A BIZARRE sequence of events will probably end today with Celtic
signing their former star, Frank McAvennie, despite the fact that he
posed in a Partick Thistle shirt yesterday and looked forward to making
his debut for the Maryhill team against Motherwell at Firhill on
Saturday.
The strange goings-on, which resembled a condensed version of the
infamous change of mind by Maurice Johnston when he signed for Celtic
and then reneged to join Rangers, encompassed such diverse points as
Parkhead, Firhill, and Phoenix, Arizona, and eventually left the Thistle
manager bewildered and angry.
John Lambie had planned to field his new man on Saturday and nothing
that happened when McAvennie arrived at Firhill yesterday seemed to
affect that intention.
Although the player had not signed anything, Lambie was satisfied the
deal was done after negotiations with the player's agent, Bill McMurdo,
who also acted for Johnston on that more renowned occasion in May, 1989.
McMurdo, in Arizona, had a long conversation with Celtic manager Liam
Brady at about the same time as his player was meeting the press to
declare his pleasure at joining Thistle, albeit on a short contract.
Brady said: ''I spoke to Bill McMurdo and have asked to speak to
McAvennie. I hope to do that over the weekend.''
Lambie, who was out for dinner with his wife as frantic officials
tried to tell him of the twist in the tale, said: ''I had a gentleman's
agreement that he would sign for us. There was one little thing to be
sorted out but all the details were down in black and white. There were
no problems. Surely your word should be good enough but if this is
correct there is no way Partick Thistle will be made a scapegoat.''
Now it is certain that the Thistle shirt McAvennie wore to pose for
the cameras is the only one he will don. A confirmed Celtic fan from
boyhood, McAvennie had been a great favourite with the Parkhead
aficionados during his three-year spell with the club but his
will-he-won't-he-leave saga in his final season lost him many admirers.
Now 33, he has spent the past 18 months with various clubs, among them
Aston Villa and lately South China in Hong Kong.
At Firhill, before the astonishing turn of events came about, he had
said he would not come back to Glasgow to make a fool of himself. ''I
know what the people there are like and I had no intention of going back
without being fit to play in the premier division.''
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