Tributes have been pouring in from near and far after legendary football talent scout Bobby Dinnie, passed away, aged 91.
The man credited with spotting a 12-year-old Kenny Dalglish at a primary school in the north of Glasgow, has sadly passed after a period of illness, it has been confirmed.
Dinnie, known for his incredible record of spotting and nurturing talent in and around the Scottish youth football set up; also worked under managers and coaches like Rangers´ greats Jock Wallace, John Greig, Tommy McLean, Graeme Souness and Walter Smith. Legends in the English and international scene with household names such as Tommy Docherty, Bob Stokoe and Billy Wright, to name but a few.
Bobby Dinnie, showing off his skills even long after retirement. (Photo: Rob Casey).
Later in his scouting life, he would find himself connected to German football where World Cup legends such as Lukas Podolski and Toni Kroos would pass Bobby’s very strict eagle eye with flying colours after being sent secret video footage of the youngsters as teenagers by his young cousin, Stephen Hamilton, who was a coach and scout in the Bundesliga in the early 2000s.
But it was back in his home town where Bobby felt most at ease. He was a humble Glasgow boy who spent his early days in Maryhill before moving to Possilpark after the Germans bombed his former street, killing many. In his autobiography, ‘The Scout: The Bobby Dinnie Story’, he wrote about the bombing tragedy and how it affected the city but being rehomed in the new estate of Possilpark helped to heal what was a horrific event. He said, “Hitler got us a house in Possil.” It was a line he would use many times over to mask the horrors of losing relatives and neighbours as the Luftwaffe overhead continuously dropped bombs before moving onto nearby Clydebank where the notorious Clydebank Blitz would take place.
Dinnie spent many years with Partick Thistle as a scout and his role in helping to form its academy has not gone unrecognized. Only last week Bobby Dinnie was inducted into the Partick Thistle’s Hall of Fame. The club recently made a statement before Bobby’s passing:
“The board of Partick Thistle FC are proud to announce that former scout Bobby Dinnie MBE is to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame with immediate effect.
Bobby served as chief scout for the club for decades under the management of many, perhaps most notably during the John Lambie era, using his links to Possil YM, where Bobby had helped the club establish a reputation as a hotbed of young Scottish footballing talent.”
A fantastic and fitting tribute indeed for a gentleman who always had a soft spot for the Jags.
In the 1980s Bobby Dinnie was approached by Rangers icon John Greig to oversee a new-look Rangers youth set-up where a host of young stars would emerge: John Fleck, Gary McSwegan, Sandy Robertson and many others who would go on to play in the first team.
Bobby Dinnie will forever be remembered for being at the helm of Possil YM for decades where he would nurture many youth players into the professional game.
He has received great praise for his work from some of the greats in the game. Sir Alex Ferguson said of Bobby:
Sir Alex Ferguson (photo: Football365)
“Bobby had the wonderful ability to spot young talent and nurture them to greater things and his most famous boy, Kenny Dalglish, was testimony to his ability.”
Kenny Dalglish himself hailed Bobby Dinnie and his like as ‘the lifeblood of football and without them, the professional game would not be what it is today.”
Bobby was once asked what his greatest honour was but he never singled out any particular moment. He was far too humble. Despite being given the M.B.E. by Her Majesty, he did concede that one of his greatest honours was to name his two sons Robert and Russell after one of his star players, Rangers legend Bobby Russell. Such was the great man’s humility.
It is a sad loss indeed to the Scottish game but his knowledge, wisdom and legacy will live on.
Academy supremo Mark Holmes enjoyed spells as a professional player but a car accident put paid to his career going past the age of 27.
Mark didn’t dwell on the might-have-beens; instead setting out to help and coach young players in the Highlands.
His hard work paid off very quickly and the Mark Holmes Football Academy is now operating in far-away places such as Ghana, Zambia and Canada.
The Mark Holmes Football Academy is striving in Africa.
Mark’s story is told in his academy’s official football annual:
Mark Holmes started his career at Clachnacuddin F.C., then later joined Caledonian Thistle F.C. under Sergei Baltacha.
Mark then headed over to Australia to play on the recommendation of ex-West Ham player George Cowie. After spells at Newmarket F.C. and Capalaba F.C., Mark was quickly snapped up by national league giants, the Brisbane Strikers, managed by ex-Australian international manager Frank Farina. Frank was a player/coach who had previously played for Brugge and Bari.
The Strikers trained at Perry Park in Australia and played games at the Suncorp stadium, which holds a 52,500 capacity. Unfortunately, Mark fell foul of sporting visa restrictions, therefore, forcing his return to Scotland. On his return after trial opportunities, he signed for Ross County F.C., Falkirk F.C. and had spells in the Highland League with Nairn County F.C., Forres Mechanics F.C. and Buckie Thistle F.C.
Mark was then in a car accident, forcing him to retire at 27 years old. Mark then worked closely with many top league footballers helping them to find clubs.
Here at Maranovo we do love a traditional football story about a proper and traditional football club.
Inverness Thistle might be the forgotten team from Highland pastures, but their story is marked with unique history but sadly ends at the hands of greed.
Author of the book, Russel Hepburn, takes the reader through an epic journey of an ancient Highland club whose success on the field outmatches any of its unforeseen turbulences off it.
The book, affectionately titled: Up Crown Boys, is a journey through time and a running commentary of what it was like growing up to be a Jaggy (an Inverness Thistle fan).
The book is brilliantly written with lots of facts, stats and interviews from former players.
There is a poignant moment where legendary commentator Archie MacPherson admits to becoming a fan of the club and can be seen during a TV broadcast before the Jaggies took on Glasgow giants Celtic in a famous cup tie wearing a Jaggie’s tie.
Up Crown Boys is very entertaining, rich in football history and offers great insight as to what happened during the infamous merger debacle with the now Inverness Caledonian club.
We never favour any club over another here at Maranovo, but one club that stood out for all the right reasons was Busby Girls A.F.C. in Glasgow.
It was our first girl’s football club book so it was extraordinary and unique.
The club is expertly run by a top-class organization and they’ve expanded since we ran their first print edition.
Gary and AJ Dickson at an awards bash.
Everyone at the club was supportive and in particular Gary and Amanda Jane (AJ) Dickson who orchestrated the club annual in time for Christmas.
AJ was outstanding in putting everything together including all the interviews with some of the Scottish game’s best-known women’s football icons such as Suzanne Grant, Fiona McIntyre, Kathy Hill and so many more big hitters in women’s football.
Fiona’s advice for any young girl thinking about taking up the sport is sound and very inspiring. She wrote in the Busby Girl’s official annual:
Legend Fiona McIntyre with a young Busby Girls A.F.C. star.
“It’s never too late to get started so don’t delay and do it now! As a parent of two young girls myself, I see the incredible benefits kids get from being involved in physical activity and spending time with their friends. Football and sport is far more accessible than ever before – my parents used to drive me to Largs at 8.30am every Saturday morning as it was the only place I could kick a ball with a team – thankfully the game has moved on and whether it is club training, a league or cup competition, 5 a-sides or programmes like the UEFA Playmakers with Disney there are so many opportunities now for girls to enjoy football in an environment that suits them.
Inspire the next generation, ensuring the number of girls playing football in Scotland continues to grow. We need the support of many to make this a reality and want to see more and better facilities for girls and women in Scotland and we would encourage people to attend SWPL matches in the future”
The Busby Girls A.F.C. official annual is full of quality information, packed with interviews, parents’ involvement, coaches and of course the squad and player profile photos.
Our sports marketing team have scored again! This time, we have ventured into the creative arts, where our writing team will be publishing and marketing two very iconic books.
Without question, two of the greatest players in history have made more of an impact than any other greats in football. In our opinion, there are no two greater and best players to ever have graced the beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) pitches.
We are, of course, talking about Pele and Diego Maradona. Two number tens who go down in history for many reasons -least not football.
Maranovo has partnered with Newford Publishing to write for their football legends sports books section of the company.
It’s an exciting couple of projects that we are extremely proud to be a part of.
