Bobby Watson (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Watson | ||
| Date of birth | 15 May 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Airdrie, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1969 | Rangers | 52 | (4) |
| 1969–1976 | Motherwell | 182 | (3) |
| Total | 234 | (7) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971 | Scotland | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978–1982 | Airdrie | ||
| 1983–1984 | Motherwell | ||
| 1988 | Partick Thistle (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Watson (born 15 May 1946)[1] is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is currently involved with Airdrieonians, and was the club chairman in 2018.
Watson played as a defender for Rangers and Motherwell. Watson was transferred from Rangers to Motherwell in a deal that also involved Peter McCloy and Brian Heron.[2][3] Watson represented Scotland once, in a friendly match played against the Soviet Union in 1971.[4] Watson was one of the players who had to wait many years to receive an official cap to mark this achievement, as caps were only given to players who played in British Home Championship matches before the mid-1970s.[5]
Watson retired from playing in 1976 to run a steel business with his partner David Towers.[2] He then managed Airdrie and Motherwell, but only lasted six months in charge of the latter as they were relegated from the Scottish Premier Division.[2] Watson and Towers then helped to set up another business, Cairnhill Structures, in 1990.[6] He was also known as a lay preacher.
In April 2015 Watson was inducted into the Airdrieonians Hall Of Fame, an awards ceremony to honour former Airdrieonians managers and players. Between January 2018 and January 2019 he was club chairman, after the club was taken over by new owners.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "Bobby Watson". Neil Brown. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Asthana, Anushka. "Archived copy". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "19710614 Mon 14 Jun 1971 Russia 1 Scotland 0".
- ^ "Bobby finally gets his Scotland cap -37 years later - Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- ^ "Showing metal in tough times". The Herald. 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Airdrieonians: Airdrie Diamonds Limited takes over controlling shareholding". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
External links[edit]
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
- Men's association football defenders
- Scottish men's footballers
- Scotland men's international footballers
- Rangers F.C. players
- Motherwell F.C. players
- Scottish Football League players
- Scottish football managers
- Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) managers
- Motherwell F.C. managers
- Scottish businesspeople
- Scottish Football League managers
- Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland
- People educated at Airdrie Academy