I had the privilege of playing with some true greats during my career, and it’s a tough task to pick out the best for this XI.
As with the ultimate line-up of players I was lucky enough to manage, I must apologise to those who I’ve missed out here – I hope you won’t be too offended!
My playing career spanned 23 years so that’s a lot of team-mates to sort through, but below are my stand-outs.
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GK: Steve Ogrizovic
A giant of a man, as brave as a lion – and, to be fair, Coventry City’s best player ever, I would imagine.
As a goalkeeper, he had everything – except from being good with his feet. I used to tell him that he had a great right foot – pity it was on his left leg.
RWB: Stuart Kennedy
Stuart set me off in my career when I first went to Aberdeen. He helped me enormously, and I’m not sure I’d have had the same career without that.
Plus, if I didn’t put his name down here, my life would be a misery. Trust me.
CB: Paul McGrath
A total football player, and did it through carnage in his personal life, without letting anything on. I admire him even more for that.
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CB: Willie Miller
Sir Alex Ferguson said Willie is the best penalty box defender he ever saw. And that’s what he was. A fantastic organiser, a great captain, and Aberdeen’s best player of all-time.
CB: Alex McLeish
I’ve only put Alex in because he’s my mate! No, he was terrific. He actually started off in midfield when he made his debut for Aberdeen and Scotland Under-21s, before going back to defence and becoming a great.
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LWB: Peter Weir
The best two-footed player I ever played with – he could beat you right, he could beat you left. And he was great in the air.
CM: Bryan Robson
The best player I ever played with. On top of his game, a fantastic captain, and a great lad.
He played in the day when the game was really rough, some of it was WWE with a ball. If you wanted to play, he would; if you wanted to fight, he could.
I think he’s a bit underrated now because of the hype of the modern game and there’s not as much video footage of Bryan.
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CM: Gary McAllister
The man could do anything with a football. Anything. And he got fitter better as he got older.
CAM: Norman Whiteside
A giant of a man. In the Eighties, when we played, the games were frantic and chaotic. But it didn’t matter how bad the pitch we were playing on was, or how horrendous the tackles were, or the pace of the game – when the ball went to him, everybody played at Norman’s pace.
CF: Mark Hughes
Every centre-half in the league was petrified of him. And I couldn’t blame them, he was a proper battler.
But he also scored magnificent, beautiful goals. Plus, he just didn’t miss games, he played all the time.
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CF: Mark McGhee
To quote Sir Alex for a second time in this team, Fergie said Mark McGhee was the most important player in our Aberdeen team.
There may have been better players, but Mark was the most important. He could run wide, beat people, hold it up, and head the ball.
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