Willie Garner
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William Garner (born 24 July 1955), also known as Willie Garner is a Scottish former footballer best known for playing for Aberdeen. He is now a manager, mainly of clubs in the junior ranks of Scottish football.
Career
Garner was born in Stirling and raised in Denny; he was a Celtic supporter in childhood. He signed for Aberdeen from Campsie Black Watch in 1975, and was part of the team which won the Scottish League Cup in 1976 and the Scottish Premier Division in 1980, although a broken leg suffered in 1978 had allowed teenager Alex McLeish the opportunity to take the starting place. Garner left Aberdeen in 1981 to join Celtic, but the move was a disappointment for all concerned: he only played two first team games, scored two own goals on his debut and fell behind the emerging David Moyes in the backup list.
He joined Alloa Athletic in 1982 as player-manager aged 27, before returning to Aberdeen in February 1984 to become assistant manager to Alex Ferguson. After two years as Ferguson's number two, during which the club won five major honours, he played for a number of Highland League and Junior clubs before signing for Berwick Rangers, where he remained for two years before retiring in 1992.
Garner was manager of Scottish Junior Football Association, East Region side Ballingry Rovers between October and November 2014, when they folded after 62 years in existence.
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
| Club | Seasons | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1975–76 | Scottish Premier Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 1976–77 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | 35 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
| 1978–79 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 113 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 161 | 3 | ||
| Celtic | 1981-82 | Scottish Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1982-83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Rochdale (loan) | 1982-83 | Fourth Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 |
Honours
Aberdeen
- Scottish Premier Division: 1979–80
- Scottish League Cup: 1976–77 Runner-up 1979–80
- Scottish Cup: runner-up 1977–78
External links
- at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- at AFC Heritage Trust