McGovern: John Prescott (John)

1974-1975 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Montrose: 28-10-1949

Debut: v Birmingham City (h): 24-08-1974

5’10” 10st 13lb (1974)

McGovern was born in Montrose but moved to Hartlepool when seven and was educated at Henry Smith’s Grammar School, a rugby-playing school. Despite this he soon showed an aptitude for soccer and was taken on by Hartlepool United, where Brian Clough was Manager, in May 1967, and made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He was part of their team that were promoted from the Fourth Division in 1967-68. Clough took him to Derby County in September 1968 for £7,500 and the Rams won the Second Division title that season, so McGovern played in all four Divisions of the Football League in only eighteen months, and was still only nineteen. He was at Hartlepool for two seasons and scored five goals in seventy-two League appearances, of which three were as a substitute. He played a key role in Derby’s 1971-72 League Championship success and went to Leeds in August 1974. The fee of £125,000 also included the transfer of John O’Hare as the two players followed their Manager. He made one hundred and ninety League appearances for the Rams, including four as substitute, and scored sixteen goals. His only four appearances were to replace Billy Bremner who was suspended for being sent off, with Kevin Keegan, at Wembley in the opening fixture of the season in the Charity Shield. Tarred with the same brush as Clough, Gordon and O’Hare, McGovern endured a miserable seven months at Leeds after joining United during Brian Clough’s brief but turbulent reign, but went on to achieve glory with Clough at Nottingham Forest. McGovern enjoyed seven years of success at Forest, much of it as captain, which included European Cup-winners’ medals in 1979 and 1980, a League Championship medal in 1977-78 and League Cup-winners’ medals in 1978 and 1979. He was also a member of the Forest team that gained promotion from the Second Division in 1976-77. While with Forest McGovern made two hundred and fifty-three League appearances, including four as a substitute and scored four goals and made many more appearances in their many Cup quests. In July 1982 he joined Bolton Wanderers as Player-Manager but was dismissed in January 1985. He made sixteen League appearances at Burnden Park without scoring. He then played for Horwich RMI and had moved to Tenerife to work in Real Estate. He was appointed Manager of Chorley in March 1990. In March 1992 he was named as Peter Shilton’s assistant at Plymouth Argyle, but quit after a bust up with his former Forest colleague. In September 1994, he became joint Manager of Rotherham United, with Archie Gemmill, another former teammate, and steered them to victory over Shrewsbury Town in the 1996 Auto Windscreen Shield Final at Wembley. He was also Assistant Manager at Hull City, from November 1998 to April 2000 and Manager of Woking from June 1997 to September 1998 and Ilkeston Town from October 2000 to March 2001. He won two Scottish Under-Twenty-three caps, but with the glut of fine midfielders available to Scotland during his career, such as Billy Bremner, Graeme Souness, Asa Hartford, Don Masson and Archie Gemmill, he never gained a full cap at International level. He is now an after dinner speaker, and a pundit on BBC Radio Nottingham. He continues to coach lads of all ages around the world including workers in the oil fields of Azerbaijan and girls and boys attending summer schools in the USA.