Gordon McQueen appeared for St Mirren and Leeds United before he joined Manchester United in February 1978. While with United, he formed a strong partnership with fellow central defensive bulwark Martin Buchan and helped the side win the 1983 FA Cup Final after a replay against Brighton and Hove Albion.
PART ONE
Hailing from Ayrshire, Gordon McQueen initiated his footballing career with Scottish First Division side St Mirren and the promising player was handed his first-team debut for the Saints in a heavy 4-0 friendly defeat to English First Division side Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 1 August 1970. A solidly constructed central defender who also liked to join the attack, he registered five goals in 57 Scottish League appearances for the Paisley club before he was discovered by Leeds United boss Don Revie who subsequently bought him for a bargain fee of £30,000 at the front end of the 1972-73 campaign.
The Yorkshiremen had ended the previous season as First Division runners-up and FA Cup winners, and with players like Billy Bremner, Allan Clarke, Eddie Gray, and Norman Hunter, they were still a major force to be reckoned with. And although Leeds had got themselves a reputation as a physical team, they nevertheless played some entertaining football under Revie during the first half of the 1970s, and the new signing from St Mirren quickly settled down in his new surroundings.
The Scot, who had been brought to Elland Road as a long-term replacement for former England defender Jack Charlton, debuted for the Peacocks in a 3-2 First Division victory over Derby County at Baseball Ground on 3 March 1973, and managed to make six league appearances for his new employers during his first season. After establishing himself as a regular in the talented first team at Leeds, the steady stopper proceeded to play 171 league matches for the club, and was an important part of the successful side that clinched the First Division Championship in the 1973-74 campaign.
Leeds, who had as many as ten internationals in their squad, kick-started the season with a dominating and convincing 3-1 victory against Everton at Elland Road where Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, and Mick Jones all registered a goal each for the hosts. Following an impressive winning streak of seven matches, Revie´s lads were held to a goalless draw against lowly placed Manchester United, a side now without George Best, Bobby Charlton, and Denis Law, at Elland Road on 22 September before grabbing themselves another two points with a strenuous and narrow 1-0 win over Ron Saunders´s Norwich City at Carrow Road a week later.
Leeds then won eight and drew six of their next 14 games, including a solid 4-1 success against next-to-bottom West Ham United at Elland Road, and were comfortably topping the Division One table by late December; sitting eight points clear of second-placed Liverpool and ten ahead of of Burnley in third position.
Leeds began 1974 with a 1-1 draw to League Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road and remained undefeated in the top-flight until surprisingly going down 3-2 against Stoke City, who were sitting seventeenth in the standings, before a 40,000 crowd at Victoria Ground on 23 February, with Denis Smith scoring the winner for the home side eight minutes past the hour mark.
The shock defeat to the Potters were followed up by two 1-1 home draws with Leicester City and Newcastle United and a 1-0 home win over League Cup finalists Manchester City, now managed by Saunders, before they suffered three defeats in a row against Liverpool, Burnley, and West Ham United respectively. Leeds bounced back, though, and went unbeaten for the rest of the season to win the title five points ahead of Liverpool.
Following Don Revie’s departure to become manager of England in July 1974, however, Leeds United gradually went into decline. As a consequence, Leeds found it increasingly difficult to compete with wealthier clubs in the seasons to come, and McQueen eventually made a high-profile move across the Pennines when he was signed by bitter enemies Manchester United for a record transfer fee of £495,000 on 9 February 1978.
At Manchester United, Gordon McQueen linked with former Leeds United teammate Joe Jordan who had been brought to the Old Trafford club from Elland Road for a transfer fee estimated to be somewhere in the region of £350,000 only a few weeks before. The Ayrshireman was given his First Division debut for United by Dave Sexton in a 3-1 defeat against North West rivals Liverpool at Anfield on 25 February 1978 and would go on to appear in 184 Division One games for the club, contributing 20 goals in the process.
During his stay at Manchester United, the prodigious performer became universally acclaimed for his brilliance in the air as well as his buccaneering forward manoeuvres, and the towering defender stayed with the club until persistent injuries forced him to retire from the game of football at the end of the 1984-85 campaign.
PART TWO
A Scottish international, Gordon McQueen gained 30 senior caps for the country of his birth after being handed his full debut by former St Johnstone head coach Willie Ormond in a 2-1 friendly encounter defeat against Belgium at the Albert Dyserynck Stadium in the city of Bruges on the 1st of June 1974.
Arguably, one of his most unforgettable moments at international level arrived in the 2–1 victory against old foes England at Wembley Stadium in the British Home Championship on the 4th of June 1977. In front of a Wembley attendance of almost 100,000 people, including nearly 70 000 Scots, McQueen scored the opener for Scotland when he headed home a free-kick from Asa Hartford just two minutes before the break.
In the second half, Kenny Dalglish added a second goal for Ally MacLeod´s team on the hour mark, before Mick Channon reduced the deficit for the Three Lions from the penalty spot after McQueen had brought down Trevor Francis inside the box with three minutes left of the contest.
The blond Clydesdale of Scottish soccer, who was picked for the squad for both the FIFA World Cup in West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978, played his final game for his nation in a 2-0 British Home Championship defeat against Wales at Vetch Field in Swansea on 16t May 1981.
Gordon McQueen also had a comparatively short spell as manager at Scottish League club Airdrieonians, but when he left the Waysiders in 1988, it was effectively the end of his managerial ambitions.