Managers Worked Under

(1) Bob Alexander **** (1945-74)

  • President of Junior FA
  • Approachable Character
  • Very Strict
  • If He Said Something - That Was Law
  • Nobody Rubbed Him Up The Wrong Way
  • Didn't Suffer Fools Gladly
  • Good At Identifying What Player Would Suit Irvine Meadow
  • He Knew Game Inside Out

(2) John Chryton **

  • An Englishman
  • Nice Man
  • Reasonable Coach
  • Wasn't At Meadow Long Enough To Assess Him In Detail

(3) Johnny McIntyre ****

    • Brought To The Club As A Player By Bob Alexander
    • Good, Good Player - Left Midfield
    • History Tells You About Him As A Player
    • Retired As A Player And Became Coach
    • Quite Heavy Duty With His Words
    • Good Coach
    • Straight To The Point
    • Quite Quick Tempered

(4) Davie Curlett **

    • Ex-Kilmarnock
    • Top Player At Killie
    • Pedigree Well Known
    • Good Coach
    • Nice Rapport With Players

(5) John Donachie **

    • Very Close Friend Of Sir Alex Ferguson
    • Spell With St.Mirren
    • A Nice Big Chap
    • Tactically Quite Shrewd

(6) John Minford *** (1989-90)

    • Played With Medda - Left Back From Hibs
    • Played With Hibs For A Good Few Years
    • Lived In Hurlford
    • Funny Big Guy
    • Took Training
    • Pass Marks

(7) Johnny Boyd ****

    • Great Player
    • Right Or Left Half From Greenock Morton
    • Was Captain For Morton
    • Well, Well Known
    • A Stalwart
    • Smashing Guy
    • First Class Coach
    • Good Knowledge
    • His Son Played For Medda For A Wee While

(8) Neilly Muggins ***

    • Very Good Player With Irvine Meadow
    • Nice Man
    • First Class Player
    • Fair Coach
    • Good Servant

(9) Davie McIlroy **

    • Played With Irvine Meadow Too
    • Small Chap
    • Outside Left
    • Good Servant
    • A Wee Character
    • Got A Lot Out Of Him
    • Used To Do Backflips When Celebrating Scoring A Goal But One Time Had To Get Stretchered Off After Doing His Back In

(10) Sanny McInespie *** (1982-84)

    • Complicated Big Character
    • Controversial
    • Always Thought He Was Right
    • Alright Coach
    • Had To Be His Way Or Not At All
    • Good Trainer
    • Infamous One - Took Training One Saturday Morning At The Waterfront Before A Scottish Cup Tie At Arbroath, Training Went On & On And As A Result Nearly Missed Kick-Off - Players Had To Get Stripped In The Bus

(11) Allan Johnston **** (1986-89)

    • Ace Player
    • Different Class
    • Between Three Of My Favourite Ever Irvine Meadow Players Along With Hugh O'Brien & Eric Morris
    • Used To Drop Like A Bag Of Tatties And Could Win You Penalties All Night
    • Good With The Players

(12) Willie Knox **** (1995-96)

    • What A Lad
    • Record Second To None
    • Astonished He Came To Medda As He Was Auchinleck Talbot Through & Through
    • Him And 'Bob Alexander' Were Similar
    • Knew What Players Were Right For Irvine Meadow
    • Wasn't Very Coach Oriented - Used To Say To The Team, You Know Who We Are Playing - Now Go Out There And Get Stuck In
    • He Knew His Players Would Do The Business
    • Reminded Me Of 'Colombo' - Used To Go Into All His Different Pockets To Try And Find The Teamsheets

(13) Davie McKellar ** (1996-97)

    • Ex-Rangers Goalkeeper
    • Delightful Big Chap
    • No Airs Or Graces Of Who He Was
    • Tactically Quite Astute
    • Quite A Short Time At Meadow

(14) Milton Thompson *** (1985-86)

    • Honest Chap
    • When He Said Something About A Player He Meant It
    • 110% Effort & Time For Irvine Meadow
    • Very Dedicated
    • Generous To Help The Team
    • Good Coach

(15) Jim O'Donnell * (1993-95)

    • Been Round The Block
    • Knew The Game Well
    • Rather Egotistical
    • Wasn't Bad In Coaching Department

(16) Iain McQueen *** (1991-93)

    • Heavy Duty
    • Not A Slouch
    • He Was Decent
    • Good Talker
    • Players Would Always Listen To Him
    • Short Fuse
    • Used To Kick Tables And Throw Things Around The Dressing Room

(17) Jack McCartney * (1997)

    • Experienced
    • Knew The Game Quite Well
    • He Was The Boss Man
    • All Revolved Around Him
    • Not Easy To Get Along With

(18) Ward White *** (1997-2001)

    • Ex-Celtic Man
    • Lovely Chap
    • Nice Guy
    • Alright Coach
    • Very Clever
    • Had Always Said To Me That He Hoped Not To Be The First Meadow Manager To Be Relegated But Unfortunately That Did Indeed Happen

(19) Robert Reilly **** (2001-2003)

    • A Star In His Own Galaxy
    • Knows What He Is All About
    • Top Notch
    • Thought He Was Still Senior
    • His Only Problem Was He Did Not Get On With People Too Well
    • Only Meadow Manager To Move Dug-Outs - Moved 'Home' Dug-Out To Far Side Of Meadow Park (Winton Road Terracing)

(20) Ross Findlay *** (2003-05)

    • Another Who I Was Surprised To See Come To Meadow As He Is Steeped In Talbot History - 'The Auld Enemy'
    • Good With Players
    • Quite Funny
    • Friendly And Agreeable
    • Good-Natured And Likable
    • Quite Amiable

(21) Chris Strain **** (2005-2013)

  • Another Who Played For The Meadow
  • Not A Bad Coach
  • Spoke A Lot Of Sense
  • Not So Good At Man Management
  • Nobody Has A Record Like Him
  • Most Successful Manager In Irvine Meadow History
  • Won A Lot Of Trophies At Meadow And Made History On A Few Occasions By Winning Evening Times Cup Winners Cup (First Ayrshire Side To Do So) & Defeating A Senior League Side (Arbroath) In The Senior Scottish Cup
  • Strain - Number One IMO Due To Results And Number Of Trophies Won

Interview - Monday 17th February 2014