Willie Irvine
He was offered a professional deal and spent three years playing for the youth and reserve teams, before making his senior debut at the end of the 1962–63 season.
Over the following seasons, Irvine became a regular feature of the Burnley team and in the 1965–66 campaign, he scored 29 goals and was the highest goalscorer in the Football League First Division.
Irvine lost his place in the Burnley team after suffering a broken leg during a cup tie in 1967, and never properly regained his form for the club.
In the Football League Second Division, he began to score goals again and was Preston's top goalscorer in the 1968–69 season despite suffering a serious leg injury which forced him to miss much of the campaign.
Irvine spent time in hospital after taking an overdose of medication, but recovered and later worked as a community worker before becoming a window cleaner.
[9] Along with his schoolmate William Donnelly, Irvine often frequented Windsor Park to watch the Northern Ireland national team, and he idolised players such as Jimmy McIlroy and Danny Blanchflower.
[10] His interest in football increasing, he started to play in a midfielder position for the Carrickfergus-based Barn United and was selected to represent the East Antrim Schoolboys as well as the Irish Schools team.
His performances while playing for Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield led to him signing junior terms with Belfast-based club Linfield, where his brother Bobby was the first-team goalkeeper.
[11] Several months later, Irvine left Linfield and joined local men's team Barn United, who competed in the Northern Ireland Amateur League.
Several clubs, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers showed an interest in him and in 1959, Jimmy McIlroy invited Irvine to a trial at English side Burnley.
[10][12] Irvine joined the Burnley youth team initially on a month's trial, along with other young players including Brian O'Neil and Willie Morgan.
[15] Both the A team and the reserves were crowned champions of their respective divisions at the end of the season, and Potts singled out Irvine for particular praise, stating that Burnley had not "had a more consistent goal getter than Willie for a very long time.
He continued to score regularly, netting 8 goals in 15 appearances, although he was forced to stop playing for a period in the winter of 1963 when adverse weather caused the postponement of several matches.
[22] His frequent goalscoring led to him becoming a more integral part of the Burnley side during the following campaign, in which he scored three goals in the first six matches, although the team achieved only four draws and two losses.
[23] Irvine retained his place in the side for most of the remainder of the campaign, and in December he scored seven goals in four games, including a hat-trick in the 4–0 win over Fulham.
After a pre-season tour of Austria, throughout which Burnley remained undefeated, the team were confident of a successful season and especially looked forward to European competition in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
He was forced to remain on the sidelines as Burnley finished 14th in the First Division and reached the fourth round of the Fairs Cup before being knocked out by Eintracht Frankfurt.
[35] Just over two months later, on 24 February 1968, Irvine made his last appearance for Burnley when he played in an unfamiliar inside-right position in the 0–1 loss away at Nottingham Forest.
He carried his goalscoring form into the new campaign, scoring the winner against Oldham Athletic in the first round of the League Cup,[44] and netting a consolation goal in the 1–3 defeat to Crystal Palace.
In March 1971, Ball offered Irvine the opportunity of a three-month loan spell at fellow Third Division side Brighton & Hove Albion.
Several clubs became interested in his services, including West Ham United, a number of American teams, and Scottish side Heart of Midlothian, where Bobby Seith was the manager.
[58] After turning down potential transfers to West Ham and Torquay, because neither he nor his wife wanted to live in either place, Irvine decided to sign for Third Division outfit Halifax Town in December 1972.
He played his last competitive game for the club in the 1–0 win against York City on 13 March 1973, after manager George Mulhall accused Irvine of not trying and not deserving his wage.
[59] After failing to report for the away game at Walsall on 1 May 1973, to play in a testimonial match for Burnley defender John Angus, he was fined two weeks' wages and forced into extra training sessions.
Five years later, he made his debut for the Northern Ireland national under-23 football team, when he played alongside his brother Bobby in the 1–5 defeat to Wales on 27 February 1963.
Irvine received his first call-up to the Northern Ireland senior team in April 1963, one month before he made his professional debut for Burnley.
[62] It was over a year before Irvine was selected to represent his country again, when he was included in the squad for the 1–2 defeat to Switzerland in a qualification match for the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Irvine was involved in his first win with the Northern Ireland team when they defeated the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifying game on 17 March 1965.
[62] Irvine continued to play for Northern Ireland, winning caps against Mexico, England and Scotland, but it was almost two and a half years before he scored again in international football.
[62] As a youngster, Irvine played as a goalkeeper until his elder brother Bobby, who went on to keep goal for the Northern Ireland national team, threatened to "batter" him.
