photos copyright: AFC Heritage Trust, SNS Group, Malcolm Panton AFC Media

 

The Granite City’s New Year celebrations, 1988.

Live on BBC1 Scotland from the stage at his Majesty’s Theatre, it was announced during the show that Aberdeen would be signing Charlie Nicholas.

The frontman was about to be Ian Porterfield’s first foot.

Of all the players who have signed for the Dons over the years, few can have matched the arrival of Charlie for headlines and sheer excitement it generated. He captured the imagination of the Red Army and sparked a lather of anticipation.

In mid-September 1987, Arsenal announced that Nicholas could leave for pastures new. He was unsettled there and inevitably there was speculation and interest from top clubs from all over the UK and abroad.

Aberdeen entered the picture in mid-November when Joe Miller left Pittodrie to join Celtic.

Signing talks at Pittodrie were rumoured but quickly denied but the clamour to get him on board gathered momentum and even though stories about him being destined for other clubs continued right up to the end of December, by January 5th 1988, it was officially confirmed that Charlie was on the way to Pittodrie to join up with the Dons.

The announcement on Hogmanay might have been a little premature, but a PR stroke of genius from Chairman Dick Donald.

Thousands of Dandies travelled to Easter Road on January 9th to see Charlie make his debut, but the heavy ground and his lack of match fitness prevented an instant impact, the game ending in a goalless draw. A week later, Pittodrie was packed out for the match against Dunfermline as the anticipation continued but this time the only goal came from Willie Falconer. It was a week later away to Motherwell when Nicholas banged in the first of his 36 goals for Aberdeen.

Probably the most memorable part of Charlie’s tenure at Pittodrie came when Hans Gillhaus joined in November 1989, the two mercurial players forming a tremendous partnership.

In a special interview for Red Matchday Magazine, Charlie Nicholas, who turns 60 on the 30th December, spoke to journalist Scott Burns about his time in the North-east and about how the move came about:

The 26-year-old was very much in his prime but a return north of the border hadn’t really been on his mind. In fact, it was another Scot, in Arsenal boss George Graham, who indirectly forced his hand and pushed him to Pittodrie, ahead of signing for Brian Clough or making the switch to another English top-flight side.

Nicholas explained: “I was at Arsenal and it was clear I wasn’t in George Graham’s plans. I was never a guy who would hang about if I didn’t feel wanted. I have never been like that. I don’t see any merit in that for anyone.

“I was sent all over the place with Arsenal reserves and George even sent me away with the youth team. I was even sent up to Cambridge University to sit on the bench. It was clear my Arsenal career was over. There was no point in picking a fight, my time was up.

“So when Aberdeen came in for me I went up and met the chairman, Dick Donald. I met him in a hotel in Aberdeen and I was really impressed with him as a person and his ambitions for Aberdeen. It was a few days before New Year when I went up. Dick was a gentleman and I was impressed with his plans and ambitions for Aberdeen. I said give me a couple of days to think about things but I did say I wasn’t sure about coming back to Scotland.”

Yet, it was Graham, who indirectly, opened the door for Aberdeen to pull off their landmark, signing coup.

“If I was being honest I wasn’t really thinking about going back to Scotland before I joined Aberdeen”, Nicholas admitted. “Celtic were interested. There was an approach through Davie Hay to see if I would be interested in going back?
“I would have thought about it although I felt I was harshly treated at Celtic when I left. I was basically booted out the door and told that I had asked for a transfer, which was never the case.

“I then went to France and I had always wanted to play abroad. I went to Toulon, who were in the French top-flight at the time. I flew out with the Arsenal secretary Ken Friar and we had agreed a deal with them but then George blocked it. Brian Clough then came in for me to take me to Nottingham Forest and Jim Smith tried to get me to Queen’s Park Rangers and Newcastle but George wouldn’t allow those moves either.”

It left Nicholas running out of options and patience.

“George Graham wouldn’t have a meeting with me,” he added. “I had to go to Ken Friar but he said it was up to the manager to agree to a deal for me. George wouldn’t let me resurrect the deal with Toulon or go to England so I just told Ken that I wanted to go to Aberdeen.

“Aberdeen was a deal that George wasn’t adversed to. So I decided that was where I wanted to go and I phoned Dick on Hogmanay to tell him that I was going to Aberdeen and that is when the story began to break.”

“I think the Aberdeen fans were happy I signed for Aberdeen. It showed the club they still had a burning ambition and the pull to sign players from the English top-flight. I just wanted somewhere to play and enjoy my football. I wasn’t even thinking about Scotland recalls or anything like that.

“I just wanted to get back to playing and enjoying my football again.”

Charlie added “My time at Aberdeen was amazing.

“I was there for just over two and a half years. The one thing I always appreciated about the club. They were always good to me. They also had to be patient when I signed because it took me a few months to get fit and up to speed.

“I knew it would take me the best part of two or three months to really get fit,” the Aberdeen star stated. “When you are not playing and it really does setback you. Scotland was also so much faster and physical than England. I knew that and the club accepted that.

“I have to say the fans were also great and were patient with me as well.”

“At Arsenal we won the cup and had the bus trip the next day and then the celebrations at the town hall and there were 100,000 people there.

“It was similar when we won the two cups at Aberdeen and especially the Scottish Cup.

“The number of people who were out on the streets of Aberdeen was amazing. It just showed what Aberdeen as a football club and a city could deliver if and when they were successful. I also knew I was walking away from all that.

“When the team came out on the balcony the fans were brilliant to the team and me and I really appreciated it.”

“Looking back with hindsight, I know I should never have left Aberdeen when I did ….

The full interview is available to read in Red Matchday Issue 13 Festive edition. You can order a copy online by clicking here