Thanks for that post mate. Met Dave once a lovely man a trye Legend.

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U1248



Well done mate

if you can track it down go and read his interview with FourFourTwo magazine from about 2009

great read

This is one of Spurs greatest EVER players.

Possibly one of the hardest players to play professional football, yet he was more than just a tough person, he had flair & subtlety in his game and no little skill on the ball.

I had the pleasure of playing against him in the early 70's when he was at Swindon Town, it was a behind doors match at RAF Lyneham & I was in the RAF National team.

We actually won 2-1, even though it was the last days of his career, you could still see how commanding he was on the pitch, and that presence alone was worth seeing close up.
He was also extremely friendly and gracious after the match, inviting one of our guys down to Swindon to have a couple of games for the reserves. (Sadly not me!

My earlier memories of him were after he joined us from Hearts, if Danny Blanchflower was the brains at Spurs, Mackay was the heartbeat of the team. He never gave less than 100%, even playing on for a time in one game with a broken leg!

He was described as follows by one football writer:

Mackay was, if one can imagine such a player, a combination of Roy Keane's determination, drive and tackling ability, and Paul Scholes' guile and artistry. It is safe to say there are no such players in the world today and if there were, they would be priceless.

We bought him for £32,00 in 1959, based on today's pricing I could not imagine Mackay in his prime going for anything less than £100m in today's money. Duncan Edwards is the only other player that I could imagine challenging Mackay for the title of greatest ever wing half in football

R.I.P. Dave.........................................The word legend was invented for people like you!

Let's not forget he won a title at Derby as a manager.

Just for the record, along with Jimmy Greaves (another Spurs legend) Dave was one of my favourite footballers of all time.Booby Moore and Denis Law were the others

Best wishes from the poster

Genius, you may help as to why he only got 22 caps. I have some recollection of Scotland not picking players playing in England that much, Denis Law excepted. I don't think Frank McLintock got many caps.

Dave Mackay RIP

Great player, hard as nails. Apparently he could see our boys who were playing their first FA Cup final were nervous in the tunnel in '67 and took psychological advantage like any good experienced pro would.

GUNNERBEGOOD

Genius, you may help as to why he only got 22 caps.




Scotland, like a lot of national sides did not play that many internationals back in the day. 22 caps back then for Scotland would be like 70/80 today. It was just the way it was.

Genius, you may help as to why he only got 22 caps. I have some recollection of Scotland not picking players playing in England that much, Denis Law excepted. I don't think Frank McLintock got many caps.
_______________________________

Mackay Captained Scotland at one point in his career, however you quite correctly pointed out that it was fairly common for players playing "abroad" not to be selected. There being little TV coverage & no internet etc, it was difficult to assess players ability & form.
However Scotland did have an abundance of top players in the 60's, which made the selectors decisions easier, but their international team came mainly from players at the two Glasgow clubs.

The other problem Dave had was that he sustained two broken legs in the 60's which obviously limited his selection too.
You also have to remember that in those days there were not as many international matches as there are today, thus limiting the opportunities for more caps.

Thanks Genius.

Dave Mackay, along with Greaves and Blanchflower, were my favourite players as a boy.
Spurs were tops then - please don't tell anyone I believed this.

Nothing wrong with admiring players from your rivals.In those days, a number of teams had fantastic players and the talent was more widely spread. Could you imagine Gordon Banks, if he were playing now, at Leicester or Stoke.

My Condolences to you for the loss of Dave Mackay, Spurs Legend,
Proper footballer.
R.I.P. Dave

RIP Dave Mackay

True legend of football

Posted this north of the border earlier.

I'm that old I saw him play.


RIP Dave Mackay. Passed away this morning aged 80.

An Edinburgh born Jambo who graced several clubs north & south of the border.

As a player and as a manager.

Played out of his skin for Scotland as well.


I remember his run in with Bremner.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/11446207/Why-Dave-Mackay-hated-the-picture-of-him-confronting-Billy-Bremner.html

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/9741984/sir-alex-pays-tribute-to-dave-mackay
SAF