31 Facts About Charlie Nicholas

Charles Nicholas was born on 30 December 1961 and is a Scottish former professional footballer.

Charlie Nicholas won 20 international caps for Scotland, including playing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Charlie Nicholas began his career at Celtic, and by the age of 21 was considered the most exciting emerging talent in British football.

Charlie Nicholas spent over four years there, and scored both their goals in their League Cup Final win over Liverpool in 1987.

Charlie Nicholas fell out of favour at Highbury later that year, and moved back to Scotland to join Aberdeen.

Charlie Nicholas won two Cup Finals in his time at Pittodrie, before rejoining Celtic in 1990.

Charlie Nicholas's second spell at Parkhead was less successful than his first, but he spent five seasons there before moving on to Clyde for one season before retiring from playing.

Charlie Nicholas began his career as a youth with the Celtic Boys Club, before signing for Celtic in 1979.

Charlie Nicholas returned to playing for the reserves again for the rest of the season.

Charlie Nicholas' form saw him win the 1981 Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year Award.

Celtic went into the second leg as underdogs, but an outstanding goal by Charlie Nicholas put Celtic ahead in Amsterdam.

Charlie Nicholas evaded two tackles from Ajax defenders before curling an excellently placed left-foot finish past goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers.

Charlie Nicholas was now being described as the most outstanding young player to emerge in Scotland since Kenny Dalglish.

Charlie Nicholas displayed an excellent touch and great vision on the ball and possessed a strong shot with both feet.

Charlie Nicholas finished the season with 48 goals and won both the Scottish PFA Player of the Year and Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year awards.

Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness, whom Charlie Nicholas knew from being with in the Scotland international squad, made strenuous efforts to persuade Charlie Nicholas to come to Anfield.

Charlie Nicholas made his competitive debut for Arsenal in the opening league match of the season on 27 August 1983 at Highbury against Luton Town.

Former Scotland international Ian St John said that Charlie Nicholas showed he was a player of "genuine class" and that there was a "buzz of excitement every time he moved on to the ball".

In November 1984, while at Arsenal, Charlie Nicholas was given a second drink-driving ban in the space of two years, after admitting driving with excess alcohol.

Liverpool's Ian Rush gave his side the lead on 23 minutes, but Charlie Nicholas equalised seven minutes later after a goal mouth scramble.

Charlie Nicholas spent the rest of his time at Highbury playing for the reserves.

Charlie Nicholas was ranked at number 28 in the club's list of the '50 Greatest Gunners of all time'.

Charlie Nicholas was released by manager Lou Macari in May 1994, although after Macari was sacked a month later, Charlie Nicholas was re-signed by new manager Tommy Burns.

Charlie Nicholas was left out of the 1995 Scottish Cup Final against Airdrie and Celtic released him again, so he moved on from the club for the last time.

In July 1995 Charlie Nicholas joined Clyde on a free transfer, where he spent one season and scored five times in 31 league games before retiring as a player.

Charlie Nicholas was first capped by Scotland at senior level on 30 March 1983, near the end of his first spell at Celtic.

Charlie Nicholas was in Scotland's squad for the 1986 World Cup, playing in the group matches against Denmark and Uruguay.

Charlie Nicholas previously worked as a pundit on the Sky Sports News programme Soccer Saturday and Sky Sports' coverage of Scottish football.

Charlie Nicholas accused Desmond and the board of presiding over the worst Celtic squad he had ever seen.

Charlie Nicholas criticised Desmond's handling of the club, accusing him of treating the Glasgow club like "a toy", and failing to invest properly in the playing staff.

In January 2014, Charlie Nicholas was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.