Keep Fighting

by paul harrison

  As a boy I would watch him playing on television and often dreamed of acquiring his skill and fight – I very much wanted to be like him. Sadly I never quite managed it, but how many players can attain such high standards? It came as a great shock to me when I heard of his death. Billy Bremner is one of the great footballing legends in the history of the game and I doubt if anyone will ever replace him.

  TREVOR FRANCIS (Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Sampdoria, Sheffield Wednesday, Rangers, England)

  Throughout my career I have played against many good teams, but undoubtedly the most outstanding has to be the Leeds team of the early ’70s. Captain of that great team was Billy Bremner. He was inspirational as a captain, fiercely competitive, and always led by example. Billy had so many great attributes which helped to make him one of the greatest central midfielders of his generation.

  DAVE BASSETT (Wimbledon, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Leeds United)

  I played against Billy Bremner just twice. I was a semi-professional with Wimbledon FC at that time, a virtually unknown club in the Southern League and, having overcome a number of hurdles in the preliminary rounds of the FA Cup, we found ourselves drawn to play at Elland Road against the mighty Leeds United, arguably the best team in England. In addition to Billy, the team was packed with international players, including the likes of Johnny Giles, Gordon McQueen, Allan Clarke and Joe Jordan.

  What an occasion it was for us! We managed to force a 0-0 draw, thanks to a superlative performance by our goalkeeper, Dickie Guy, who, in addition to making a string of magnificent saves, topped it all by saving a Peter Lorimer penalty. Incidentally, I was the player who gave the penalty away! We lost the replay 1-0 at Selhurst Park, but we were well pleased with our two performances.

  In both matches, Billy Bremner was his incomparable self – tough, uncompromising, competitive, fearless. As a footballer, he was a natural winner, as his playing record shows.

  In more recent years, I got to know Billy on a more personal basis. We met on quite a few occasions at functions where we were after-dinner speakers, so we were able to enjoy a couple of drinks together and talk about football. He was a lovely man, a gentleman, with an inbuilt modesty that forbade him from talking about his heady achievements as a footballer. In addition to our professional interests, we had one significant thing in common – we were both adopted Yorkshiremen. Bill spent the major part of his professional life in Leeds, I have spent a major chunk of mine in Sheffield, where I still live.

  Billy's untimely death is a great loss to football, but I am sure that the memory of the man and his achievements will live on for many years to come.

  GRAHAM TAYLOR OBE (Lincoln City, Watford, Aston Villa, England)

  Talent; leadership qualities; commitment; Billy Bremner had the lot. But what he had more than anything else was enthusiasm, and without that all other qualities mean nothing. Billy Bremner loved football passionately and it showed in everything he did on the football field. We will all miss him.

  HOWARD KENDALL (Preston North End, Everton, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United)

  Billy Bremner was a member of that brand of footballers I would describe as hard but fair, certainly one of the most difficult opponents I have ever played against. His passion for the game both as a player, and later as a manager, continues to serve as an example for any player with ambitions to play the game at the highest level. Billy's immense pride when playing for Scotland was always evident whenever he wore his national colours.

  This most pugnacious of players will always remind me of the great Leeds United side of the seventies, and whether he was winning trophies with Leeds or coping with the pressures of managing a lower league club Billy always managed to put on a smile.

  SAMMY MCILROY (Manchester United, Stoke City, Bury, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Northern Ireland)

  Billy, for me, epitomised the passion and desire required to be a winner in professional football. Add that to a very high skill factor and you are not far away from the perfect player. A man who gave his all for his team, he will be sadly missed, but never forgotten by anybody who had the privilege to see him play.

  ALAN BALL MBE (Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Exeter City, England)

  I, like everyone else, was shocked when I heard the news about the passing of Billy Bremner.

  Being a person directly in contact with Billy, playing against each other for our respective teams, and after having played all over the world against the world's greatest players, I knew that every time I came face to face with Billy it would be the toughest game of my life. I also knew that at the end of the match we would have a marvellous short time, and occasionally a long time, sharing a drink and a laugh together.

  It was an honour to have pitted my skills against Billy's throughout the years.

  JOE ROYLE (Everton, Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, Oldham Athletic, Ipswich Town, England)

  I was a great admirer of Billy Bremner, the player, the man. He was a ferocious competitor and a gentleman with a sense of humour. Everyone in football misses him.

  GEORGE BURLEY (Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Ayr United, Derby County, Heart of Midlothian,, Southampton, Scotland)

  Billy Bremner will go down as one of the all-time great footballers to represent Scotland. He was a tremendous competitor with undoubtedly the greatest of ability and was a great servant for Scotland over many years.

  JIMMY ARMFIELD CBE (Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Leeds United, England)

  Billy and I got on very well, both during our time together at Elland Road and in the years after. Billy Bremner just lived for football. He loved the game for its own sake and for the pleasure and privileges it handed him. Despite all the thought of his aggressive stance on the field, I always believed he played with a smile on his face. He was never happier than when he was playing football. Somehow I could never have imagined him as a manager, it would have been impossible for him to pass on the skills and commitment he had … and that must have brought frustrations to him. Kind, generous and always ready to put a smile on your face … Billy Bremner is already being missed.

  JIM SMITH (Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City, Boston United, Birmingham City, Oxford United, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Derby County)

  I am delighted to say some kind words about Billy Bremner. To me, Billy Bremner epitomises everything that was good about football, with tremendous ability, enthusiasm, determination, and above all, a super person and companion.

  I played in a game with Billy in the semi-final of the Northern Intermediate Cup, and he was playing on the right wing – I was playing for Sheffield United and they won 7-0. I always thought then that Billy must be a great player and he was!

  DAVID ROCASTLE (Arsenal, Leeds United, Chelsea)

  A lot of people say that my game is not too dissimilar to that of the great Billy Bremner. What an honour to be so recognised. When I went to Leeds I was told by so many that I was potentially the Billy Bremner of the modern era. I watched many games in which he played, he was exceptional. When I first joined Leeds, he was the first person to congratulate me and wish me every success. I loved my time at Leeds, it wasn't as if I was given the chance to prove myself, but everything about the place was good. I remember speaking to Billy once and he told me that he thought the manager had not recognised my ability, or used me in the right positions. That's exactly how I felt. When I was moved on I was devastated, and again, it was Billy Bremner who contacted me to tell me not to let the manager's inadequacies undermine my career, or tarnish the good name of Leeds United. What a man he was. Now, here I am at Hull City, following in his footsteps, but not quite so great a player as he was. He was an exceptional person who I will forever respect.

  COLIN TODD (Sunderland, Derby County, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Bradford City, England)

  When Billy passed away we lost a gentleman who I always found to be honest, g
enuine and very likeable. Billy was a gifted player as he proved in his many games for Leeds and Scotland. He was a feared and competitive opponent who gave no quarter and asked for no favours in return. I can recall many a stirring tussle with him during my time at Sunderland and Derby County, but in the bar after the game it was Billy's sense of humour that shone through. The many accolades he received both as a player and in management were well deserved and his passing was an undoubted loss to football.

  BARRY FRY (Barnet, Birmingham City, Peterborough United)

  Billy Bremner was an example to us all. He gave 150 per cent total commitment in every game he played in. His leadership of men was second to none.

  JIMMY HILL OBE (Brentford, Fulham, Coventry City)

  Billy Bremner was the kind of midfield player who in recent years appears to have become extinct. A tendency developed to bypass the skilful midfield artists when in possession and overburden them with defensive responsibilities when not. Billy displayed the perfect balance between aggression and creativity. He made life unpleasant for his opponents, whether they had the ball or he did. If you add to that his unrivalled will to win, whether playing for Leeds United or Scotland, you have a player of inestimable value. Whoever coined the phrase ‘They don't make them like that these days,’ must have had Billy in mind.

  DAVE MACKAY (Heart of Midlothian, Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Birmingham City, Scotland)

  There was no way you can manufacture what Billy had, skill and toughness. He was as bright as a shiny new button both on and off the field, an opponent to be fearful of for his tenacity and commitment. Away from the game, he was a nice person too, a person who would make time to stop and chat to all supporters and his friends. The world of football has lost a legend.

  BILL SHANKLY OBE (Preston North End, Grimsby Town, Liverpool, Scotland)

  An outstanding footballer, and when I say footballer I mean it in the true sense of the word, he had complete all-round skills. His mere presence on the football field caused many a team serious concern before a ball was ever kicked; such was the stature of the man. As a captain of Leeds and Scotland he was as determined a leader as I can recall, never giving up until the final whistle blew. He possessed an aura which commanded instant respect from other players, something which is indefinable, and which I witnessed very few times during my football career.

  The Leeds team of the late sixties and seventies was very much a great side, a match for anyone. Billy Bremner epitomises everything to do with that side, a tough competitor on the field, not only physically, but mentally as well, and off the field a charming good-humoured man. Football needs more players like Billy Bremner.

  IAN ST JOHN (Motherwell, Liverpool, Scotland)

  Billy was a great person, someone whose company I really enjoyed and we shared a lot of laughs together. He put a smile on your face. In football he was a great player, one of the best. I hated playing against him as you knew he would force you to give the ball up on every occasion he could, he had so much energy I never knew how he kept running over ninety minutes, but he did. He could score goals as well, too often against sides I represented, including Liverpool. For Scotland, well he has to be one of the best ever.

  CRAIG BROWN CBE (Clyde, Preston North End, Motherwell, Scotland)

  I remember Billy as an inspirational player and captain, one of the greatest ever to represent Scotland. On a personal note his very good friend and best man at his wedding, Alex Smith, who was assistant manager at Raith Rovers, is also a friend of mine and he speaks in glowing terms of Billy on every occasion. There are few people in football for whom I have more respect than Alex Smith, and I can assure you that his personal recommendation of Billy Bremner, as a man as well as a footballer, is good enough for me.

  There have been many famous captains of Scotland but, arguably, Billy Bremner was one of the greatest, certainly highly respected and greatly admired as a footballer and as a leader of men.

  ALBERT JOHANNESON (Leeds United, York City)

  When I first came to Leeds, one of the people I met as soon as I got here was Billy Bremner and there was something about him which at once put me in awe of him. He was then physically the slightest of players but he possessed a strong personality and will, and in his mind he would not accept defeat at anything. He knew what he wanted and he expected the same commitment from everyone who played in his side, which was the same in training as it was in First Division matches or Cup games.

  When he put on the shirt of Leeds United on a Saturday he wore it with pride and passion. He would never have anyone say a bad word about the club or any of its players; personal criticism was something he understood, and maintained that it should remain within the club.

  When I played in the 1965 FA Cup final I know that I really badly underachieved on the day – it was a nerve-wracking experience and I confess I was terrified. Billy told me to forget the surroundings, forget what the newspapers were saying about me being the first black footballer to play at Wembley in an FA Cup final and not to dwell on how good our opponents that day were. ‘Keep things simple, make the easy pass, and run until you cannot run any more.’ It was good simple advice, he always made it look so easy, but it wasn't. Billy was a great player, one of the best I have ever seen.

  Whenever someone within the club was suffering a loss of form or confidence, it was Billy who would first approach them and offer words of advice. Beneath that tough image there was a really nice man, he's a person I will always have lots of respect for.

  CHARLIE GEORGE (Arsenal, Derby County, Southampton, England)

  Billy and I go back a long way, there are few players who I could honestly say were top class but Billy Bremner is one of those who I place in this category. Whenever you played against him you knew you were in for a real battle, not only a physical battle, but a mental challenge. Sometimes I thought he was one step ahead of everyone else in his vision of the game. There were times when playing against him was like opposing him in a game of chess as he rallied his side and tried to outmanoeuvre your every move.

  Physically he was as tough as they come; I can never recall him pulling out of a challenge, and likewise, I can never recall him going into a challenge half-heartedly. There were few footballers who could contemplate beating him in the tackle. As a footballer he was complete: vision, style, skill, ability, desire, and the absolute must for any world-class player – he was a match winner. I don't know how many times he would pull something a bit special out of the hat and take Leeds onto greater achievements.

  No matter what attitude he displayed during the game, he was always the first one to console or congratulate the opposition after the final whistle. He was a genuine footballer. As a person he was full of life, a real character, if ever you were down he had the temperament and personality to lift you. I will always remember him because he made time to speak to anyone, and always had a smile on his face. Billy Bremner was a major part of the Leeds success story; it would be fair to say, Billy Bremner was Leeds United. He is greatly missed by thousands of people worldwide, and not only in the world of football.

  BRIAN TALBOT (Ipswich Town, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion, England)

  I was sorry to hear of the sad news about Billy, but you can only remember him in the good times, and what a great player he was. I was only starting my career in the 1970s and I remember the battles we had when Ipswich played Leeds in the FA Cup epic, and Leeds were the best team in England, if not Europe. An allaction player who didn't know the meaning of defeat, he gave everything for his team in every game. A leader of men.

  MICHEL PLATINI (St Etienne, Juventus, France, President of UEFA)

  He was regarded as being tough and strong, everyone knows his name and who he is.

  SIR ALEX FERGUSON (Dunfermline Athletic, Rangers, Falkirk, St Mirren, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Scotland)

  Billy Bremner may have been small in stature but in terms of footballing ability, courage and enthusiasm he was a giant. In my opinion
he was without doubt one of the greatest midfield players that Scotland has ever produced and unquestionably the finest captain Leeds United have ever had.

  I got to know Billy Bremner through a mutual friend, Alex Smith, and I am proud to say that later we became friends also. He possessed such a single minded will-to-win character that I find it hard to think of anyone who came anywhere close to him in those terms.

  What a marvellous servant he was to Leeds United. I understand that he played over 750 competitive games for the Elland Road club and scored well in excess of 100 goals. Those statistics alone speak volumes, but at the same time tell only a small part of the story.

  His determination to succeed sometimes overpowered him, particularly in his early days, but had you taken away the tigerish side of his personality then he just wouldn't have been the same individual. What he lacked in height and weight he made up for twice over with his ‘never say die’ attitude.

  He also possessed a marvellous demeanour. I remember when he was sacked by Leeds United, he refused to show any resentment or utter a bad word against the club. There wasn't a trace of bitterness because Leeds was, and always would be, his club.

  He will go down in Leeds United folklore as one of the all-time greats and no one could possibly change that. One thing that did delight me was to see several Manchester United fans present at his funeral. They had put aside that traditional rivalry between the two clubs to turn up and pay tribute to a very fine footballer and a great man. It was a marvellous gesture on their part and I felt immensely proud of their humanity.

  Anyone who knew Billy Bremner will always miss him. I know I shall because he was a man who had a lasting effect on everyone he met.