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He was and still is most certainly my favorite player of all time. Which make him the greatest in my mind. Not just with Morton but across the entire football world. Sure there have been other great players and will be more to come. Seeing big Andy's skill and swagger up close, week in and week out.....well it was just brilliant. Had tears in my eyes when I found out he was transferred to Mwell.

Since his Morton days, I have had the pleasure of being in his company a few times and he was the perfect gentleman. Always willing to talk about Morton past, present and football in general. IMO, talked a lot of sense and never in cliches. 

Without doubt IMHO, the best time being a Morton supporter was in the Benny Rooney/Mike Jackson era. A number of great and good players who would have walked into any of the recent/current teams.

  

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6 hours ago, WhowouldbeaMortonfan said:

He was and still is most certainly my favorite player of all time. Which make him the greatest in my mind. Not just with Morton but across the entire football world. Sure there have been other great players and will be more to come. Seeing big Andy's skill and swagger up close, week in and week out.....well it was just brilliant. Had tears in my eyes when I found out he was transferred to Mwell.

Since his Morton days, I have had the pleasure of being in his company a few times and he was the perfect gentleman. Always willing to talk about Morton past, present and football in general. IMO, talked a lot of sense and never in cliches. 

Without doubt IMHO, the best time being a Morton supporter was in the Benny Rooney/Mike Jackson era. A number of great and good players who would have walked into any of the recent/current teams.

  

Exactly my feelings as well.

They say you should never meet your heroes as you're likely to be disappointed.

In this case the complete opposite is true.

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My favourite Morton player of all time.  I first saw him in a game at Love Street in about November 1976 I think, the day before I flew to Ghana for work.  We ended up 3rd in the second tier that season below St Mirren and Clydebank, but the next season we really got going and took the title, and Andy was pivotal.  The football was brilliant all over the park.  63-64 and 66-67 were good but that Rooney team was just superb, and we followed the team round Scotland, mainly to watch Andy in action.  He has made a terrific job of his new co-commentator role, and his insights are extremely perceptive, and also fair.  He calls it like he sees it.  A real legend.

"Any nation given the opportunity to regain its national sovereignty and which then rejects it is so far beneath contempt that it is hard to put words to it."

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Most naturally gifted player I've seen in a Morton top, by quite some distance. If his work ethic and dedication had matched his talent, only the sky would have been his limit. I'm still utterly convinced he could have played at the highest level, if he'd put in the effort. Utter travesty that he left the game when he should have been at his peak. 

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57 minutes ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Most naturally gifted player I've seen in a Morton top, by quite some distance. If his work ethic and dedication had matched his talent, only the sky would have been his limit. I'm still utterly convinced he could have played at the highest level, if he'd put in the effort. Utter travesty that he left the game when he should have been at his peak. 

Agreed, although I do think if he had made the '78 world cup squad thing's would have worked out a lot different for him.

Some folk you sense the bitterness on the cards they have been dealt. Wi Big Andy, I don't get that impression. 

Read his book....of course. Will need to look it out and give it another read for old time sake.

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I do recall there was a groundswell of opinion that he should have been included in the squad going to the world cup, but as usuall the wee diddy teams got overlooked. Not wanting to take your word for it, I looked it up. 

From The Herald, 12 October 202

"I was a bit unlucky with the 1978 World Cup squad. Ally McLeod looked set to pick me but it fell through over suggestions that I was basically a part-time player with Morton and that would not look good in terms of the biggest tournament on earth. Derek Johnstone went instead.

"Then there was another chance with Jock Stein in 1979. He took me with the full squad to Belgium but came up to my room and told me I would be the over-age player in the under-23s. He was maybe giving me a wee test to see how I reacted."

Andy Ritchie takes the acclaim of the Morton fans after scoring against Aberdeen in a match at Cappielow in 1981. Picture: SNS

 

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As I said, there was a groudswell of public opinion, as well as reporters and TV presenters, who had Ritchie in the squad. Obviously King Arthur was in that camp. In hindsight, we can all agree that we had nothing to lose to include him.

From my perspective at the time, there was not a manager or football fan in Scotland who would not have had him in their team. It was the one and only time, us Ton fans could truly argue with OF classmates and workmates, that we had the best player in Scotland on our books. 

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As I said, Ritchie only really made national prominence from season 78-79 when we were in the Premier League. He was maybe grabbing a few headlines and raising a few eyebrows in our promotion year, but nowhere near enough to be even remotely considered for inclusion in a world cup squad. That's just revisionist nonsense. Absolutely ridiculous. 

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9 hours ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

That's just revisionist nonsense. Absolutely ridiculous. 

That’s exactly what it is. Quoting The Herald article mentioning the 1978 World Cup squad, but including a picture of Ritchie scoring in 1981. 

ETA: Derek Johnstone scored 38 goals for a team that won the treble. Andy wasn’t even the top goalscorer in the First Division that season. If Ally MacLeod was to consider taking anyone from the First Division, it would’ve been Billy Pirie. A 22 year-old Davie Cooper couldn’t even get on that plane, after a breakthrough season.

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