John Thomson
Previous
Clubs: Cambuslang Rangers J.F.C. Morrison YMCA
Last
appearance for the Rovers:
T.B.C.
Honours with Morriston YMCA:
Scottish Amateur Cup Winner 1977, Runner Up 1975
West of Scotland
Cup Winner 1975, 1978
West of Scotland AFA:- First Division Champions 1973,
1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979.1980
Honours with Cambusbarron Rovers:
Stirling & District AFA
Mathieson Challenge Cup Winner 1983
Caledonian League
League Cup Winner 1984
John
Thomson is commonly regarded, as far as Cambusbarron Rovers people are
concerned, as one of the best midfielders ever to play for the club. A clever
and skilful player with loads of confidence and
fearless, John played in the very successful Morriston YMCA in the
seventies winning a host of medals with this club in the West of Scotland
League. He played for the Morriston side that were beaten by Star Hearts in the
final of the Amateur Cup in 1975, a match incidentally that was played on a
Saturday night following an Old Firm cup final that afternoon. He signed for
Cambuslang Rangers that year but moved back to the YM in 1976 He was back at
Hampden to win the Scottish Cup in 1977 and was a main player in the side that
year which knocked the Rovers out in the Semi Final at Cumbernauld Juniors
ground.
In
1975 & 1978 he was part of the
Morriston YM team that won the West of Scotland Cup.
On the
way to winning the West of Scotland Cup in 1981 the Rovers were drawn in the
first round away to the YM and won 2-1 at Cambuslang. After the match the
Rovers Secretary, Gary Grahamslaw, noted
from the team lines that John was now living in Cumbernauld. On telling
Frank Beattie who was a big fan of John, they decided that at the end of that
season they would set out to get JT to the ‘Barron. Gary
contacted him and when he asked him if he wanted to sign, John said,
“You are too late I am going to sign for Bannockburn mate”. This rocked the Rovers
Secretary but he was relieved when he realised John was only joking and he came
through the next night and signed for the Rovers.
John was to go on and give many years of fine
service to the club and became great friends with the one and only Rab Taylor.
John used to chauffer Rab to training and on match days and being a Celtic man
and Rab a Gers fan, there was some good natured banter between them. John
played for the Rovers for ?? years but when he
moved house through to Uddingston, the travelling was becoming a problem and he
moved back to play with the YM. He came back and helped the Rovers out on many
occasions and was always a well respected player and played his last game for
the Barron in 1991.
Due to injury John retired from playing in
1993 and has built up a successful electronic security business since moving to
England
in 1994. His home is in West Yorkshire,
where he lives with his wife Lorraine
and their two girls Keri Ann and Emma, whom he says, keep him busy when he is
not away on business. He has, this year, joined his local Golf Club and hopes
to bring his handicap down by playing regularly.
John
said “I loved my time at Cambusbarron. They are a great club with a
marvellous set up and of course, at that time, they had the main man in big
Frank Beattie. The camaraderie among the lads was first class and I have great
memories of the Rovers, especially of Rab (Taylor), Big Bobby(Shields), Geordie(Miller),
Ding(S.Dornan) and Phil(Ward) all excellent players. Rab, who tragically died
in 1988, was a very special guy as well as a great goalkeeper and it was
privilege to have known and played alongside him at the Rovers”.
He says “ I don’t see much football now
that I am living down here but I do take in the occasional Man Utd game and I
still watch games on the television. I keep in contact with Gary and I love the
Rovers website and forum, which keeps me bang up to date. I would love the
Rovers to get back to their glory days especially in the big competitions and I
am certain, with the guys they have running them, that they can do it. I was at
the Greats Night and that proved to everyone that they are indeed a unique and
great club. I am looking forward to their 50th Anniversary
celebrations in 2010, no matter where I am, I’ll be back for that”.
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Bobby Shields
Previous Clubs:
Player: Dunipace Juniors
Woodilee Hospital,
Coach: Cumbernauld Thistle Cambusbarron Rovers (Twice)
Shettleson Juniors, East Stirling Dunipace Juniors
Last appearance for
the Rovers:
League Cup Final 1983/84 Cambusbarron Rovers 2 Muirend 0 Annfield
Park, Stirling
Honours (with
Cambusbarron Rovers):
Scottish Amateur AFA:-
Scottish Cup
Winner
1978
West of Scot Cup
Winner
1981
East of Scot Cup
Runner
Up 1978, Winner 1994 (Manager)
Stirling District League
1st Division Championship
Winner
1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
Mathieson Challenge Cup
Winner
1977, 1978, 1981, 1983
Drysdale Cup Winner 1977, 1980
Robertson Cup Winner 1979
Campbell Trophy Winner 1979
Caledonian League
League Cup Winner
1984
Bobby Shields is truly one of iconic status as far as
Cambusbarron Rovers is concerned. Bobby joined the Rovers in 1976 in what was
supposed to be the twilight of his football career but enjoyed great success at
the ‘Barron before hanging up his boots in 1984. Earlier sojourns in Junior
football and then amateur football honed a instinct for goalscoring and he
scored over 50 goals in each of his first three seasons with the club. He was a
phenomenal goalscorer at this level. He thinks the two Hampden final wins were
the best of times but there were a lot of other great times as well. His goals
contributed to the vast array of trophy wins the Rovers enjoyed during his
spell at the club.
Bobby said “I just passed them into the net, I never blasted
them. I didn’t care if the net bulged when I scored as long as the Rovers won
even with the scrappiest of goals it didn’t matter to me. I met and played with
some great people there, none more so than Frank Beattie. There is no doubt, he
was the main man. He made us all better players and made us a great amateur
side. Phil (Ward) and Ding (Stuart Dornan) done all my running but they weighed
in with a few goals as well, they were 30+ men each season”.
Bobby retired from playing after the 1984 League Cup final win
over Muirend at Annfield. (Muirend were one of the top sides in the 70’s &
80’s, but so were the Rovers). He went into coaching taking up the post with
Cumbernauld Thistle and led them to Hampden and a West Cup final but they
narrowly lost out to Clark Drive.
He couldn’t resist the call to return to manage the Rovers when it came in 1986
with the retirement of Frank Beattie. It was a time for re-building of the
Rovers and he laid good foundations for the clubs future in maintaining a good
level but success eluded and he left to pursue a spell at the junior game. He
coached Shettleson Juniors, then East Stirling but came
back to Rovers in 1994 and won the East of Scot Cup that year. Bobby left in
1995 and became coach at Dunipace Juniors but as with so many before him and
since that was a difficult job as there was never any money.
Now Bobby’s main interest away from his family, especially
his grandchildren, is golf. He plays at Cumbernauld and only occasionally takes
in a game of football however he does keep in touch with a few at the Rovers
and does come out to see the odd game.
In 2005 he was inducted into the Rovers Greats where along
with a few of his contemporaries he was bestowed the honour of being voted as a
Rovers All Time Great an honour fully deserved and judging by the amount of
votes cast in his favour, a very popular inclusion.
Bobby has a few years more to work before he takes
retirement when he and his wife Elizabeth look forward to spending
more time with their grandchildren, but when he can prize himself away
from them, he will always be welcome in Cambusbarron.
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