Amidst the tremendous league-clinching celebrations of Tuesday night, it would be easy to overlook another significant milestone that was reached during the game. Queen’s Park number one William Muir reached 200 appearances for the club when he lined up at Falkirk Stadium against Elgin City, equalling the record for a goalkeeper set by Derek Atkins between 1978-83.
While Atkins completed his service to the Spiders over one spell, Muir has taken more of a ‘prodigal son’ approach, re-signing for the club for a third time in 2019. Circumstances have greatly changed at the club since he first stood between the sticks for Queen’s, however it is a testament to his consistency that ‘Super Ray’ has had unwavering faith in him since his appointment in January 2020. Eight goals conceded and 13 clean sheets in 18 league games this campaign tells its own story, but Willie Muir’s contribution to Queen’s Park FC is far more significant than that.
In order to truly appreciate the impact that Muir had in his first spell at the club, it is important to take a glance back at the season before he signed in July 2014. The mere mention of season 2013/14 is enough to provoke a sense of dread amongst Queen’s Park supporters. A campaign which began with significant losses in personnel, resulted in 22 league defeats and a grand total of 68 goals conceded. Add the beginning of our exile in Airdrie into the mix and this certainly was an example of bad things coming in threes.
That same adage could be applied to our unsuccessful attempt to fill the goalkeeping position over the course of that season. Michael Brown, Blair Lochhead and the enigma that was Lucas Birstingl fumbled the number one jersey from one to the other, in the midst of a managerial change from long serving coach Gardner Speirs to the vastly experienced Gus MacPherson. Without being overly harsh on this trio of custodians, none will be remembered in high regard by the Queen’s support. Birstingl in particular (the man with arguably the most misspelled name in Scottish football history), is a figure that remains synonymous with that catastrophic season.
Having inherited this omnishambles, it was inevitable that the position of goalkeeper was one of MacPherson’s top priorities for the following season. Enter Willie Muir, signed without a senior appearance to his name after spells as a promising youth at Aberdeen, Motherwell, Celtic and Ayr. Several other much needed signings would board the ‘Gus Bus’ that summer but the impact of Muir was unquestionable. By the end of the campaign, there would be a 50% reduction in the number of league goals conceded.
However, his time at Queen’s did not exactly get off to a flying start. Making his debut in a drab 1-1 Challenge Cup draw with Berwick, in which he failed to save a penalty in the resulting shoot-out defeat, set the tone for an inauspicious start to the season. Muir’s league debut came on the opening day, a ‘home’ fixture against Clyde. This game gave us a taste of what was to come from Muir, when he made a fantastic diving save to keep out Clyde’s Scott Ferguson in the first half. Despite this (and Queen's taking a one goal lead from a Darren Miller corner) we stumbled to a 2-1 defeat thanks to a late Bully Wee winner from former Queen's hero Mick Daly. Queen’s continued to muddy their way through the opening games of the season; conceding further losses at home to Arbroath and away to Dirty Rovers (a sign of things to come). This led us into to a home meeting with Elgin which can justifiably be seen as a watershed moment for Muir's career at the club.
With the teams locked at 0-0 towards the end of the first half, a hopeful punt over the Queen’s defence should have caused few issues. However, Muir inexplicably raced from his goal to clear, only to be rounded by Shane Sutherland who walked the ball into an empty net. Given the goalkeeping howlers of the previous season, QP fans would have been forgiven for fearing the worst at half time that day at the Excelsior. The second half was an altogether different story. Queen’s rallied to seal a 2-1 win, with Muir turning in an assured second half performance which put the minds of the fans at ease. This result significantly altered the trajectory of the season for both player and team.
The Elgin game triggered a remarkable run of results between September and Valentine’s Day 2015, during which time our only defeats in league and cup were against the same opposition. Albion Rovers went above and beyond the requirements of any goof bogey side, trumping us at every opportunity as we became embroiled in a three-way title fight with themselves and Arbroath. During this period, we began to realise we had a player on our hands in Muir. Demonstrating a command of his penalty area we had sadly missed, Muir racked up the clean sheets which fuelled the Gus Bus for a title challenge.
One game that stands out in that run was our New Year’s meeting with Clyde, a fixture that also marked our return to Hampden after 14 months away. A bumper crowd of over 2000 witnessed what was perhaps Muir’s finest individual save as a QP player. With the team looking like they were sliding to a 1-0 defeat, a cross from the left was bundled towards the Queen’s net by Brian McQueen. With the ball already behind him, Muir displayed incredible athleticism to get a hand to it and claw it away from danger. To top off the display, Muir even managed to win the late penalty that allowed us to escape with a draw from our homecoming performance.
Season 2014/15 eventually ended in familiar play-off disappointment for Queen’s. Four league defeats to Rovers proved fatal in our title bid and despite a stirring triumph over Arbroath in the semi finals, Stenhousemuir proved a bridge too far. During this run in, Muir had continued to endear himself to the Queen’s support. His performance against Arbroath in the second leg was particularly eye-catching. Excellent saves with the game poised at 0-0 enabled Tony Quinn to volley home a late winner, one of the most iconic moments for Queen’s fans in recent memory. It was clear that retaining Muir would be key to our attempts to go one better next season.
The start of the new campaign saw Muir joined by several other key members of the squad in signing on for the season. An ever-present in both league and cup, Muir displayed a consistency that proved crucial in the team’s success. In an incredibly tight League 2 table, a mere six points would separate the top five teams at the end of the season. A closer look at the statistics reveals how important Muir’s presence between the sticks was. Queen’s conceded a league low 32 goals, with Muir’s clean sheet total continuing to rise steadily. The caveat to this was a team that struggled to find the net, with only 46 league goals scored. It is a fair assumption that the season could have finished very differently had it not been for Muir’s significant contribution. Particularly during a nerve-shredding final day showdown away to fellow promotion chasers Annan Athletic.
QP entered the day knowing that any result other than a defeat by two or more goals against Annan would be enough to once again secure a play-off berth. However, the day that would be dubbed ‘Haturday’ by certain members of the IBF proved to be far from an easy ride. Annan had replaced Albion Rovers as our bogey side for the season. Three successive defeats had been recorded against the Galabankies, including a chastening 3-1 home pummelling in the previous meeting. Veteran striker Peter Weatherson had been a painful thorn in our side during this period and when he netted the opener just before half-time, the atmosphere was ominous amongst the Queen’s support. During the second half onslaught, it was Muir who emerged as the saviour. As our backline was peppered with crosses, his excellent handling got us over the line by the finest of margins and allowed the QP support to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Muir’s imperious performances would continue into the play-offs as the next two Saturdays followed an almost identical pattern to that day in Annan. Holding two goal leads over both Cowdenbeath and Clyde, we would contrive to concede the opening goal in the second leg of both ties. Muir once again stood up to be counted, demonstrating a calmness under pressure that inspired us to finally break our recent play-off hoodoo. The word ‘calmness’ could not be used to describe the scenes back at the club after promotion was sealed. During wild celebrations between players and fans alike, Muir showcased his excellent reactions when catching an unnamed and unsteady IBF member from the sky. The pair subsequently smashed through a table and legendary status among the fans was secured.
As the dust settled on the promotion win, we witnessed the first parting of the ways between Muir and QP. League One rivals East Fife managed to convince him that Methil was the place to be. However, this turned out to be an extremely short-lived arrangement. Muir was back in a Queen’s shirt by September, ousting new recruit Andy Murphy from the number one spot. At the time, there was some justified sympathy for Murphy. He had recently recorded a trio of successive clean sheets against Brechin, Livingston and Morton. The game at Glebe Park had even spawned a chant in his honour. These feelings proved to be fleeting once Muir re-established himself in the team.
Muir’s return to the team coincided with a poor run of form for QP as we initially struggled with the step up in division. The tide started to turn as we entered the winter months, resulting in a seven match unbeaten run before our visit to Almondvale to play the runaway league leaders Livingston. Muir’s performance in this match would demonstrate all the qualities we had come to expect from him. Facing a penalty with QP 2-1 up, he kept out a scuffed effort from Liam Buchanan. As the striker moved in for the rebound, Muir flung himself in the way, taking a sore one in the process. When asked about the incident post-match, his response was: “My head’s fine, it was worth it”. Further evidence, if it was required, that our goalkeeper had become a totemic figure.
Muir continued to turn in high-quality performances as we entered the second half of the season and we punched well above our weight. With four games remaining we were in the driving seat for an unlikely play-off place, before running out of steam during the run-in. Sadly, steam continued to be in short supply as we moved into season 17/18. The loss of Ryan McGeever in front of Muir was keenly felt as we endured a torrid start to the campaign. 30 league goals were lost by early November including being hit for five by Raith and Albion Rovers. Our shakiness in defence was epitomised by an uncharacteristic error from Muir, as he fumbled an Andy Graham header into the net during another scudding against Alloa. This run culminated in a 3-0 loss at Stair Park, which saw Muir pick up a knee injury. Michael White stepped in as number one and would remain there. After a run of games on the bench, Muir left Queen’s for the second time in January, joining Airdrie on a six month deal.
Both Muir and QP then seemed to experience what could be described as transitional phases in 2018/19. Muir had two more short-term spells at Forfar and East Kilbride as Queen’s slogged their way to a mid-table finish in League 2. Player and club were then reunited for a third time in summer 2019. Despite not playing regularly the previous year, Muir seamlessly picked up from where he left off at Queen’s. A clean sheet in the Betfred Cup draw with Hamilton Accies reminded us of the quality he possesses. Despite his return and a host of new signings, Queen’s continued to be underwhelming under Mark Roberts, before the winds of change blew through the club. After the arrival of Ray McKinnon and the advent of the professional era, Muir demonstrated his value almost immediately. An outstanding late penalty save against Albion Rovers in January secured a scarcely deserved point. Muir then successfully fended off the ‘challenge’ of former Scotland cap Cammy Bell to retain the number one spot for the rest of the soon to be curtailed season. Admittedly, it is unclear how much competition Mr Bell was providing him with!
That brings us almost up-to-date on Muir’s service to the Spiders. This season we have watched his performances via dodgy streams but his consistency has continued to be remarkable. Yes, he may now have a far superior defence in front of him but there have still been key moments in which he has had to deliver. A crucial save in the tight 1-0 victory over Stranraer early in the season springs to mind. Far more recently, his reaction stop to keep out Elgin’s Kane Hester essentially sealed the league title. Aptly, Muir finished the game by picking up the man of the match award. A fitting way to mark his 200th appearance.
After last Tuesday’s game, Muir stated in his post match interview that he “hopes he has given something back to the club” in his 200 games. I think every QP supporter will agree that Willie Muir has contributed to some of their best memories following the team. Now a member of two promotion winning QP teams, he enters a new realm of legendary status. I feel privileged to have watched both of these sides and there might yet be more success to come. Our chances of achieving further success are unquestionably boosted by the presence of Muir. A player who has endeared himself to supporters both on and off the park over the course of his double century, we all hope he is now here to stay!
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