Gordon Neilson (footballer)

Gordon Neilson (born 28 May 1947) is a Scottish retired professional football right winger who played in the Football League for Arsenal and Brentford.

Gordon Neilson

Personal information
Full name	Gordon Neilson[1]
Date of birth	(1947-05-28) 28 May 1947
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position(s)	Right winger
Youth career
	Glasgow United
1964–1966	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1968	Arsenal	14	(2)
1968–1972	Brentford	92	(15)
1972–1973	Hillingdon Borough	31	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Arsenal

A Winger, Neilson joined First Division club Arsenal from amateur club Glasgow United in April 1964.[2][1] He signed a professional contract in June 1964 and featured for the youth team which lost to Everton in the 1965 FA Youth Cup Final.[2] He also played for the reserve and 'A' teams and had to wait until 12 March 1966 to make his first team debut, which came in a 1–0 league defeat to Everton.[3] He made just one further appearance during the 1965–66 season, in a 1–0 victory over Leicester City on the final day.[3] Neilson had to wait until 19 November 1966 to make his next appearance, which came in a 1–0 victory over Fulham.[3] He scored his first goal for the club in the following game, a 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest.[3] He made a breakthrough into the first team and scored his second goal for the club in a 3–0 victory over Blackpool on 21 January 1967 and his third in the following game, a 3–0 FA Cup third round victory over Bristol Rovers.[3] Neilson's run in the team came to an end in late February 1967 and failed to make any further appearances.[3] He departed Highbury in October 1968, having made 17 appearances and scored three goals for the Gunners.[2]

Brentford

Neilson signed for Fourth Division club Brentford for a £10,000 fee in October 1968.[4] In a time of financial uncertainty for the Griffin Park club, Neilson's £10,000 fee represented a major gamble.[1] After making 29 appearances during the 1968–69 season, he made 39 appearances during the 1969–70 season and helped the Bees to a fifth-place finish.[5] His appearances tailed away in the early 1970s and he made just 13 appearances during the 1971–72 season, in which Brentford finally secured promotion back to Third Division.[5] Neilson was released after the season and made 104 appearances and scored 15 goals during his time with the Bees.[1]

Hillingdon Borough

Neilson saw out his career with a spell at Southern League Premier Division club Hillingdon Borough during the 1972–73 season.[1]

Personal life

After his retirement from football, Neilson worked as a computer programmer later for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in the City of London.[6]

Honours

Brentford

• Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1971–72[5]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	1965–66[3]	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1966–67[3]		12	2	3	1	0	0	15	3
	Total		14	2	3	1	0	0	17	3
Brentford	1968–69[5]	Fourth Division	27	6	2	0	—		29	6
	1969–70[5]		34	3	2	0	3	0	39	3
	1970–71[5]		19	4	3	0	1	0	23	4
	1971–72[5]		12	2	0	0	1	0	13	2
	Total		92	15	7	0	5	0	104	15
Career total			106	17	10	1	5	0	121	18

References

1. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 114. ISBN 978-0955294914.
2. Rippleffect Ltd. "Gordon Neilson". arsenal.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
3. "Gordon Neilson". 11v11.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
4. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 978-1906796709.
5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 389–391. ISBN 0951526200.
6. "Where Are They Now? Brentford Division Four promotion-winners 1971–72". The League Paper. Retrieved 16 July 2017.