Pat Nevin

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Player Profile
Born Glasgow; September 6, 1963.

Pat Nevin was an outstanding schoolboy and youth talent but he had to overcome the cruellest setback imaginable before eventually establishing himself as one of the most naturally gifted players to emerge in the 1980’s.

Nevin was a Celtic mad youngster who inevitably modelled himself on the Parkhead idol Jimmy Johnstone and having been taken onto the ground staff by the club it seemed as though he would have the chance to follow in the footsteps of the great man.

Like many promising youngsters before and since, however, Nevin found himself turfed out on the grounds that he was too small to make it.

This theory has been disproved time and again by players of genuine ability and Nevin would go on to make a mockery of this decision. In fairness to the club it should be pointed out that of all the scrawny youngsters ever told that they were being released through the history of football few were quite so meagre as young Pat.

It perhaps counted against him that in his early days Nevin generally operated as a centre forward and it must have been hard to imagine him standing up against the buffeting centre halves habitually handed out to strikers in the rough and tumble of the Scottish Premier League.

Surely the thought that this remarkably skillful and elusive runner might have a future on the wing must have crossed the minds of the Celtic coaching staff but he was allowed to leave anyway.

Pat Nevin was too good a player to be lost to football altogether and although his move to second division Clyde probably didn’t set the young mans’ pulse racing having harboured dreams of glory with one of the Old Firm this was a good time to be joining the modest club.

Clyde were managed at this time by the future Scotland boss Craig Brown and his intelligent approach to the game and desire to play constructive attacking football provided Nevin with an environment in which he could flourish.

In his first season with them Clyde were second division champions and Nevin contributed twelve goals, including a run of scoring in six successive games.

This first season confirmed that Nevin was not lacking talent and also confirmed his bravery as he refused to be intimidated or inhibited by the bruising defenders he encountered.

There was more success to come for Nevin at the end of the season as Scotland won the Under 18 European Championship tournament held in Finland.

Scotland had beaten England in a two legged tie to take their place in the finals and having pipped Holland on goal difference to qualify from their group they then defeated Poland and Czechoslovakia in the semi finals and the final respectively to take home the trophy.

This was a hugely important tournament in Pat Nevin's development and progress. It was here that he was moved out onto the flank and having turned in performances that led to him being named Player of the Tournament he would rarely return to the middle.

His individual contribution was capped by a mesmerising goal in the final when he jinked through a crowd of Czech defenders inside the penalty area to score a marvellous goal.

Celtic must already have been fearing that they had made a big mistake in showing Nevin the door and it is somewhat surprising that he was allowed to remain at Clyde for another season before being snared by a bigger club.

By this time, however, Nevin, unusually intelligent for a footballer, was studying for his university degree and football was not perhaps as critical to his life as it was for most players his age.

Indeed he might almost have wished to do without the inevitable interest his performances for club and country were arousing but this was not possible. Particularly keen were Chelsea and in the summer of 1983 they proved to be Nevin’s choice of destination so the young man was packing his bags and heading south.

Chelsea were preparing for their fifth successive season in the second division and apathy was perhaps the overriding feeling among the clubs supporters who had seen the club fall a long way over the previous decade. The signing of a winger they had probably never heard of from the Scottish first division was hardly one to have them racing to renew their season tickets.

The same could also be said of Kerry Dixon, the centre forward manager John Neal had plucked from Reading the same summer, but these two newcomers would play a huge part in a dramatic Chelsea revival that saw them return to the top flight and briefly make a big impact.

Again a move that Pat Nevin might have had some misgivings about worked out wonderfully well.

There were plenty of attacking options for Neal to consider with David Speedie, Gordon Davies, Clive Walker, Peter Rhoades-Brown and Paul Canoville all competing with Nevin and Dixon for places in the side and Nevin might have thought he would have to bide his time in the reserves.

Having made his debut coming on as a sub for Rhoades-Brown in a 4-0 League Cup win at Gillingham in which Dixon scored all four Nevin would remain an automatic choice in the first team.

Chelsea’s vibrant new attack swept the club to the second division championship and the crowds were thrilled by a series of flamboyant displays.

Nevin scored his first goal for the club in a 5-3 derby victory at Fulham and played an integral part as Chelsea battered visitors to the Bridge such as Newcastle United 4-0, Swansea City 6-1, Fulham 4-0 and Leeds United 5-0.

Altogether the team plundered 90 league during the season, Nevin chipping in with a healthy 14, which was comfortably more than the Newcastle side of Keegan, Beardsley and Waddle could muster, and their attacking emphasis was rewarded as they claimed the title ahead of Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference.

Having suffered several seasons of dull, lifeless football the Chelsea faithful were understandably delighted with this bold new side and it was obvious who their favourites were.

Kerry Dixon, big, blonde and full of goals was a ready made crowd idol but the fans also took instantly to the tiny bundle of tricks now patrolling the right touchline.

Pat Nevin was quick but it was not his pace that made him so difficult to contain. He was a winger in the traditional mould relying on wonderful ball control and sharp, sudden changes of pace and direction. He would take opponents completely out of the game with a drop of the shoulder or a swivel of the hips.

Sometimes his play could seem to lack direction. Where most wingers would take the quickest route towards the goalline and get in their centre whenever the opportunity arose Nevin would meander infield or even back towards his own goal. As long as the ball remained at his feet he was happy.

This was never self indulgence, however. Nevin knew instinctively how to shift a defence out of position and then puncture it when it was most vulnerable. His highly individual style made him still more difficult to pin down for full backs accustomed to simply being taken on on the outside by their winger.

Nevin could certainly go down the outside and centre in the traditional manner for Dixon to bulldoze after but he was also adept at drifting inside and playing the killer pass through the defence for the striker to run onto in the manner of the old fashioned inside forward.

There is no doubt that Dixon’s golden spell owed much to the scheming of Pat Nevin.

Chelsea took their positive approach with them into the first division and made life uncomfortable for almost everyone they encountered.

Nevin scored as West Ham were put to the sword 3-0 to the delight of Stamford Bridge and other highlights of a campaign which saw the club finish sixth were a 6-2 drubbing of Coventry and a magnificent 4-3 victory at the league leaders Everton.

On their next trip to Merseyside Chelsea treated Anfield to their devil may care attitude although this time they would lose by the odd goal in seven.

This was heady stuff and it seemed as though the clubs’ spirit of adventure might bring a trophy back to the Bridge when they reached the League Cup semi finals after fighting back from 3-0 down at half time away to Sheffield Wednesday in their quarter final replay.

Having recovered to lead 4-3 Chelsea had to settle for another replay but having won this game they were paired with struggling Sunderland in the last four and were suddenly favourites to win the competition.

Maybe the expectation proved too much because in the first leg at Roker Park the potent forward line never got going and Chelsea ended up losing 2-0.

Pat Nevin popped up with a goal in the return at Stamford Bridge but in pushing players forward Chelsea left themselves open to the counter attack and would lose on the night 3-2.

The following season Chelsea would remain in contention for the league title until the end of March after a wonderful run of nine wins and two draws from the beginning of November. Their strike force was more of a known quantity by this time with defences well aware of the potency of Dixon and the trickery of Nevin.

They remained difficult to subdue, however.

There was success of sorts as Chelsea lifted the Full Members Cup with an appropriately outrageous 5-4 victory over Manchester City at Wembley but in the more prestigious competitions there was huge disappointment.

A splendid victory at Everton in the League Cup appeared to have opened the door for success in that competition again only for QPR to inflict a painful extra time replay defeat at Stamford Bridge and their title aspirations vanished at the end of March in spectacular fashion as they crashed 4-0 at home to West Ham and 6-0 at QPR in successive games.

Consolation for Pat Nevin came in the shape of his international debut for Scotland in a 3-0 friendly defeat of Rumania. Although he would go on to win 28 caps over the next decade Nevin’s international career would never really take off.

There would also be a massive early disappointment for Nevin with Scotland as he was left out of the squad for the World Cup finals in Mexico that summer, a fate he would suffer four years later in Italy as well.

The Chelsea bubble would burst as the 1986-87 season got under way despite the fact that a quality partner for Dixon was recruited in Gordon Durie. Alongside these two men Nevin ensured that Chelsea were good to watch but now the side was on the receiving end of some fearful hammerings.

Nevin chipped in with a goal at home to Nottingham Forest but was part of a team outplayed completely in a 6-2 drubbing as Chelsea got off to a terrible start.

Other substantial defeats came at West Ham 3-5 and 0-4 at home to Wimbledon. When Spurs visited the Bridge just before Christmas and ran out comfortable 2-0 winners Chelsea were left propping up the first division.

They rallied to win three games on the bounce and also won four in a row from the end of February to ensure that relegation was never a serious threat duting the second half of the season but it was evident that the side had not been strengthened in the appropriate areas during the past couple of seasons and a window of opportunity for the club had now firmly shut.

Of course when the going began to get tougher Nevin was the type of player who was open to question. Some people doubted whether he was a luxury worth carrying and in a struggling side he was open to the accusation of being lightweight.

This was an unfair criticism and it should be remembered that he rarely missed a game for the club during his five seasons at the Bridge and it would be more pertinent to point the finger at the players who were no longer good enough to keep him supplied with the ball for the clubs’ regression.

There is no doubt that Pat Nevin remained a potential match winner whether out wide or through the middle where he did now find himself sometimes employed.

Having made an encouraging start to the 1987-88 season Chelsea collapsed and won only one game from the end of October when they had occupied 6th place in the table.

Because the Football League had decided to reduce the number of clubs in the first division for the following season not only were three teams to be relegated automatically but the fourth bottom club would have to enter a relegation play off with three second division sides to try and save their status at the end of the season.

Having been badly beaten 4-1 at West Ham in their penultimate game Chelsea needed to beat Charlton at home in the final game of the season to overtake the Addicks and condemn them to the play offs.

In a predictably bruising, perhaps brutal, game Nevin was unable to make much impression as Charlton battled their way to a 1-1 draw and salvation.

Nevin was also a peripheral figure in the first leg of the play off semi final at Blackburn but typically provided the one moment of genuine class to help Chelsea to a 2-0 win, floating home a beautifully controlled 25 yard shot into the top corner.

The second leg at the Bridge proved a formality but in the two legged final against Middlesbrough Chelsea faced an altogether stiffer challenge and after slipping to a two goal defeat on Teeside they were unable to pull the game around back at the Bridge and were relegated back into the second division.

Pat Nevin would not be going back there with them, however. His contract was coming to an end and he decided to move on from Chelsea. The major interest for his signature was always from Everton and Nevin eventually decided to sign for the Goodison Park club.

Just as when he moved from Clyde the transfer fee would be set by a tribunal. Everton had bid £400,000 with Chelsea wanting £1.7 million. Predictably the tribunal plumped for the middle ground and set the fee at £925,000.

Everton were unhappy with the size of the fee, manager Colin Harvey calling for an end to the procedure, while Chelsea could hardly complain given that the same body had sent the player to them for just £95,000.

At this time Everton were jousting with Liverpool for the mantle of the countries’ top team and having seen their neighbours enjoy a magnificent season the year before after spending big in the summer on Barnes, Beardsley and Houghton they were evidently looking to repeat the feat.

Joining Pat Nevin at the club were Neil McDonald, Stuart McCall and, most notably, Tony Cottee. At £2.2 million Cottee became the most expensive British transfer in joining from West Ham yet as much interst was created by Nevin’s fee.

People were quick to note that his signature has cost Everton more than John Barnes’ had cost Liverpool the previous summer. Barnes had made a remarkable impact on Merseyside and it was therefore assumed that Everton could expect the same from Nevin.

The new era got off to the best possible start as Newcastle United were beaten comprehensively and in style on the opening day 4-0. Nevin helped set up two of the goals while Cottee banged in a hat trick.

Optimism was understandably high after such a start but this would quickly fade and Nevin’s chances of establishing himself in the team and with the fans were quickly dealt a serious blow.

Having won their next game as well Everton then faced Nottingham Forest at Goodison and were lucky to escape with a draw after receiving something of a footballing lesson from Brian Clough’s side.

Pat Nevin was not so lucky. Having chosen to approach his personal duel with Stuart Pearce with socks rolled down and no shin pads, just to prove that even intelligent footballers are prone to bouts of stupidity, he would not finish the game. Withdrawing with a damaged knee it was initially thought he would be out for six weeks but the injury was more serious than first thought. There was damage to the ligaments which would require surgery and Nevin would eventually be out for three months.

Despite some typically impudent performances which ensured that he always remained a general favourite with the crowd Nevin’s spell at Everton never really took off in the way it might have been expected.

By the time Nevin returned to action all thought of the league title had ended but he was in time to figure in two cup runs and score the winning goal in two semi finals.

His goal against Queens Park Rangers took Everton to the final of the Simod Cup where they would lose a thrilling game against Nottingham Forest 4-3.

The FA Cup was obviously a far more important consideration. Everton made it through to Wembley thanks to Nevin’s goal against Norwich City at Villa Park but this became perhaps the least remembered goal in semi final history due to the dreadful events taking place at Hillsborough in the other semi between Liverpool and Forest.

At least the goal was not one of Pat’s more memorable efforts anyway. The chance stemmed from a wild clearance by a Norwich defender that rebounded from the crossbar. Kevin Sheedy then struck a post and Nevin was on hand to knock in that rebound.

The final pitted Everton against their great rivals Liverpool and also provided an opportunity to compare the merits of Nevin and Barnes in direct opposition.

On a day when Liverpool generally held sway Nevin did not suffer in the comparison. He was the one consistent source of menace for Everton and ran his marker Steve Staunton to the point of exhaustion and was able to set in motion the move that brought his side level at 1-1 to force extra time.

Having fought back twice Everton would still end up defeated and this would signal a general decline in the clubs’ fortunes.

The following season started brightly enough for both Everton and Pat Nevin and the club were top of the league after ten games.

The highlights of this fine start were victories at Goodison over Manchester United and Arsenal. Nevin was at his impish best in both games, lobbing Jim Leighton for an exhilarating goal and setting up another for Graeme Sharp against United and getting a couple against Arsenal, one a scrambled effort, the other after a sublime ball juggling run through the heart of the defence.

Neither Nevin nor the team could maintain this consistency, however, and the season would peter out, their defeat to Oldham Athletic in an FA Cup second replay being a particular blow.

Everton would really struggle at the start of the next season and Nevin’s position at the club was undoubtedly called into question as Colin Harvey was replaced as manager by Howard Kendall.

Kendall quickly moved to sign Robert Warzycha and Mark Ward in turn both of whom operated mainly on the right side of midfield. This was hardly a vote of confidence in Pat Nevin.

Once again Nevin was pressed into service on occasions through the middle and his return of eight league goals in a mediocre side was decent enough but the player himself became increasingly convinced that his face did not fit with the new boss.

Nevin was involved in the famous 4-4 cup tie with Liverpool but his main contribution was in making way for Tony Cottee to come on and grab the goals that saved Everton and brought them the second replay in which they finally overcame their great rivals.

In the decisive game Nevin himself was restricted to a substitutes role, replacing Ray Atteveld in the closing stages.

The names alone are enough to show that Everton had certainly slipped from the pinnacle of English football during Nevin’s time at the club and having fought valiantly to knock out Liverpool the side then went to West Ham and lost limply in the sixth round with Nevin all but anonymous.

The writing was on the wall for Nevin at Goodison Park and his departure became even more predictable when he was loaned out to Tranmere Rovers the following season.

This was a productive spell and although he would return to Everton and play in the final four league games of the season he would become a Tranmere player permanently during the summer of 1992 for a fee of £300,000.

His last game for Everton would be in a 2-1 win over Chelsea and although this would mark the end of his top flight football in England Nevin did finally make his way to a major championship when he was selected in Scotland’s European Championship squad for the finals in Sweden.

Pat Nevin was handed the number 13 shirt and sat out the opening 1-0 defeat against Holland. By the time he was introduced as sub for Gordon Durie in the second game against Germany the Scots were already two goals down and effectively out of the tournament.

Nevin also featured in the final group game against Russia and was happily able to make his mark. With his side this time two goals to the good Nevin danced his way into the Russian area to be sent crashing for a penalty which Gary McAllister put away to seal a convincing Scotland win.

Although moving to Tranmere took Nevin into the second tier of English football these would prove to be exciting times on the Wirral as Rovers pushed hard for a place in the newly formed Premier League and also embarked on several adventures in the cup competitions.

This was a side in which Pat Nevin felt completely at home. The emphasis was always on attack as Nevin shared wing duties with John Morrissey and John Aldridge made hay through the middle alongside the pacy Chris Malkin.

For three seasons in succession Tranmere would make it to the play offs without managing the final step.

They lost to Swindon Town in the semi finals in 1993 with Nevin tapping home one of the goals in the second leg as Tranmere tried to recover a 3-1 deficit, went down at the same stage to Leicester City the following year despite Nevin’s sweet equaliser in the second leg at Filbert Street and after a poor end of season in 1995 lost comprehensively to Reading, again in the semis.

Possibly the biggest disappointment during Nevin’s time at Prenton Park, however, was the galling League Cup semi final defeat the club suffered at the hands of Aston Villa in 1994.

On a night when the potent Tranmere forward line really clicked Villa were swept aside in the first leg at Prenton Park and looked to be heading back to Villa Park with a three goal hiding until a disputed late free kick led to them grabbing a goal and a lifeline in the tie.

Villa would go on to win the second leg by the same scoreline to take the tie to penalties but again they enjoyed some assistance from the officials while Tranmere‘s luck was definitely out.

Although the referee awarded Tranmere the blatant penalty from which they scored in normal time he decided against sending Mark Bosnich off for the foul even though he was patently the last man. Bosnich would go on to save three penalties in the shoot out as Rovers blew their chance of Wembley.

Luck was also against them when Liam O’Brien’s last minute drive rebounded from the post.

Although Tranmere would drift into mid table during Nevin’s last three seasons at the club his stay was a resounding success not just in terms of what the club achieved but also in the way they went about doing it.

After leaving Tranmere Pat Nevin returned to Scotland to play for Kilmarnock and Motherwell and since hanging up his boots has landed a job summarising on Channel 5 where his accent is quite frankly as baffling as his dribbling used to be.

Pat Nevin was a player who hailed from a long and proud tradition of Scottish footballing artists. Full of tricks and mischief and going about his business with an impish style and unshakable self belief he might have come from the same mould as others before him but it is possible that he was the last one produced before the mould cracked.

While Nevin’s career was not one of unstinting glory and honours he offered excellent service to each club he played for and always offered rich entertainment to the paying public who knew that he was capable of producing something the other players on view could not match.

It is certainly fair to say, and it’s an epitaph not to be sniffed at, that wherever Nevin went to play his football he remains a favourite with the fans.

Everyone loves to see their team win but most fans love to be entertained come what may. Pat Nevin’s sides certainly won more games than they lost during his career but along the way he made sure that there was seldom a dull moment.

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