Pat Nevin

Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (born 6 September 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. In a 20-year career, he appeared for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell.[7] He won 28 caps for Scotland, scattered across a ten-year international career, and was selected for the UEFA Euro 1992 finals squad.[7] Since retiring as a player, Nevin has worked as a chief executive of Motherwell and as a football writer and broadcaster.

Pat Nevin
Nevin in 2017
Personal information
Full name Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin[1]
Date of birth (1963-09-06) 6 September 1963[2]
Place of birth Glasgow,[1] Scotland
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1983 Clyde 73 (17)
1983–1988 Chelsea 193 (36)
1988–1992 Everton 109 (16)
1992–1997 Tranmere Rovers 193 (30)
1997–1998 Kilmarnock 34 (6)
1998–2000 Motherwell 58 (2)
Total 660 (107)
International career
1982 Scotland U18
1983 Scotland U20
1984–1985 Scotland U21[4] 5 (1)
1986–1996 Scotland 28 (5)
1987–1996 Scotland B[5] 4 (0)
1990[6] SFA (SFL centenary) 1 (0)
Medal record
 Scotland
UEFA European U-18 Championship
Winner1982Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Clyde

Nevin trained with Celtic as a youngster, but was rejected for being too small.[8] He was signed by Clyde in 1981. In his first season, the club were promoted as Scottish Second Division champions; Nevin scored 14 goals in 30 starts and was voted SPFA Second Division Player of the Year. He scored six goals in 44 starts in his second season with the club.

He was inducted into the inaugural Clyde FC Hall of Fame in 2011.[9]

Chelsea

Nevin arrived at Stamford Bridge in mid-1983 for £95,000, in a team managed by John Neal. Nevin's skill and pace made him a pivotal player at Chelsea and he very soon became a firm favourite with the fans. In 1983–84, he scored 14 goals, created numerous others for the likes of Kerry Dixon and David Speedie and put in some dazzling performances – during a 4–0 win over Newcastle United, he tormented the opposition defence, leaving five defenders trailing in his wake – as Chelsea won promotion as Second Division champions. In the same season he was voted Chelsea's player of the year.

Chelsea finished a respectable sixth in the First Division and reached the League Cup semi-final in 1984–85. Nevin set up three goals in the quarter-final against Sheffield Wednesday as Chelsea came back from 3–0 down to draw 4–4, and he set up the winning goal scored by David Speedie in the replay. The club were in the title race for much of the 1985–86 season, with Nevin scoring a late equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield and a crucial header against West Ham United to seal a 2–1 win. A late collapse saw Chelsea finish sixth after being in the title race for most of the season.

The club's performances dropped and they finished 14th in 1986–87, though Nevin was again voted Chelsea player of the year. They were relegated a year later.

Everton

Chelsea were relegated in 1988 and Nevin was sold to Everton. He scored 20 goals in 138 appearances for the club, but struggled to re-capture his previous form with manager Colin Harvey adopting a far more rigid system. He helped the side reach the FA Cup final in 1989, scoring the winner against Norwich City in the semi-final, but they lost 3–2 in the final to arch-rivals Liverpool.

Howard Kendall returned to the club as manager in November 1990; he and Nevin openly disagreed with each other, which reduced Nevin's playing opportunities, as did the arrival of new wingers Robert Warzycha and Mark Ward.

Nevin was unfortunate to arrive at Everton just after one of the finest spells in their history, when they had collected two league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. In contrast, Nevin's four seasons at the club saw a runners-up medal in the FA Cup (1989) being the closest he came to being part of a trophy winning side, and they never finished higher than sixth in the league (1990).

Tranmere Rovers

Nevin spent time on loan with fellow Merseyside club Tranmere Rovers, then in the second tier of English football, before signing permanently in 1992. The club competed in the Division One play-offs in three consecutive seasons (1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95) but on each occasion they were eliminated in the semi-final.

Return to Scotland

In 1997, Nevin returned to Scotland and played for Kilmarnock and later Motherwell before retiring in 2000.

International career

In 1982 while playing for Clyde, Nevin travelled to Finland to play for the Scotland U18 team at the UEFA European Youth Championship and was named player of the tournament after helping Scotland win it. The following year, he starred for the Scotland U20 team that reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Youth Championship.

Nevin won 28 caps for the Scottish national side, making his debut against Romania in 1986. He scored five goals in a ten-year international career and played at Euro 92, but was not selected in the final squads for the 1986 or 1990 World Cups. He made his final appearance for Scotland in 1996 but did not appear at the Euro 96 finals.

Post-playing career

After retiring as a player, Nevin became chief executive of Motherwell. He resigned in April 2002, after Motherwell chairman John Boyle put the club into administration due to financial problems.[10]

He works as a football pundit on television and radio.[7] Nevin co-wrote a book, In Ma Head, Son, with psychologist Dr George Sik. It explores Nevin's worries, motivation and troubles during the 1996–97 season at Tranmere Rovers as he neared the end of his playing career.

He has an arts degree from Glasgow Caledonian University. His interest in literature, the arts, and his musical taste distinguishes him from many of his peers. He preferred The Fall and Joy Division to Phil Collins or Lionel Richie. He was interviewed by music magazine NME and was a guest music presenter on Radio City during his Everton and Tranmere career.

At the second Bowlie Weekender, hosted by ATP he played a DJ set,[11] playing Belle & Sebastian, Orange Juice and "My New House" by The Fall while wearing a The Pains of Being Pure at Heart T-shirt. The following day he slipped an indiepop reference onto 5 Live while talking about the Man Utd vs Arsenal match.[12] He has also appeared as a guest DJ at Scared To Dance[13] and How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, which are both indiepop club nights in London.[14] He makes a guest appearance on the 1986 Ted Chippington / Vindaloo Summer Special (with Robert Lloyd & The Nightingales and Fuzzbox) video of "Rockin With Rita".[15]

In 2010, Nevin signed as a non-playing substitute for new club Chester after Colin Murray of BBC Radio 5 live offered the new club £2,000 if they named Nevin and Perry Groves as unused substitutes at every game in the 2010–11 season. This was live on 'Kicking off with Colin Murray', a show Nevin has appeared on every week since the start of the 2009–10 season.[16]

Personal life

Nevin grew up supporting Celtic.[8] He switched his support to Hibernian after feeling that his boyhood club had become a large corporate organisation and the Celtic Park stadium no longer felt like home.[17] Another reason was Celtic fans chanting IRA songs.[18] He also supports his former club Chelsea, and writes a weekly column for the Chelsea website.[19] Nevin lives in Duns, Scottish Borders, a small town in the Scottish Borders with his wife and two children.[20] His daughter, also a keen sports player, was a Scottish champion in badminton.[20][21] He received an honorary degree from Abertay University in 2012.[22] Nevin is the cousin of the retired English footballer Terry Butcher.[23] In 2021 Nevin wrote and released his autobiography, The Accidental Footballer: A Memoir.[24]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland[25] 198630
198730
198920
199020
199110
199231
199353
199450
199531
199610
Total285
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nevin goal.
List of international goals scored by Pat Nevin[26]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
117 May 1992Mile High Stadium, Denver, United States United States1–01–0Friendly
217 February 1993Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland Malta3–03–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
32 June 1993Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland Estonia2–03–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
43–1
515 November 1995Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland San Marino4–05–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualification

Honours

Clyde

Chelsea

Everton

Kilmarnock

Scotland U18

Scotland

Individual

References
  1. "Pat Nevin". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  2. Pat Nevin, Newcastle Fans.
  3. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Pat Nevin (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. Scotland U21 Player Nevin, Pat, FitbaStats
  5. Scotland B Player Nevin, Pat, FitbaStats
  6. On this day, back in 1990, a Scottish League XI beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in the SFL Centenary match with the goal coming from then Aberdeen Football Club star Hans Gillhaus, Scottish Professional Football League via Facebook, 18 August 2016
  7. "Pat Nevin". BBC Press Office. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  8. Pat Nevin Internet Interview, ToffeeWeb.
  9. "Clyde FC Hall of Fame". clydefc.co.uk. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  10. "Motherwell in turmoil". BBC Sport. 24 April 2002. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  11. "Bowlie DJ Times / Downloadable Timecards / Twitter – All Tomorrow's Parties". All Tomorrow's Parties. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  12. "Pat Nevin slips indiepop reference onto Radio 5 Live". YouTube. 14 December 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  13. "Pat Nevin to guest DJ". Scaredtodance.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  14. "how does it feel to be loved? – london club night playing indie pop, northern soul, tamla motown, girl groups, sixties heartbreak". howdoesitfeel.co.uk.
  15. "Rockin' With Rita (Head To Toe)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  16. "Chester in the spotlight as BBC Radio 5 visit". 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010.
  17. Nevin on Hibernian Archived 5 May 2013 at archive.today, Hibernian official website, 15 October 2009.
  18. Celtic fans' IRA chants drove me away from the club I love, says Pat Nevin, The Scotsman, 7 September 2011.
  19. Pat Nevin: All Hands to the Pump Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Chelsea F.C. official website.
  20. "Pundit Pat enjoys life in the slow lane". Berwickshire News. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  21. "Interview: Pat Nevin, prince of football pundits". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  22. "More than 850 students to tread graduation boards". Retrieved 3 November 2021 – via PressReader.
  23. "The Knowledge: Which defenders have scored hat-tricks from open play?". The Guardian. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  24. "The Accidental Footballer by Pat Nevin review – a heroic outsider". The Guardian. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  25. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Pat Nevin". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  26. "Pat Nevin | Scotland | Scottish FA". Scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  27. "Pat Nevin – Hall of Fame". clydefc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  28. "13-5-1998 Ayr Utd (H) Ayrshire Cup". Killie FC. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  29. "England's day, as Scots pay for slip-ups". Glasgow Herald. 24 April 1986. p. 26. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
    "Rous Cup 1989". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  30. "The Making of Pat Nevin". Nutmeg Magazine. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  31. "Mogsy, Nevin and Mungy are Hall of Fame Entrants". The Football Network. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  32. "Pat Nevin, Hall of Fame". Toffee Web. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
    "Pat Nevin, Hall of Fame". Chelsea Live. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  33. "NEVIN AMONGST CLYDE HEROES BEING RECOGNISED". SPFL. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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