Iain Scanlon

[Callum Gilhooley]

Need to see if anyone can help here .

I’m at an event today & speaking with Duncan Davidson ( ex Aberdeen ). He says that Iain Scanlon seems to have just disappeared from his former teammates network & no one knows where he’s at or what he’s doing .  
Anyone know anything ?  

[HSS]

He’s been off the scene for a while mate I remember when Saints were having an event for former players and he couldn’t be traced

[Callum Gilhooley]

4 minutes ago, HSS said:

He’s been off the scene for a while mate I remember when Saints were having an event for former players and he couldn’t be traced

Dons have apparently tried also to no avail .  His best pal was Mark McGhee and he didn’t know either .  Mystery 🤔

[Forrest]

32 minutes ago, Callum Gilhooley said:

Need to see if anyone can help here .

I’m at an event today & speaking with Duncan Davidson ( ex Aberdeen ). He says that Iain Scanlon seems to have just disappeared from his former teammates network & no one knows where he’s at or what he’s doing .  
Anyone know anything ?  

Faraway Saint should know.

He is the go to St Mirren expert and general f**king know all.

Maybe he is Scanlon.

[Callum Gilhooley]

56 minutes ago, Forrest said:

Faraway Saint should know.

He is the go to St Mirren expert and general f**king know all.

Maybe he is Scanlon.

Give it a rest ya boring c**t 😡.  
  If you know something about the said player’s whereabouts, please let us know - if not , take your useless contribution elsewhere . 

[Sue Denim]

There’s an interesting snippet on his Wikipedia page:

”In 1977, after being dropped for a game against Carlisle United, Scanlon walked out on Notts County. After openly considering retirement from football, and making false claims to have inherited money, he joined Aberdeen.”

I don’t remember him creating any issues after he joined us.

Sad to hear this, hope he’s okay. He’s up there in my top 5 favourite Saints players and I’m pretty sure that Mo Salah modelled both his playing style and his look on Scanlon. The guy was a genius. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Sue Denim

[Forrest]

36 minutes ago, Callum Gilhooley said:

Give it a rest ya boring c**t 😡.  
  If you know something about the said player’s whereabouts, please let us know - if not , take your useless contribution elsewhere . 

Did he not know ?

That's a shock.

[Forrest]

 The talent we had in that era. Scanlon was fantastic as was Peter Weir before him. It was a marvelous time to be a buddie.

Wasn't it Faraway Saint ?

No wait !!!

Sorry

Silly me.

[Albanian Buddy]

Not wishing to nit pick @Callum Gilhooley but his chosen first name is Ian rather than Iain just in case you are searching google for your spelling.
 

I’m sure Ian Scanlon’s “disappearance” has been discussed before on here but there were rumours he had come into some money via a girlfriend who dumped him.

 

[Callum Gilhooley]

44 minutes ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Not wishing to nit pick @Callum Gilhooley but his chosen first name is Ian rather than Iain just in case you are searching google for your spelling.
 

I’m sure Ian Scanlon’s “disappearance” has been discussed before on here but there were rumours he had come into some money via a girlfriend who dumped him.

 

Cheers for the correction 👍.  Very strange story . Hope he’s ok , just wanting peace n quiet rather than something else

.

[Sue Denim]

3 hours ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Not wishing to nit pick @Callum Gilhooley but his chosen first name is Ian rather than Iain just in case you are searching google for your spelling.
 

I’m sure Ian Scanlon’s “disappearance” has been discussed before on here but there were rumours he had come into some money via a girlfriend who dumped him.

 

“In 1977, after being dropped for a game against Carlisle United, Scanlon walked out on Notts County. After openly considering retirement from football, and making false claims to have inherited money, he joined Aberdeen.”

Edited May 26, 2023 by Sue Denim

[Callum Gilhooley]

17 minutes ago, Sue Denim said:

“In 1977, after being dropped for a game against Carlisle United, Scanlon walked out on Notts County. After openly considering retirement from football, and making false claims to have inherited money, he joined Aberdeen.”

I’m aware of all this history SD but that was almost 50 years ago, looking to try and get a wee bit more up to date on him. It Been almost 40 years since he left Saints.

Was hoping some Saints fan on here might drink in the same pub as him on the Outer Hebrides or whatever 🍻👍

[HSS]

There are a couple of stories in the Telegraph about a search for Scan in 2008 but you have to sign up to read them

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2296969/Ian-Scanlon-eluded-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2296283/Still-seeking-Ian-Scanlon.html

[Albanian Buddy]

3 hours ago, HSS said:

There are a couple of stories in the Telegraph about a search for Scan in 2008 but you have to sign up to read them

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2296969/Ian-Scanlon-eluded-Sir-Alex-Ferguson.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2296283/Still-seeking-Ian-Scanlon.html

Absolutely nothing of note by Roddy Forsyth…….I’m not a subscriber but there are ways and means.

First article

“Our attempts to discover the whereabouts of Ian Scanlon - the Howard Hughes of Scottish football - have so far failed to locate the notoriously secretive former Notts County, Aberdeen and St Mirren winger, but they have yielded a rich seam of anecdote about his idiosyncrasies.

Mark McGhee, now manager of Motherwell, who was cited to this column as Scanlon's former buddy at Pittodrie, had this to say: "The problem with tracking Ian down is that the last search party never came back - and that was Lord Lucan riding on Shergar."

McGhee, though, was able to illuminate our mention of Scanlon's aversion to answering his phone or opening his door, a habit which reatly irritated Sir Alex Ferguson, in his pre-knighthood days as Aberdeen manager.

"Fergie had something important to tell Ian but he knew there was no point in phoning him, so he went up to his house," McGhee recalled. "At that time Ian had a sheepdog called Shep and he was always going on about how inseparable they were and that they had a telepathic bond.

"So Fergie went to the house and rang the doorbell. Shep started barking inside, but after a couple of minutes nothing happened, so Fergie rang the bell again.

"This time there wasn't a sound from the dog. Fergie waited another couple of minutes, by which time he was raging. So he rang the bell again but there was no sound - because Scan had disconnected the bell.

"Next day Ian came in to Pittodrie, cool as you like. Fergie started on at him about not answering the door and shouted: "The bell wouldnae even ring!" Scan said: "Oh, was it you that broke it?"

Another feature of Scanlon's time with Aberdeen was his insistence that his next move would be to a club in the United States.When he ultimately signed for St Mirren, the incredulous Dons players immediately demanded to know why.

"Because they're the club nearest to an airport anywhere in Scotland," Scan explained to his bemused clubmates.

Breaking News: This column's hunt for Scanlon has triggered a correspondence on the Notts County Mad fans' website.

Scanlon's cousin, Andrew, has been in touch to say that Ian still lives in Paisley, never having made the airport, it seems. Another contributor alleges that Scanlon told him at the time of his fall-out with Notts County that he was going into oil management because he had inherited an oil well in a will.”

Second link 

“The query was prompted by an article in Fifa Magazine about Colin Slater, the veteran local BBC radio reporter, who has been covering Notts County on air since 1968. 

Slater's favourite game remains a 1-0 League Cup victory over Leeds United in October 1975.

"Leeds United had reached the European Cup final a few months earlier while Notts were in the Second Division," Slater said, "and what made it more dramatic was that the only goal was scored by a Scottish winger, Ian Scanlon, who'd been recruited from a junior club, but cannot be traced by anybody now.

"Everybody wants to know where Ian Scanlon is, but nobody can find out."

Telegraph reader John Thomson writes: "I'm pretty sure Ian Scanlon had a pub in Glasgow around the late 1980s but then he disappeared off the map."

The fragrant Michelle Evans, St Mirren expert for Real Radio in Scotland, told this column that she thought Scanlon had become an accountant and promised to find out more.

So far, though, we are still in the debit column as far as current information goes.

So where on earth is Scanny?”

 

[Callum Gilhooley]

3 hours ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Absolutely nothing of note by Roddy Forsyth…….I’m not a subscriber but there are ways and means.

First article

“Our attempts to discover the whereabouts of Ian Scanlon - the Howard Hughes of Scottish football - have so far failed to locate the notoriously secretive former Notts County, Aberdeen and St Mirren winger, but they have yielded a rich seam of anecdote about his idiosyncrasies.

Mark McGhee, now manager of Motherwell, who was cited to this column as Scanlon's former buddy at Pittodrie, had this to say: "The problem with tracking Ian down is that the last search party never came back - and that was Lord Lucan riding on Shergar."

McGhee, though, was able to illuminate our mention of Scanlon's aversion to answering his phone or opening his door, a habit which reatly irritated Sir Alex Ferguson, in his pre-knighthood days as Aberdeen manager.

"Fergie had something important to tell Ian but he knew there was no point in phoning him, so he went up to his house," McGhee recalled. "At that time Ian had a sheepdog called Shep and he was always going on about how inseparable they were and that they had a telepathic bond.

"So Fergie went to the house and rang the doorbell. Shep started barking inside, but after a couple of minutes nothing happened, so Fergie rang the bell again.

"This time there wasn't a sound from the dog. Fergie waited another couple of minutes, by which time he was raging. So he rang the bell again but there was no sound - because Scan had disconnected the bell.

"Next day Ian came in to Pittodrie, cool as you like. Fergie started on at him about not answering the door and shouted: "The bell wouldnae even ring!" Scan said: "Oh, was it you that broke it?"

Another feature of Scanlon's time with Aberdeen was his insistence that his next move would be to a club in the United States.When he ultimately signed for St Mirren, the incredulous Dons players immediately demanded to know why.

"Because they're the club nearest to an airport anywhere in Scotland," Scan explained to his bemused clubmates.

Breaking News: This column's hunt for Scanlon has triggered a correspondence on the Notts County Mad fans' website.

Scanlon's cousin, Andrew, has been in touch to say that Ian still lives in Paisley, never having made the airport, it seems. Another contributor alleges that Scanlon told him at the time of his fall-out with Notts County that he was going into oil management because he had inherited an oil well in a will.”

Second link 

“The query was prompted by an article in Fifa Magazine about Colin Slater, the veteran local BBC radio reporter, who has been covering Notts County on air since 1968. 

Slater's favourite game remains a 1-0 League Cup victory over Leeds United in October 1975.

"Leeds United had reached the European Cup final a few months earlier while Notts were in the Second Division," Slater said, "and what made it more dramatic was that the only goal was scored by a Scottish winger, Ian Scanlon, who'd been recruited from a junior club, but cannot be traced by anybody now.

"Everybody wants to know where Ian Scanlon is, but nobody can find out."

Telegraph reader John Thomson writes: "I'm pretty sure Ian Scanlon had a pub in Glasgow around the late 1980s but then he disappeared off the map."

The fragrant Michelle Evans, St Mirren expert for Real Radio in Scotland, told this column that she thought Scanlon had become an accountant and promised to find out more.

So far, though, we are still in the debit column as far as current information goes.

So where on earth is Scanny?”

 

Wow, a very “complex” character indeed.    

[Albanian Buddy]

40 minutes ago, Callum Gilhooley said:

Wow, a very “complex” character indeed.    

Seems like Ian enjoyed his privacy while during his playing career and after. 

Wonderful player - considering he replaced Peter Weir he was very well thought of as a player for Saints. Did he ever miss a penalty?

Scored my personal favourite ever goal at Love St - number 4 against Celtic in my favourite ever game - nearly 40 years ago! 

St Mirren:-
Thomson, Clark, Hamilton, McCormack (Jarvie), Cooper, Fulton, Fitzpatrick, McAvennie (Alexander), McDougall, Abercrombie, Scanlon
Goals:- Clarke 25, McCormack 32, McDougall 45, Scanlon 88.

Celtic:-
Bonner, McGrain, Sinclair, Aitken, McAdam, W McStay (Halpin), McClair, P McStay, McGarvey, MacLeod, Burns.
Sub not used- Brian Whittaker.
Goals:- Burns 9, Aitken 19.

Ref:-
Att:- 13,062.

 

[CraigyBoy]

37 minutes ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Seems like Ian enjoyed his privacy while during his playing career and after. 

Wonderful player - considering he replaced Peter Weir he was very well thought of as a player for Saints. Did he ever miss a penalty?

Scored my personal favourite ever goal at Love St - number 4 against Celtic in my favourite ever game - nearly 40 years ago! 

St Mirren:-
Thomson, Clark, Hamilton, McCormack (Jarvie), Cooper, Fulton, Fitzpatrick, McAvennie (Alexander), McDougall, Abercrombie, Scanlon
Goals:- Clarke 25, McCormack 32, McDougall 45, Scanlon 88.

Celtic:-
Bonner, McGrain, Sinclair, Aitken, McAdam, W McStay (Halpin), McClair, P McStay, McGarvey, MacLeod, Burns.
Sub not used- Brian Whittaker.
Goals:- Burns 9, Aitken 19.

Ref:-
Att:- 13,062.

 

Really ??

Almost 40 years ago 😮😮

I was 11 at the time and still remember that game now ..

What a fab team we had 

[Callum Gilhooley]

39 minutes ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Seems like Ian enjoyed his privacy while during his playing career and after. 

Wonderful player - considering he replaced Peter Weir he was very well thought of as a player for Saints. Did he ever miss a penalty?

Scored my personal favourite ever goal at Love St - number 4 against Celtic in my favourite ever game - nearly 40 years ago! 

St Mirren:-
Thomson, Clark, Hamilton, McCormack (Jarvie), Cooper, Fulton, Fitzpatrick, McAvennie (Alexander), McDougall, Abercrombie, Scanlon
Goals:- Clarke 25, McCormack 32, McDougall 45, Scanlon 88.

Celtic:-
Bonner, McGrain, Sinclair, Aitken, McAdam, W McStay (Halpin), McClair, P McStay, McGarvey, MacLeod, Burns.
Sub not used- Brian Whittaker.
Goals:- Burns 9, Aitken 19.

Ref:-
Att:- 13,062.

 

I’ve tried looking for that goal , given it was against Celtic, I assume there would have been footage of it , either a Scotsport clip or something else but can’t find it .  
When Weir went to dons and Scanlon came the other way I think most of us thought we were getting lesser player - how wrong we were . A great exiting  player to watch .

[Tommy]

55 minutes ago, Albanian Buddy said:

Seems like Ian enjoyed his privacy while during his playing career and after. 

Wonderful player - considering he replaced Peter Weir he was very well thought of as a player for Saints. Did he ever miss a penalty?

Scored my personal favourite ever goal at Love St - number 4 against Celtic in my favourite ever game - nearly 40 years ago! 

St Mirren:-
Thomson, Clark, Hamilton, McCormack (Jarvie), Cooper, Fulton, Fitzpatrick, McAvennie (Alexander), McDougall, Abercrombie, Scanlon
Goals:- Clarke 25, McCormack 32, McDougall 45, Scanlon 88.

Celtic:-
Bonner, McGrain, Sinclair, Aitken, McAdam, W McStay (Halpin), McClair, P McStay, McGarvey, MacLeod, Burns.
Sub not used- Brian Whittaker.
Goals:- Burns 9, Aitken 19.

Ref:-
Att:- 13,062.

 

Think he only missed 1 pen in his time with us.

Excellent player for us and hopefully he is well wherever he is. 

[Albanian Buddy]

1 hour ago, Callum Gilhooley said:

I’ve tried looking for that goal , given it was against Celtic, I assume there would have been footage of it , either a Scotsport clip or something else but can’t find it .  
When Weir went to dons and Scanlon came the other way I think most of us thought we were getting lesser player - how wrong we were . A great exiting  player to watch .

Sadly it was never televised.

[beyond our ken]

On 5/26/2023 at 8:05 PM, Albanian Buddy said:

Not wishing to nit pick @Callum Gilhooley but his chosen first name is Ian rather than Iain just in case you are searching google for your spelling.
 

I’m sure Ian Scanlon’s “disappearance” has been discussed before on here but there were rumours he had come into some money via a girlfriend who dumped him.

It was reported that his girfriend had a big pools win and he declared he was retiring, her response was withering and he was promptly dumped, to what was evemtually our great benefit.

As for comparisons with Weir, there was always an expectation of something special wherever he got possession on the pitch.  The same as true for Scan, except it was mainly duiring attacking phases

 

[spankin_panda]

After speaking to you yesterday @Callum Gilhooley- I’ve been searching but found nothing! 

[Rascal]

On 5/27/2023 at 10:32 AM, Albanian Buddy said:

Seems like Ian enjoyed his privacy while during his playing career and after. 

Wonderful player - considering he replaced Peter Weir he was very well thought of as a player for Saints. Did he ever miss a penalty?

Scored my personal favourite ever goal at Love St - number 4 against Celtic in my favourite ever game - nearly 40 years ago! 

St Mirren:-
Thomson, Clark, Hamilton, McCormack (Jarvie), Cooper, Fulton, Fitzpatrick, McAvennie (Alexander), McDougall, Abercrombie, Scanlon
Goals:- Clarke 25, McCormack 32, McDougall 45, Scanlon 88.

Celtic:-
Bonner, McGrain, Sinclair, Aitken, McAdam, W McStay (Halpin), McClair, P McStay, McGarvey, MacLeod, Burns.
Sub not used- Brian Whittaker.
Goals:- Burns 9, Aitken 19.

Ref:-
Att:- 13,062.

 

I recall that goal vividly. I watched from the North Bank. My memory tells me that he was just inside the Celtic half way line when he turned and walloped a looping ball over the Celtic keeper and into the net!

[BigYardsAndBasher]

1 hour ago, Rascal said:

I recall that goal vividly. I watched from the North Bank. My memory tells me that he was just inside the Celtic half way line when he turned and walloped a looping ball over the Celtic keeper and into the net!

He was before my time but I have been told stories about his qualities and how he entertained the Paisley faithful.