Profile: Andy Davidson was born in Douglas Water, Lanarkshire on 13 July 1932. His formative years were spent at the local school where his footballing ability (playing at left-half) allowed him the opportunity to pursue a career other than mining, which was the only source of work within the area. In fact his father had taken him down the mines to look at what the future might hold and by Andy's own admission, one visit was enough to convince him that such work was not for him. To begin with Andy made good progress and by the age of 16 had already travelled with the First team on a number of occasions as twelfth man. At the same time Andy's ability had come to the attention of Clubs closer to his home. Rangers offered him the chance to return to Scotland but Andy turned them down (much to the disappointment of his Grandfather, a Rangers'fan) partly because Andy was a Celtic supporter but also because the allegiance that was to bind him to the Tigers for over 30 years had started to take a firm grip. Later in life Andy learnt that Celtic had also been interested but believed that they had no chance of persuading him to join because of his family's apparent allegiance to Rangers. Whilst it might have been a difficult decision to make, on reflection Andy believes that even if offered the chance he would most likely still have decided to remain with the Tigers. Given that he was to make the number two shirt his own personal property it is perhaps surprising to discover that his League debut was made at centre-forward, a position he played in frequently during his early days in the First XI although he still preferred the left-half position. As time went on there was a gradual move through the half-back line until he found his niche, but whilst he was masterful at right-back, it is a position that he only went into because of serious injuries to all the full backs in the club at the time. He still believes that his left foot was his stronger. By his own admission he did not particularly enjoy playing at full back as he felt it did not allow him to get involved enough in the game. He was a natural leader and Cliff Britton could have had no better person to guide his team on the field than Andy Davidson. Ferocious in the tackle and skilled at marshalling the defence, he and his colleagues lived up to their Tiger nickname during the 60's, contesting many famous battles in both League and Cup, as well as winning the Division 3 championship in season 1965/66. Throughout his career Andy suffered a variety of injuries including a broken leg on 3 occasions. Each time he fought back to full fitness and it epitomises his character as much as his fitness that there was never any detrimental effect on his game when he returned. When his playing days were over Davidson still remained involved with the Club, initially coaching the juniors, and then taking a similar post with the senior team. He did not enjoy the same level of success in this capacity as compared with his playing days - although at one stage it looked as if he might become the Scottish coach when Tommy Docherty was appointed Scotland's manager. It never materialised however but whilst in the latter stages of his Tiger association times were hard, he never lost his enthusiasm for the game or the club. | 