Willie Young (footballer, born 1951)

Willie Young
Personal information
Full name William David Young
Date of birth (1951-11-25)25 November 1951
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death 31 October 2025(2025-10-31) (aged 73)
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position Central defender
Youth career
Seton Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1975 Aberdeen 133 (10)
1975–1977 Tottenham Hotspur 54 (3)
1977–1981 Arsenal 170 (11)
1981–1983 Nottingham Forest 59 (5)
1983 Norwich City 6 (0)
1983–1984 Brighton & Hove Albion 4 (0)
1984 Darlington 4 (0)
Total 430 (29)
International career
1972–1975 Scotland U23 5 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

William David Young (25 November 1951 – 31 October 2025) was a Scottish footballer. Playing as a centre-back, he featured for Aberdeen, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Darlington.[2]

Club career

From Heriot near Edinburgh, Young attended Ross High School in Tranent. Nicknamed "Big Willie", he first played professionally for Aberdeen, making 187 appearances for the Dons between 1970 and 1975.[3] He was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in September 1975, and while playing under Terry Neill made 64 appearances for Spurs in two seasons. In March 1977, Young once again signed for manager Neill so as to link up at Highbury with Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal.[4][2][5]

Young immediately became a regular in the Arsenal first team, and played in all of the 'Gunners'' trio of FA Cup finals;[3] after losing to Ipswich Town in 1978, he was on the winning side the following year, with a 3–2 defeat of Manchester United. Young was a runner up in the 1980 FA Cup final, where he made an infamous tackle on West Ham United's Paul Allen, and also a runner up in the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.[4][6]

Young continued to be Arsenal's first choice centre back until the 1981–82 season, when he lost his place to Chris Whyte.[7] Having played 237 times and scoring 19 goals for Arsenal, the 30-year-old Young then joined Nottingham Forest in December 1981 for £50,000, and played 59 times over two seasons there.[4][8][5]

In 1983, he joined Norwich City, but with injuries dogging him, he failed to secure a regular place in the side.[9] He then had short spells at Brighton and Hove Albion followed by Darlington before retiring from the game in 1984.[10]

International career

Young was capped five times, scoring one goal for the Scotland under-23 national team. He never played a full international for Scotland having been banned for life after an incident in a Copenhagen nightclub in 1975.[10][3][11]

Personal life and death

As a player at Aberdeen, Young worked on oil rigs during the summer to top up his earnings. He was married to Lynda; they had three children. After retiring from football he spent 19 years running a pub called Bramcote Manor near Nottingham, and then bought kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire.[11]

Young died on 31 October 2025, at the age of 73.[10][12]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[13]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aberdeen 1970–71 Scottish Division One 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 10 0
1971–72 26 3 3 1 1 0 4 0 – 34 4
1972–73 30 2 4 0 11 2 2 0 – 47 4
1973–74 34 2 1 0 10 0 4 0 – 49 2
1974–75 31 3 4 0 4 1 0 0 – 39 4
1975–76 Scottish Premier Division 3 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 – 9 0
Total 133 10 12 1 32 3 11 0 0 0 188 14
"|Tottenham Hotspur 1975–76 First Division 35 2 2 0 6 1 0 0 – 43 3
1976–77 19 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 – 21 1
Total 54 3 2 0 8 1 0 0 0 0 64 4
Arsenal 1976–77 First Division 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 14 1
1977–78 35 3 6 1 7 0 0 0 – 48 4
1978–79 33 0 10 2 1 0 6 1 – 50 3
1979–80 38 3 11 0 6 0 9 3 1 0 65 6
1980–81 40 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 – 45 4
1981–82 10 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 – 15 1
Total 170 11 28 3 20 1 18 4 1 0 237 19
Nottingham Forest 1981–82 First Division 25 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 25 1
1982–83 34 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 34 4
Total 59 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 5
Norwich City 1983–84 First Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 6 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 1983–84 Second Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 4 0
Darlington 1984–85 Fourth Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 4 0
Career total 430 29 42 4 60 5 29 4 1 0 562 42

Honours

Arsenal[4][6]

References

  1. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 0362020175.
  2. ^ a b "Willie Young". World Football.net.
  3. ^ a b c 1975 | All Change in Scottish Football, Aberdeen FC, 19 March 2020
  4. ^ a b c d "Willie Young". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Crossing the divide: players who have represented Arsenal and Tottenham". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. ^ a b "Willie Young". 11 v 11.com.
  7. ^ MacWilliam, Rab (13 August 2021). Arsenal 101: A Pocket Guide in 101 Moments, Facts, Characters and Games. Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 978-1-913538-46-0. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Willie Young". Sporting Heroes.net.
  9. ^ "Willie Young". Ex Canaries.co.uk.
  10. ^ a b c Delaney, James (1 November 2025). "Former Aberdeen and Arsenal footballer Willie Young dies aged 73". BBC News. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Aidan (28 March 2015). "'Big bad' Willie Young recalls Scotland life ban". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Willie Young | 1951–2025". Arsenal FC. 31 October 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
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