1. Francis McAvennie was born on 22 November 1959 and is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker for St Mirren, West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with each of these clubs.
38 Facts About Frank McAvennie
1. 2.
Frank McAvennie was capped five times at senior level for Scotland during the 1980s, scoring one goal.
3.
Frank McAvennie started his playing career in Scottish Junior League football.
4.
In 1979 during an amateur game with a local side, the 200 Club, in Kirkintilloch, Frank McAvennie, playing well, came to the attention of local scouts.
5.
Frank McAvennie completed a trial for Partick Thistle playing in a single game where he was sent on as a substitute only to be substituted off in the same game and be told by manager Bertie Auld that he would never make a career in the game of football.
6.
Frank McAvennie had a spell working as a road sweeper.
7.
Frank McAvennie did not move into professional football until he joined St Mirren in 1980, at the age of 20.
8.
Frank McAvennie would make 135 league appearances for them over the next five years, scoring 48 goals.
9.
Frank McAvennie would go on to keep Goddard out of the team and spark his transfer from the club the following season.
10.
Frank McAvennie formed a formidable partnership with young English striker Tony Cottee with McAvennie scoring 26 league goals and Cottee 20.
11.
Frank McAvennie appeared on the BBC's Wogan show, hosted by Terry Wogan, an event which McAvennie claims changed his life and introduced him to a celebrity lifestyle.
12.
Frank McAvennie made a slow start at Celtic and his progress was not helped when he got involved in an on-field fracas with Chris Woods, Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts in an Old Firm game in November 1987.
13.
Frank McAvennie was found not guilty, Roberts not proven, whilst Butcher and Woods were both convicted of Breach of the Peace.
14.
Frank McAvennie was one of Celtic's few form players that season and he had scored 11 goals by Christmas 1988.
15.
Frank McAvennie wished to return to London to enable him to spend more time with then girlfriend, glamour model Jenny Blyth.
16.
However, Frank McAvennie turned down the chance to join Arsenal and accepted John Lyall's offer shortly afterwards.
17.
Frank McAvennie has since admitted that his decision to join West Ham and not Arsenal was based on his love of the club and not on the likelihood of footballing success.
18.
Frank McAvennie's second spell in London was not as successful as his previous one.
19.
Frank McAvennie made his return on 31 March 1990 against Port Vale.
20.
Kamara's view was that his challenge was innocuous and perfectly good and that Frank McAvennie has created "many lies and false recollections" concerning the tackle.
21.
Frank McAvennie recalls in his autobiography, Scoring, An Expert's Guide, that Kamara had "come straight through him, crumpling him to the ground" and had then stood over him saying "Get up you Scottish bastard, this is a man's game".
22.
The tackle resulted in a broken leg, shattered ankle and torn ligaments for Frank McAvennie who had two plates and a bolt inserted in his ankle and another plate in his leg.
23.
Out injured, on pain-killers and with spare-time on his hands Frank McAvennie visited London's nightclubs to take his mind off his injuries and the boredom of not playing football.
24.
Frank McAvennie played 34 league games and scored 10 goals, now partnering Trevor Morley up front.
25.
Frank McAvennie scored only three league goals in the first half of the season with West Ham never out of the bottom three after Christmas.
26.
Frank McAvennie faced competition for a regular place from new signing Mike Small.
27.
Frank McAvennie then accepted an offer from Ron Atkinson to sign for Aston Villa on a free transfer, but played just three games in the new Premier League, as the partnership of Dalian Atkinson and early season signing Dean Saunders saw Villa emerge as title challengers.
28.
Frank McAvennie left in January 1993 to rejoin Celtic, who were now lagging behind a dominant Rangers side on their way to a fifth successive league title.
29.
Frank McAvennie played one game for Irish League club Cliftonville in 1992, scoring in a Gold Cup semi-final.
30.
Frank McAvennie was then offered a contract with Hong Kong side South China.
31.
Frank McAvennie played only one senior game for South China, then he returned to the United Kingdom.
32.
Frank McAvennie scored nine goals in 19 league games that season, though Celtic could only manage a third-place finish as Rangers secured their fifth successive title.
33.
Frank McAvennie played seven games for St Mirren that season, failing to score, before retiring as a player at the age of 35.
34.
Frank McAvennie was called into the Scotland national team late 1985 for the World Cup qualifying play-off with Australia at Hampden Park on 20 November.
35.
Frank McAvennie was called up to the Scotland national team for the 1986 World Cup, under interim national coach Alex Ferguson.
36.
Frank McAvennie made two appearances in the World Cup in Mexico, both as a substitute and both defeats, to Denmark and to West Germany.
37.
In 2000, having been cleared in court of an incident involving the supply of controlled drugs, Frank McAvennie found himself in severe financial difficulties and resorted to selling his medals to Celtic-supporting businessman Willie Haughey for a small sum; these were later returned to him in 2017.
38.
On 12 January 2009, Frank McAvennie received a four-month suspended sentence for affray following an incident in July 2008 in which he head-butted a man in Douglas on the Isle of Man.