Queen’s Park take on Airdrie United at Firhill in the First Round of The Scottish Communities League Cup tomorrow at Partick Thistle’s Firhill Stadium due to the on-going use of the National Stadium at Hampden for the Olympics.
Whilst the game may be on unfamiliar territory, Spiders' Head Coach, Gardner Speirs, and Diamonds' boss, Jimmy Boyle, are on familiar territory with their opponents.
Speirs was born in the Lanarkshire town and was a regular when Airdrieonians played at Broomfield whereas Boyle began his senior career at Queen’s Park and scored his first goal for them in the Scottish Cup at Parkhead.
Speirs said: “My whole family comes from Airdrie and going to Broomfield to watch football is a childhood memory of mine from before I was 10. I was a huge football fan when I was growing up and I would drag my Dad there as opposed to waiting until I was asked.”
The Spiders' Head Coach's memories are definitely stuck in the 1970s as he said: “I used to really enjoy the old Texaco Cup ties that were in place before they became the Anglo Scottish Cup. I remember seeing a Manchester City side that included Colin Bell play Airdrie as well as watching Nottingham Forest and Derby County play there.
“Broomfield was a great football venue and I always felt that there were huge crowds at these games and it was a real thrill to see players you had only seen on TV before. At that time, I would be placed on the barriers to watch the game in amongst what I felt was tens of thousands of people.”
Airdrieonians, of course, reached the Scottish Cup Final in 1975 with Speirs saying: “I was at the Semi-Final and the replay when we defeated Motherwell but I never got to the Cup Final against Celtic as I was playing football myself that day.”
Speirs easily picked out some of his heroes from the Diamonds side of that time recalling: “Drew Jarvie, Drew Busby and Derek Whiteford were great players in that side . I eventually played alongside Drew Jarvie at St. Mirren in the early eighties and it was great to do that. Of course, I worked alongside with him when I was the Assistant Manager at Aberdeen as well.”
Speirs graced the Broomfield playing surface himself as a youngster as he explained: “I played in the Airdrie Schools Cup Final which was a big event at the time as we were playing for the oldest football cup competition of its type in the world. It was an Under-14s tournament and we won it and not only did Derek Whiteford hand over the medals, another player, Paul Jonquin, was there . That was a huge thrill for us all.”
An opportunity to play at Broomfield more often came along soon after however, Speirs was not able to take it as he explained: “Not long after that Final, Airdrie got in touch and offered me the chance to become a schoolboy signing. It was too late as Sir Alex Ferguson had signed me as a 13-year-old for St. Mirren and by that time, I was committed to them.”
After a 13 year long association with the Paisley side and a brief spell with English side Hartlepool United, Speirs eventually became an Airdrieonian for a short spell as he explained: “I was actually there at the same time as their coaching team of Jimmy and Alan Lawrence. Owen Coyle was also there as was Paul Jack who was on their coaching staff until recently.
“I remember a cup tie up at Inverness which we lost in a penalty shoot-out where I think I scored my one and only goal for Airdrie.”
Eleven years after Speirs played for them, Airdrieonians went into liquidation and members of his family were part of the consortium that came in to ensure football carried on in the town with the formation of Airdrie United.
Speirs said: “That was an important thing to do as I am sure that there were some youngsters at that time who were as football daft as I was and wanted to see football played in Airdrie.”
Speirs has crossed swords with Airdrie United as a coach as he explained: “I would have been up against them when I was the Manager of Ross County and then Queen’s Park faced them in one of my first League games in charge back in early 2008. They won that won 2-0 and that was our last competitive meeting.
“Since then we have played each other in pre-season friendlies and in bounce games so I am looking forward to a competitive game again. We won 3-1 down at Largs last month but that does not mean anything now and we know it will be really tough.”
Speirs added: “Airdrie are a First Division side now and will be out to show that they are ready for the League kicking off. They achieved a great result at Hamilton last Saturday in the First Round of The Ramsdens Cup so they will be going into it in confident mood.
“If we win, I am not sure what kind of a welcome I will get the next time I am in my home town.”
Jimmy Boyle’s career has gone in the opposite direction to that of Gardner Speirs as he started at Queen’s Park and is now in Lanarkshire although it had a very exotic stop in-between due to the Hampden side’s tie up with fellow amateurs Middlesex Wanderers.
Boyle explained the start of his journey saying: “I first game to Queen’s Park back in 1985 when I was just 16-years-old and had only just left school. Malky MacKay Senior brought me in from Celtic Boys Club and after a bit of a discussion about where I should play, I started working towards being in the first team.
“I was a striker with my school team and was a full-back with Celtic. Malky saw me as a full-back and so did the Queen’s coach Eddie Hunter and that is where I started playing at Queen’s.”
Boyle started off in the club’s Under-18 team however, first team action was not far away as he explained: “I got a phone call on the Saturday morning from Eddie and told I was playing at Stirling Albion that day. It was on their old plastic surface at Annfield and I must have done okay as I stayed in the first team thereafter.
“I was in the first team for the next three and a half seasons and had a great time. I played in a good side with the likes of Kenny Brannigan, Ian McCall, Mark Smith, George Crooks, Gary Fraser, Ross Caven and Stevie Ross in goal.”
Boyle was not long in making a name for himself as he explained: “About half a dozen games into my career, we played Celtic at Parkhead in a Scottish Cup tie and we were awarded a penalty in the second half. It was decided before the game that I would take them which was a strange decision as I had just got into the team.
“It was great that the boys had that confidence in me. I took it and scored, it was my first senior goal, and what a feeling that was. Celtic hit back with Roy Aitken and Brian McClair scoring to send them through.”
Boyle and team-mate Crooks were soon on their travels as the full-back explained: “Queen's had a very close relationship with English side Middlesex Wanderers and we were invited to join them on an end of season tour. It was in Sumatra in Indonesia and was an incredible experience for a young player to get.
“I also went with them to Hungary and Holland and they were great trips. Playing with Queen’s Park and these trips gave me a fantastic grounding in the game.”
The amateur ethos that Queen’s Park and Middlesex Wanderers stick to left a mark on Boyle who said: “No-one got paid anything apart from expenses but that did not stop you working hard. Every season we had to rebuild as well because various players would leave. In my first season, eight guys moved on but you rebuilt and got on with enjoying it.”
Boyle went on to play for Airdrieonians, Partick Thistle, Livingston, Alloa Athletic, Cowdenbeath and Airdrie United before joining their coaching staff.
Since taking over the managerial reigns from Kenny Black a couple of years ago, the clubs have met frequently in friendly encounters with Boyle saying: “We meet in pre-season and usually a couple of bounce encounters throughout the season. They are always tough games but good games of football and this one will be no different.
“They were very unlucky not to be promoted last season and they will be out to have a good season to make up for it this season. They beat us at Largs a month ago when we were both starting our pre-season training so we know we cannot treat them lightly.”
The Diamonds, of course, defeated Hamilton Academical 1-0 last Saturday thanks to a goal from Willie McLaren and Boyle enjoyed it especially as it was the first time a major component of his new look side had played together.
Boyle explained: “We had David Lilley and Cameron McDonald in defence but everyone else was new with Kenny Arthur in goal and Michael Hart as well as Marc Warren making their debuts as full-backs.
“They did well and if I was being picky, I would say that we did not do enough going forward so there is more to come from us. I am still looking for another couple of bodies to come in and hopefully, I can do that before the League season starts."
As for the League season, Boyle has a simple aim following the rapid promotion of his side to the First Division as he said: “It is going to be tough in the higher division and I would take eighth place now. We have a lot of work to do to get there but eighth will do me right now.”
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