Benny Rooney
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 May 1943 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cambuslang Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1963 | Celtic | ||
| 1961–1962 | → Dumbarton (loan)[1] | 6 | |
| 1963–1966 | Dundee United | 22 | (4) |
| 1966–1973 | St Johnstone | 222 | (12) |
| 1973–1976 | Partick Thistle | 62 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1976–1983 | Greenock Morton | ||
| 1983–1986 | Partick Thistle | ||
| 1986 | Albion Rovers | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Benny Rooney (born 3 May 1943) is a Scottish former association football player and manager.
Playing career
Rooney played for Celtic as a youth, but was allowed to sign for Dundee United on a free transfer in 1963.[2] He was frequently relegated to United's reserve team, however, and he was eventually sold to St Johnstone in 1966 for £3,500.[2] Rooney served the Perth club for nearly a decade during a very successful period for the club under the management of Willie Ormond. Rooney was the club's captain during their UEFA Cup run of 1971, when they defeated Hamburg and Vasas Budapest.[3]
Managerial career
Rooney was appointed manager of Morton in 1976. Morton were part-time and competing in the First Division at the time. In his second season in charge he led the club to promotion to the Scottish Premier Division. In the 1979-80 season Morton famously topped the Premier Division in the middle of the season, and ultimately finished in 6th place, quite an achievement for a part-time club.[4]
Rooney is also revered by Morton fans for assembling a memorable squad, including fan favourite Andy Ritchie, who was brought to Cappielow from Celtic in 1976.[5]
Rooney left Morton in 1983, and went on to manage Partick Thistle and Albion Rovers, before returning to his first club Celtic briefly as a coach.[6]
Personal life
Benny has two children with wife Marion.
References
- ↑ McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.
- 1 2 Extract from Section 2 of The Rise of the Terrors Archived December 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., Arabest Publishing.
- ↑ History - The European campaigns, St Johnstone official website
- ↑ "Chick Young's view". BBC Sport. BBC. 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ↑ "Andy Ritchie". MortonOnline.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ↑ "Season 93-94 Part 1". The View. Retrieved 22 July 2014.