From Busby Babe to Blackpool
Ian Moir 1943-2015
Ian Moir was born in Aberdeen on 30 June 1943 and, as a right or left winger, he had played for Aberdeen schoolboys and had represented Scotland at junior level. He was spotted by Manchester United as a junior and Andy Beattie, United’s Scottish scout, said of him 'When I first saw young Moir, I was convinced I had found the greatest of them all.' He was duly signed by United as a schoolboy in 1958, signing as a professional in July 1960 and going on to play 45 League games and score five goals for the club. When he was injured and missing from the team, he was replaced by a 17-year-old named George Best.
He was signed by Blackpool from Manchester United for a fee of £10,000 on 12 February 1965 at a weekly wage of £30 plus an extra £5 when he played in the first team with such terms to be in place for two seasons. Of the day he signed he later said, 'It was just one of those days which start off terribly then have a happy ending. I wanted away because I wanted to play first team football more than anything else in the world. The news that they were willing to transfer me to Blackpool came as a complete shock. I like the look of the place and I’m sure we will be happy here.'
He made his league debut for Blackpool at outside left in 1-1 home draw with Leicester City on 13 February 1965 and the press reaction was 'Young Moir, who switched wings with Lea in the first half, did not have a brilliant debut, but he did show nice touches and offered some hope for his future at Bloomfield Road.' And about the supporters, Moir commented, 'They were very fair to me. Not over-critical. And Blackpool are a good side to play with. They play football. And they’re a good bunch of lads. They’ve made me very welcome. Just before the game Jimmy Armfield had a talk with me and put me right at ease.'
He played on the right wing in his second game on 20 February 1965 and he scored the equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United. The press comment was 'Moir and Ball made a good right wing partnership, the former being particularly prominent in the last 20 minutes' and this comment came under the headline 'New Boy Top of the Form'. He went on to played 14 League games and score four goals for Blackpool in the 1964/65 season and he went on the club tour to New Zealand in the close season of 1965.
He began the 1965/66 season on the right wing in the league side and only missed four of the first 25 games but thereafter Leslie Lea moved into that position and Moir was restricted to four further games that season, playing two at outside left, one at outside right and one in the unaccustomed position of inside left.
However, he made quite an impression in the Central League side with one report reading, 'The skilful aggression of Moir went for nothing' as Blackpool lost 4-2 to Stoke City reserves on 5 February 1966. And then, when Jimmy Robson scored four goals in the Central League side’s 6-1 victory over Everton reserves on 23 April 1966 he was 'fed by a stream of passes through the middle by wingers Horne and Moir and really rocked the Mersey boat as Everton finished a bemused and battered team'. He played 25 League games, scoring three goals, one League Cup tie and 13 Central League games, scoring five goals, for Blackpool in the 1965/66 season.
In a pre-season friendly game against Preston North End on 15 August 1966, he missed chances that prompted one critic to note ominously in view of what was to come, 'a warning that more sharpness near goal is still required'. But overall, playing at centre forward, he 'moved well enough to create room for his other forwards' as Blackpool won 2-0.
He began the 1966/67 league season at outside left but then played a couple of games at outside right before being given an extended run at inside left, beginning with the game against Burnley on 1 October 1966 when Blackpool lost 1-0. However, after a couple of games, the press comment was 'Ian Moir, that sometimes brilliant and often erratic wingman, has added a lot more drive to the attack in two games at inside left [he also played in the same position in a drawn League Cup tie against Chelsea on 5 October 1966]. The overall net product of the switch has been modest but Moir was definitely a rejuvenated player in both forward role and adding more drive to the attack.' Asked if this was the start of a bright new beginning he said, 'It’s a bit early to say yet but things went quite well for me in both games.'
Blackpool had a dreadful season at home, winning only one game and in that game Moir, from his new inside left position, scored twice as Newcastle United were routed 6-0 on 22 October 1966. He continued in the inside left position for 15 games, missing only one game through injury.
When he lost his place in the league side he scored three goals from centre forward for the Central League side in a 5-0 victory over Preston North End reserves on 25 February 1967 and then, once again playing at centre forward for the Central League side against Leeds United reserves on 15 April 1967, he 'flickered through the game with occasional touches of brilliance but failed to stamp his personality on the game' as Blackpool won 2-1. He played 22 League games, scoring five goals, four League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 15 Central League games, scoring 10 goals, for Blackpool in the 1966/67 relegation season.
His two and a half seasons at Blackpool saw him play 61 league games, scoring 12 goals, five League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 28 Central League games, scoring 15 goals. With Alan Skirton claiming the right wing position, Blackpool felt that they could release Moir and he was transferred to Chester City for a fee of £7,000 on 12 May 1967.
He played 25 League games and scored three goals in his short spell at Chester when he was reported as being 'the shining light in the team, but [had] lacked support up front thus reducing his effectiveness'. Chester transferred him to Wrexham for a fee of £8,000 plus Graham Turner on 12 January 1968.
He had a fine career at Wrexham where he helped the side to promotion to the Third Division in 1969/70. In total he played a total of 144 League games, made six substitute appearances and scored 20 goals for the club and he was described as 'a brilliant ball player, who could be devastating on his day'. He was in the side that lost the Welsh Cup final 4-1 to Cardiff City in 1971.
Wrexham transferred him to Shrewsbury Town on 9 March 1972 for a fee of £10,000 and he played 22 League games, made three substitute appearances and scored two goals for the club. He was then re-signed by Wrexham on a free transfer on 5 July 1973 but his stay was short-lived as he played only a further 11 League games and made four substitute appearances, taking his overall statistics for the club to 189 League and Cup games, 10 substitute appearances and 24 goals.
He went to South Africa in the summer of 1975 and he played football for Arcadia Shepherds while over there. On his return to England, he signed for Oswestry Town on 28 October 1975 but his stay was only to last a couple of months and he joined Colwyn Bay on 2 February 1976 and played there for the remainder of the 1975/76 season.
He retired from football after the 1975/76 season, settled in Chester and took up employment at BNFL Capenhurst although he did have a spell of manager of Tarvin FC in Cheshire.
He died on 26 March 2015.
Gerry Wolstenholme
Ian Moir was born in Aberdeen on 30 June 1943 and, as a right or left winger, he had played for Aberdeen schoolboys and had represented Scotland at junior level. He was spotted by Manchester United as a junior and Andy Beattie, United’s Scottish scout, said of him 'When I first saw young Moir, I was convinced I had found the greatest of them all.' He was duly signed by United as a schoolboy in 1958, signing as a professional in July 1960 and going on to play 45 League games and score five goals for the club. When he was injured and missing from the team, he was replaced by a 17-year-old named George Best.
He was signed by Blackpool from Manchester United for a fee of £10,000 on 12 February 1965 at a weekly wage of £30 plus an extra £5 when he played in the first team with such terms to be in place for two seasons. Of the day he signed he later said, 'It was just one of those days which start off terribly then have a happy ending. I wanted away because I wanted to play first team football more than anything else in the world. The news that they were willing to transfer me to Blackpool came as a complete shock. I like the look of the place and I’m sure we will be happy here.'
He made his league debut for Blackpool at outside left in 1-1 home draw with Leicester City on 13 February 1965 and the press reaction was 'Young Moir, who switched wings with Lea in the first half, did not have a brilliant debut, but he did show nice touches and offered some hope for his future at Bloomfield Road.' And about the supporters, Moir commented, 'They were very fair to me. Not over-critical. And Blackpool are a good side to play with. They play football. And they’re a good bunch of lads. They’ve made me very welcome. Just before the game Jimmy Armfield had a talk with me and put me right at ease.'
He played on the right wing in his second game on 20 February 1965 and he scored the equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United. The press comment was 'Moir and Ball made a good right wing partnership, the former being particularly prominent in the last 20 minutes' and this comment came under the headline 'New Boy Top of the Form'. He went on to played 14 League games and score four goals for Blackpool in the 1964/65 season and he went on the club tour to New Zealand in the close season of 1965.
He began the 1965/66 season on the right wing in the league side and only missed four of the first 25 games but thereafter Leslie Lea moved into that position and Moir was restricted to four further games that season, playing two at outside left, one at outside right and one in the unaccustomed position of inside left.
However, he made quite an impression in the Central League side with one report reading, 'The skilful aggression of Moir went for nothing' as Blackpool lost 4-2 to Stoke City reserves on 5 February 1966. And then, when Jimmy Robson scored four goals in the Central League side’s 6-1 victory over Everton reserves on 23 April 1966 he was 'fed by a stream of passes through the middle by wingers Horne and Moir and really rocked the Mersey boat as Everton finished a bemused and battered team'. He played 25 League games, scoring three goals, one League Cup tie and 13 Central League games, scoring five goals, for Blackpool in the 1965/66 season.
In a pre-season friendly game against Preston North End on 15 August 1966, he missed chances that prompted one critic to note ominously in view of what was to come, 'a warning that more sharpness near goal is still required'. But overall, playing at centre forward, he 'moved well enough to create room for his other forwards' as Blackpool won 2-0.
He began the 1966/67 league season at outside left but then played a couple of games at outside right before being given an extended run at inside left, beginning with the game against Burnley on 1 October 1966 when Blackpool lost 1-0. However, after a couple of games, the press comment was 'Ian Moir, that sometimes brilliant and often erratic wingman, has added a lot more drive to the attack in two games at inside left [he also played in the same position in a drawn League Cup tie against Chelsea on 5 October 1966]. The overall net product of the switch has been modest but Moir was definitely a rejuvenated player in both forward role and adding more drive to the attack.' Asked if this was the start of a bright new beginning he said, 'It’s a bit early to say yet but things went quite well for me in both games.'
Blackpool had a dreadful season at home, winning only one game and in that game Moir, from his new inside left position, scored twice as Newcastle United were routed 6-0 on 22 October 1966. He continued in the inside left position for 15 games, missing only one game through injury.
When he lost his place in the league side he scored three goals from centre forward for the Central League side in a 5-0 victory over Preston North End reserves on 25 February 1967 and then, once again playing at centre forward for the Central League side against Leeds United reserves on 15 April 1967, he 'flickered through the game with occasional touches of brilliance but failed to stamp his personality on the game' as Blackpool won 2-1. He played 22 League games, scoring five goals, four League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 15 Central League games, scoring 10 goals, for Blackpool in the 1966/67 relegation season.
His two and a half seasons at Blackpool saw him play 61 league games, scoring 12 goals, five League Cup ties, scoring two goals, and 28 Central League games, scoring 15 goals. With Alan Skirton claiming the right wing position, Blackpool felt that they could release Moir and he was transferred to Chester City for a fee of £7,000 on 12 May 1967.
He played 25 League games and scored three goals in his short spell at Chester when he was reported as being 'the shining light in the team, but [had] lacked support up front thus reducing his effectiveness'. Chester transferred him to Wrexham for a fee of £8,000 plus Graham Turner on 12 January 1968.
He had a fine career at Wrexham where he helped the side to promotion to the Third Division in 1969/70. In total he played a total of 144 League games, made six substitute appearances and scored 20 goals for the club and he was described as 'a brilliant ball player, who could be devastating on his day'. He was in the side that lost the Welsh Cup final 4-1 to Cardiff City in 1971.
Wrexham transferred him to Shrewsbury Town on 9 March 1972 for a fee of £10,000 and he played 22 League games, made three substitute appearances and scored two goals for the club. He was then re-signed by Wrexham on a free transfer on 5 July 1973 but his stay was short-lived as he played only a further 11 League games and made four substitute appearances, taking his overall statistics for the club to 189 League and Cup games, 10 substitute appearances and 24 goals.
He went to South Africa in the summer of 1975 and he played football for Arcadia Shepherds while over there. On his return to England, he signed for Oswestry Town on 28 October 1975 but his stay was only to last a couple of months and he joined Colwyn Bay on 2 February 1976 and played there for the remainder of the 1975/76 season.
He retired from football after the 1975/76 season, settled in Chester and took up employment at BNFL Capenhurst although he did have a spell of manager of Tarvin FC in Cheshire.
He died on 26 March 2015.
Gerry Wolstenholme
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