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Fullname: William Fernie
aka: Willie Fernie
Born: 22 November 1928
Died: 1 July 2011
Birthplace: Kinglassie (Scotland)
Height: 5ft 7″
Signed: 12 October 1948; 6 Oct 1960
Left: 1 December 1958 (to Middlesborough); 24 November 1961
Position: Midfield/Forward
Debut: St Mirren 0-1 Celtic, League, 18 Mar 1950
International: Scotland
International Caps: 12
International Goals: 1
Reserve team coach: 1967-73
Biog
| “In the early 1950s we were all fans of Willie Fernie, so to eventually get to play in the same team as him as a youngster and then go on to be coached by him was terrific.”
Billy McNeill, former team-mate of Willie Fernie
|
Signed for the Bhoys in October 1948, he would go on to make in excess of 300 appearances during a Parkhead career in which he firmly established himself as a Celtic favourite and great.
Prior to joining Celtic, when Willie Fernie played his first junior game he broke his jaw after just 30mins of the game. It was said that the only enquiry of concern for the young Fernie, came from a Celtic representative (Pat Duffy the Celtic Scout scouting at the game). This stuck with Willie Fernie, who had no prior affection for the club but when he got the chance to join the club he jumped at it. The representative will marvel at just how valuable that note of concern was to be for us all.
Nominally an inside-forward, Willie Fernie moved to Glasgow from ‘Leslie Hearts‘ and eventually made his first team competitive debut in a 1-0 league victory at St Mirren on 18th March 1950. Over time he displayed a remarkable versatility which saw the club deploy him as a right half, inside forward and outside left as the need arose.
The squat and stocky Willie Fernie was a wonderful football talent with a great touch and the crowd pleasing ability to beat opponents with his fantastic dribbling skills. On his game Willie Fernie was simply unstoppable. He also displayed a remarkable versatility which saw the club deploy him as a right half or outside left as the need arose.
He possessed a powerful shot but more often than not his excellent vision meant he would provide the ammunition for his team mates rather than go for glory himself. He would often cut inside from out wide, leaving defenders in his wake, before delivering an inch perfect pass for a team-mate to score.
A tireless runner Willie Fernie gave 100% until the final whistle by which time opposition defenders would be at the point of exhaustion at having to track the hard working Celt. His wonderful talent with a football made the Fifer a huge favourite with the Celtic support but also a marked man with the opposition who would regularly treat Fernie to excessively rough treatment. It was a credit to the Celt that he never retaliated to the often vicious fouls employed to stop him.
Despite his talent, the club generally underperfomed not helped by a meddling board and a decent but powerless manager. Things could have been so much greater at the club when you look at the talent that was there such as Willie Fernie.
There is little doubt that without the brilliance of Willie Fernie such iconic Celtic triumphs as the 1953 Coronation Cup victory, 1954 league and cup double and the back-to-back league cup triumphs (including the 1957 League Cup final 7-1 rout of Rangers) would simply not have been possible.
The high mark? The double is surely the greatest achievement, but the most celebrated game for him was the 1957 League Cup final, scoring a penalty and many put him as the man of the match.
For Willie Fernie, Celtic was literally family for him. His wife Audrey Fernie, was secretary to manager Jimmy McGrory (she passed away in Oct 2010).
Willie Fernie made 317 Celtic league & senior cup appearances and scored 74 goals, and is fondly remembered by those who knew him well at Celtic.
Internationals
At the international level, Willie Fernie’s efforts in Celtic’s double-winning side earned him promotion to the full Scotland team, having previously represented the B team and the Scottish League. He made his debut against Finland and was selected in the squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He played in both matches in Switzerland as Scotland capitulated in the first round.
He remained in the international framework for the next four years and was again selected in Scotland’s World Cup squad, for the 1958 finals in Sweden. He played only one match, his final international, as Scotland again exited in the first round. In total, he won 12 Scotland Caps.
Post-Celtic
This immensely popular figure eventually left Celtic Park for Middlesborough in December 1958 (where he played alongside future managerial legend Brian Clough) but returned for another year to Celtic in October 1960 before departing for St Mirren in November 1961. He was to be appointed Celtic reserve team coach in June 1967 by appointment of Jock Stein, a measure of how highly Willie Fernie was held. He helped to bring along the careers of many a great player.
He later moved to Kilmarnock to become their manager. There were some great achievements during his tenure and he was well respected by the other managers in the league and the public in general, but was unceremoniously dismissed in 1977. He then gave up involvement in football as a whole to be a taxi driver which was a loss to the sport taking in his experience.
Passing Away
He passed away in July 2011, and his loss was mourned by Celts young and old. He had been suffering from Alzhiemer’s disease for the last decade.
Notably, Willie Fernie died on the first day of the seventh month, or as the Americans might put it: 7.1.11. His funeral service was even on the 7th. In death as in life, he will be eternally tied to that immortal 7-1 victory over Rangers from 1957, and for that we will forever remember him fondly.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1948-58 &1960-61 | 219 | 39 | 59 | N/A | 317 |
| Goals: | 54 | 10 | 10 | – | 74 |
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Celtic hero Willie Fernie passes away
By: Joe Sullivan on 01 Jul, 2011 11:58
Celticfc.net
CELTIC legend Willie Fernie had sadly passed away at the age of 82 after fighting Alzheimer’s disease for more than a decade.
Willie scored 74 goals in 317 appearances for the Hoops after signing from Leslie Hearts in his native Fife in 1948 and played with the Hoops for 10 years before moving on to Middlesbrough in 1958…
But the wishes of the Celtic support were heeded by the board and the striker returned in 1960.
His tenacity in front of goal was crucial in lifting the Coronation Cup, winning the league and Scottish Cup Double of season 1953/54 and the capture of two successive League Cups which included, of course, Willie netting the all-important final goal in the last minute of 1957’s historic 7-1 victory over Rangers.
He also played a key role in the development of the younger players at that time – the youngsters who would go on to become the Lisbon Lions.
Billy McNeill said: “This is very sad news but I know that Willie had been ill for quite some time.
“He really was a terrific player who we all looked up to when we were young footballers and a lot of the ideas he put into training helped us immensely.
“He was a very fit man and put everything into training and when he eventually went into coaching, that helped us further as he was quite a hard trainer.
“His training regime instilled in us all a will to do our best on the training ground as well as on the pitch on a matchday.”
Billy added: “In the early 1950s we were all fans of Willie Fernie, so to eventually get to play in the same team as him as a youngster and then go on to be coached by him was terrific.
“His play in taking on men and making space for the strikers in the middle was fantastic and he was a true hero of the supporters in the 1950s.”
Funeral details will be announced in due course and the thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic Park are with the family of Willie Fernie at this sad time
Former Celtic player Willie Fernie dies aged 82 BBC
Page last updated at 12:22 GMT, Friday, 1 July 2011 13:22 UK
Fernie managed Kilmarnock between 1973 and 1977Former Celtic player Willie Fernie has died at the age of 82 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Fernie scored 74 goals in more than 300 games in two spells at Celtic in the late 1940s, ’50s and early ’60s.
A Scotland international who played in two World Cups, he moved to Middlesbrough in 1958 before returning to Celtic and then joining St Mirren.
After moving into coaching with Celtic’s reserve team, Fernie became Kilmarnock manager in 1973.
“In the early 1950s we were all fans of Willie Fernie, so to eventually get to play in the same team as him as a youngster and then go on to be coached by him was terrific.”
With Killie he won promotion to the new Scottish Premier Division in 1976.
Former team-mate Billy McNeill told the Celtic website: “This is very sad news but I know that Willie had been ill for quite some time.
“He really was a terrific player who we all looked up to when we were young footballers and a lot of the ideas he put into training helped us immensely.
“He was a very fit man and put everything into training and when he eventually went into coaching, that helped us further as he was quite a hard trainer.
Fernie spent most of his career at Celtic, making over 300 appearances
“His training regime instilled in us all a will to do our best on the training ground as well as on the pitch on a matchday.
“In the early 1950s we were all fans of Willie Fernie, so to eventually get to play in the same team as him as a youngster and then go on to be coached by him was terrific.
“His play in taking on men and making space for the strikers in the middle was fantastic and he was a true hero of the supporters in the 1950s.”
Fernie played in the same Boro team as Brian Clough and a spokesman for the English club described the Scot as a “wonderful dribbler” and also expressed “sincere condolences to his family”.
© 2011
Scottish football mourns the death of Willie Fernie, 82, a Celtic legend
The Scotsman
Published Date: 02 July 2011
WILLIE FERNIE, who died at the age of 82 yesterday, was one of the most talented and highly-respected players produced by Scotland in the country’s footballing boom period after the Second World War.
A forward of tremendous pace, innate ball control and outstanding tactical awareness, Fernie was one of Celtic’s greatest players, winning every major domestic honour with the Parkhead club during the 1950s. Capped 12 times by Scotland, Fernie played at the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1958.
He is also fondly remembered at Middlesbrough, where he spent almost two years as an effective foil for a precocious young striker by the name of Brian Clough, and at St Mirren, who he helped reach the 1962 Scottish Cup final in the latter stages of his playing career.
Fernie later moved into coaching as part of Jock Stein’s backroom staff before becoming a manager in his own right at Kilmarnock, guiding the Rugby Park club to two promotions before his sacking in 1977 which brought a sour end to his time in professional football.
A native of Kinglassie in Fife, Fernie had unsuccessful trials with Raith Rovers and Aberdeen before being spotted playing for local club Leslie Hearts by Celtic scout Pat Duffy in 1948. He signed for Celtic in October that year but had to wait until March 1950, at the age of 21, to make his first-team debut in a 1-0 league win against St Mirren at Love Street.
It was not until the 1952-53 season that Fernie established himself as a first-team regular, his performances earning the approval of the Celtic support, none more so than in the Coronation Cup Final against Hibs at Hampden when he set up both goals in a famous 2-0 win.
That success was the springboard for the league and Scottish Cup double triumph the following season, with Fernie contributing 13 goals. Although inside forward was seen as his optimum position, Fernie was equally effective as an out-and-out winger, where some of his more spectacular displays saw the press pack hailing him as “Scotland’s Stanley Matthews”.
He made his senior international debut in a 2-1 win over Finland in Helsinki just before the 1954 World Cup finals in Switzerland, where he played in both of Scotland’s games, including the infamous 7-0 loss to Uruguay in Basle.
Fernie remained part of the Scotland set-up, however, scoring his only goal in dark blue colours in the 2-2 draw against Wales at Ninian Park in October 1956.
At Celtic, his influence was especially potent in one of the club’s most celebrated triumphs, the 7-1 drubbing of Rangers in the 1957-58 League Cup final.
Deployed in the more withdrawn role of right-half, Fernie was acclaimed by many observers as the man of the match as Celtic tore their Old Firm rivals to shreds at Hampden. He scored the seventh goal in the final minute, according to some reports deliberately striking the ball against Rangers goalkeeper George Niven’s bunnet which had been placed inside the right-hand post at the Mount Florida end.
Fernie made his final appearance for Scotland at the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden, appearing in the 3-2 defeat against Paraguay in Norrkoping and, in December that year, Celtic sold him to Middlesbrough for £18,000 in a deal which helped fund the installation of new floodlights at Parkhead.
He made 68 appearances for the Teesside club, where his skill and vision was much appreciated by captain and prolific centre forward Clough, before returning to Celtic in a £12,000 move in October 1960. His second spell at Parkhead was short-lived, however, and after a total of 317 appearances and 74 goals for the club, Fernie moved to St Mirren for £3000 in November 1961.
He scored on his debut in a 3-0 win against St Johnstone and four months later netted the opener in a 3-1 Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Celtic at Ibrox. Fernie played in the final, which St Mirren lost 2-0 to Rangers.
He was given a free transfer by the Paisley club in 1963 and wound down his playing career with brief spells at Alloa, Fraserburgh, Coleraine and Bangor before hanging up his boots at the age of 36 in 1965.
Fernie was recruited to the Celtic coaching staff in June 1967 and spent six years in charge of a reserve side which developed talents such as Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain and David Hay.
In October 1973, he was appointed manager of Kilmarnock and immediately oversaw an unbeaten 16-match run. Fernie’s Killie lost the Second Division title by two points to Airdrie but nonetheless earned promotion to the top flight at his first attempt. Just two points short of a top-ten finish in 1974-75, Kilmarnock missed out on Premier Division football under league reconstruction, but Fernie led them to another promotion in 1976. Immediate relegation followed 12 months later, however, and, in October 1977, Fernie was controversially dismissed.
A disillusioned Fernie became a taxi driver and never returned to senior football. In recent years, he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He died peacefully at Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary yesterday. Predeceased by his wife Audrey last year, Fernie is survived by four sons.
Former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill, who regarded Fernie with great reverence as a young player, led the tributes to him. “In the early 1950s, we were all fans of Willie Fernie,” said McNeill. “So to eventually get to play in the same team as him as a youngster and then go on to be coached by him was terrific.”
“His play in taking on men and making space for the strikers in the middle was fantastic and he was a true hero of the supporters in the 1950s.
“He was a very fit man and put everything into training and, when he eventually went into coaching, that helped us further as he was quite a hard trainer. His training regime instilled in us all a will to do our best on the training ground as well as on the pitch on a matchday. This is very sad news but I know that Willie had been ill for quite some time.”
The Herald
CELTIC’S STANLEY MATTHEWS – WILLIE FERNIE
David W Potter treats Timdom yet again with a profile of one of Celtic’s great players, though a player that was sadly underestimated by many. Willie Fernie was described as “Celtic’s Stanley Matthews” and Celtic fans that were privileged enough to watch Willie Fernie will agree this to be a fitting description of the Fife Bhoy’s talents.
Willie Fernie was a player of the old school. He was a dribbler, a craft that even in the 1950s was beginning to die out. But he was an expert at it, and could do other things as well. He could pass, tackle, had a fair turn of speed and could take a goal when required. He played in the 1950s a time when Celtic had loads of great players – Collins, Peacock, Tully, Evans – but did not have a great team, such was the shambolic disorganisation that prevailed at Parkhead at the time.
Willie Fernie was born in Kinglassie, a mining village in Fife , in 1928. These were hard times, and you really had to be tough to survive in the brutal football that existed in the mining communities of that time. It was with a juvenile team called Leslie Hearts that he cut his teeth. “Cut his teeth” is perhaps an inappropriate metaphor, because in the Scottish Juvenile Cup Final of 1948 at Easter Road, he was carried off with a broken jaw but had played well enough to convince a Celtic scout to come to visit him in hospital, and he signed soon after.
After a year or two in the reserve side and being farmed out occasionally to the Kinglassie Colliery side, Fernie made his debut at Love Street, Paisley, at the end of the 1949-50 season. He soon had the pleasurable experience of winning a Glasgow Charity Cup medal against Rangers in May 1950. But he realised that he would have to work at his game, and it would be some time before he became a regular.
By season 1952-53, he was fairly regularly in the first team, his form as sporadic as the rest of the team. Yet Jimmy McGrory and Bob Kelly were convinced that there was talent here, and the big break came when Charlie Tully was injured before the Coronation Cup Final of May 1953, and Willie was called up for this tremendous occasion.
From then on, he never looked back, and the League and Cup double of 1953-54 was won by Willie Fernie as much as by anyone else. He played at inside right and although he scored 13 goals, it was the way that he could make goals that really impressed everyone. His classic was the goal that he made in the Scottish Cup Final of 1954 for Sean Fallon to finish off. It was claimed with a touch of romantic hyperbole in an Irish newspaper that “the shamrocks burst forth on the banks of the Shannon ” to applaud such Fernie brilliance.
At the end of the season, Willie was given the first of his 12 Scottish caps, and then he was picked to travel to the disastrous World Cup of 1954. Like most on that dreadful experience, he was given the bullet as far as International honours were concerned, but such was the quality of his Celtic performances that Willie came back, and was one of the few Scottish players to return from the Sweden World Cup of 1958 with his reputation enhanced. He played in only one game in Sweden , but had done so much in the qualifying games that he deserved more employment than that.
For Celtic, he played in the two unhappy Scottish Cup Finals of 1955 and 1956. 1955 was unlucky, but 1956 was the game in which Fernie simply did not perform. In a clear indication of how much Fernie meant to Celtic, the team visibly collapsed around him as he simply had a bad game. He may have found this frustrating, but he kept on with his task and his best moments in a Celtic jersey were still to come.
On Hallowe’en 1956, he inspired Celtic to their first ever Scottish League Cup Final victory over Partick Thistle. Then, the following year, now playing at right half and part of the immortal half back line of Fernie, Evans and Peacock, Willie played his glorious part in the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers in the League Cup Final, scoring the seventh goal with a penalty kick.
Had Willie been at Parkhead when Jock Stein was Manager, the team would have won the European Cup more than once, for he was a superb player. There was little that he could not do on the field, being dubbed “Scotland’s Stanley Matthews” and threatening to usurp the title “It’s Ma Ba” from McKenna of Partick Thistle of a decade earlier. With Bobby Collins and Charlie Tully playing alongside him, Celtic were indeed rich in players of natural talent, and were a joy to watch.
But things change. Celtic embarked on a youth policy and Fernie was one of those sold off, in his case to Middlesbrough on December 1 st 1958, to make way for the ill thought out shambles that was to be Celtic in 1959 and 1960, and also to help pay for the floodlights. He was on Teeside for less that two years, yet Boro fans still talk of his halcyon days there, along with the abrasive but talented Brian Clough.
The Celtic fans were distressed at his departure, but in October 1960 Fernie was brought back to be an “auld heid” for the youngsters. He took them to the Scottish Cup Final, but the result was the tragedy of Dunfermline ‘s victory of 1961, something that distressed Fernie intensely. There was to be yet another cause of pain for Celtic fans when Fernie was off loaded for the second time – to St.Mirren in the autumn of 1961. Then Willie helped the Buddies to beat Celtic 3-0 in that disgraceful Semi Final of 1962.
Willie then dabbled in the minor reaches of Scottish and Irish football for a few years, before returning yet again to Parkhead, soon after Lisbon , to be a reserve team coach under his old friend Jock Stein. He thus deserved a great deal of credit for the development of McGrain, Dalglish, Hay, etc. He was Manager of Kilmarnock from 1973 to 1977, but after his dismissal, gave up football in favour of driving taxis.
Those of us who saw Willie Fernie play saw a genius. It remains a tragedy that Celtic did not exploit this awesome talent to a greater extent than they did. One League medal, one Cup medal and two League Cup medals is a poor yield for such a prodigious input from this essentially quiet and shy man from the backwoods of the Fife coalfield.