is no accident that the golden years of the club’s history coincided with Andy Young’s sixteen years at Stark’s Park.

There have been few more effective players in the club’s history than the former miner from Oakley. He was comfortable in any position, such was his all-round ability, and outstanding in midfield or attack. He had no weakness and only the lack of genuine pace prevented him from dominating the international scene, as he did the domestic.

To everyone’s astonishment, he did not receive a representative honour. One can only speculate how many caps he would receive in the present day, and he probably suffered from the belief amongst selectors than one Raith Rovers player in the team was sufficient.

A powerful header of the ball, with a blistering shot as a variation of a deft touch, he was a consistent goalscorer through his long and loyal service to the club as a player.

Born on 21st June 1925 in the Fife mining village, he attended Blairhall School alongside future footballing luminaries Tommy Wright of Sunderland and George Niven of Rangers. He came to prominence, firstly at Wellwood Juveniles, and then at Steelend Juniors. At 17 years of age he was recommended to Celtic, played a trial for them at Dumbarton and signed for them, along with Bobby Evans, after the game.

During his two year spell at Celtic he made regular first team appearances but was hampered by the demands of his day job - he had to combine playing football with working in Blairhall Pit, which often meant working a night shift followed by travelling to Glasgow or places like Aberdeen to turn out for Celtic – and they talk of players being tired nowadays.

It was all the travelling which forced Young to leave Celtic, and to go on loan to Raith Rovers in February 1945, making his debut in a 2 – 1 Northern League defeat to Arbroath. He signed permanently for Raith in September that year and over the next sixteen seasons he would play in every position for Rovers, including a twenty minute stint as goalkeeper.

But it was in the half back line that Andy Young would make his name, firstly as part of the Ernie Till, Young and Tommy Brady partnership that would win the Second Division Championship and finish runners up to Rangers in the League Cup Final in 1949. The partnership of Young, Harry Colville and Andy Leigh in the early part of the 1950’s, and latterly the even more famous Young, McNaught and Leigh trio were to serve Raith well in an era where the Kirkcaldy club were one of Scotland’s leading lights, and the half back line revered throughout the country.

About his career and the game in general in the Fifties, Young once commented, “There wasn’t much by way of tactics or changing positions during a match when I played. If things weren’t going right in a match, no-one thought about how they might change the formation or anything like that. You were picked for your ability to play in a certain position, and you went out and played as well as you could. One wing half would be looking to attack - that was normally me - and one would stay back, and that was Andy Leigh. Andy said one day “Youngie, you stay back today, I’m going up to get a goal.” It was shooty-in, we attacked non-stop that day, but Andy couldn’t score. I went up front with ten minutes to go and got a goal. He said to me “Ya ****, you’ve beaten me today again!

“There can be little doubt that the three wing halves, myself, McNaught and Leigh, would have won many caps for Scotland had we played for a more fashionable team. Andy Leigh got a representative cap against the Army at Newcastle, and McNaught got a handful of caps, but I got no further than being a reserve. We were as good a defensive unit as there was in the game at the time, but never got the international recognition we deserved. I often wondered why I was never picked. I watched as players were selected who were no quicker than me, and certainly not as good all round footballers. I could score goals and others who were picked couldn’t.”

The highlight of the 50’s golden era was undoubtedly the 5 – 1 destruction of Rangers at Stark’s Park in December 1956. It was the peak of the greatest Raith team in 30 years and for a while they looked genuine championship contenders, eventually finishing in fourth place, their highest position since 1922, and one that has not been bettered since.

In all, Andy Young played 611 times for Raith Rovers, his last appearance being a Fife Cup tie against Dunfermline Athletic in May 1960. Only Willie McNaught has played more games in the Raith’s history while Young scored an incredible 141 goals. Not bad for someone who would nowadays be called a defensive midfielder....

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