Davie Shanks Player Profile
Player Details
- Full Name: David Thow Shanks
- Born: April 18th, 1962 (Bellshill)
- Height: 6' 0
- Position: Midfielder
- Signed: March 28th, 1984 (£8,000)
- First Manager: Sammy Henderson
- Career Totals: 149 appearances, 7 goals
- Also Played For: Alloa Athletic, Arbroath, Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Motherwell, Queen of the South, Stirling Albion
Playing History
| Season | Division |  |
 |
G2G |  |
 |
Win % | Draw % | Loss % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | First Division | 29 (1) | 0 | - | 3 | 1 | 43.3% | 13.3% | 43.3% |
| 1986-87 | Premier Division | 45 (1) | 1 | 0.02 | 9 | 0 | 17.4% | 26.1% | 56.5% |
| 1985-86 | Premier Division | 34 | 3 | 0.09 | 7 | 1 | 20.6% | 20.6% | 58.8% |
| 1984-85 | First Division | 36 | 2 | 0.06 | 7 | 1 | 41.7% | 36.1% | 22.2% |
| 1983-84 | First Division | 3 | 1 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Totals: | 147 (2) | 7 |
| Apps = First Team Appearances (Sub Appearances) | Gls = Goals |
| GtGR = Goals to Games Ratio | W/D/L - Games won, drawn or lost as percentage of games played in |
| Yel = Yellow Cards/Cautions | Red = Red Cards/Dismissals |
| Recent First Team Starts |
|---|
| Mar 1st, 1988 | 01/03/88 | League | Division 1 | vs. East Fife (H) | 2 - 0 |
| Feb 27th, 1988 | 27/02/88 | League | Division 1 | vs. Partick Th (A) | 0 - 3 |
| Feb 23rd, 1988 | 23/02/88 | Scottish Cup | 4th Round Replay | vs. Partick Th (A) | 1 - 4 |
| Feb 20th, 1988 | 20/02/88 | Scottish Cup | 4th Round | vs. Partick Th (H) | 2 - 2 |
| Feb 6th, 1988 | 06/02/88 | League | Division 1 | vs. Queen of South (H) | 1 - 0 |
| Recent First Team Goals |
|---|
| Oct 11th, 1986 | 11/10/86 | League | Premier Division | vs. Hamilton Accies (H) | 2 - 1 |
| Apr 5th, 1986 | 05/04/86 | League | Premier Division | vs. Motherwell (H) | 1 - 1 |
| Feb 1st, 1986 | 01/02/86 | League | Premier Division | vs. Hearts (H) | 1 - 1 |
| Oct 12th, 1985 | 12/10/85 | League | Premier Division | vs. Motherwell (H) | 1 - 1 |
| Mar 2nd, 1985 | 02/03/85 | League | Division 1 | vs. Clyde (H) | 2 - 0 |
| List of Goals Scored (click to expand) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| List of Games Played (click to expand) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biography
David Shanks had a quite colourful career at Clydebank and was one of the unsung heroes in the side that was promoted to the Premier League back in the mid-1980s.
It would be fair to say that David was a surprise signing by Jack Steedman when he was brought to the club for a fee of £8,000 towards the end of the 1983-84 season from Cowdenbeath. The Blue Brazil were hardly setting the world on fire lying second bottom of the Second Division.
David didn’t really seem to fit the mould of the type of player the Bankies had at the club. He was a defensive midfielder with an ungainly style that looked like his body was running two seconds ahead of his brain. This led to him getting the attention of the referees and he was ordered off three times in his Bankies career, one of which brought serious consequences.
This signing heralded a tactical change for the Bankies as the more cavalier style that had brought the Bankies to the verge of promotion for three consecutive seasons was ditched in favour of a more defensive minded 5-3-2 formation.
This involved Jimmy Given dropping back to left back from his midfield position which he had occupied for six seasons. It also meant that Gerry Ronald and Gerry McCabe rarely featured in the same line up with Ronald being the fall guy. Shanks’ steeliness allied with the box to box running of Martin Hughes gave the Bankies a more robust shape as the focus centred on not losing goals as opposed to trying to simply outscore the opposition.
Shanks played in the last three games of the 1983-84 season and got his career off to the perfect start scoring on his debut in a one all draw against Morton. However, as the following season began, the Bankies, as usual, gave youth a chance starting with Austin O’Connor, Tam MacKenzie and Alan Bain.
He only featured in just one of the first six games, but he was handed Gerry Ronald’s number 7 shirt against Kilmarnock and the Bankies triumphed 5-0. David barely let go of that shirt for the rest of the season.
Clydebank went on to do what previous high scoring sides of the past several years failed to do, and that was get promoted back to the Premier League. There was no Frank McDougall, Blair Millar, Tommy Coyne, or Bobby Williamson rattling in large numbers of goals. What there was, was a side who could win narrow games and a defence that gave up less than a goal a game. This was in no small part due to the contributions of guys like David Shanks.
It was no surprise that the Premier League was too difficult an obstacle for the Bankies, particularly with the club remaining part-time and perhaps the side being more workmanlike than they had in the past. The attributes that gained promotion were not going to sustain a Premier League place.
The two years in the Premier league saw David make more appearances than any other outfield player with just keeper Jim Gallacher ahead of him. No doubt his combative style lent itself to the relegation dogfight the Bankies found themselves in. David managed four Premier League goals and acquitted himself well in a struggling team.
Back in the First Division in 1987, the Bankies made an absolutely horrendous start to the season and it culminated in the pivotal moment in David’s Kilbowie career. In a 5-1 thrashing at Clyde, both Shanks and Lex Grant were ordered off in separate incidents. Compounding matters was that both men received double red cards for aggressively challenging the referee.
Jack Steedman announced that neither player would play for the club ever again for their behaviour. Maybe nowadays this incident would not have attracted the attention it did back then. Shanks' five match ban and six for Grant only added to the anger within the club.
Grant was quickly off-loaded to Falkirk, but Shanks was given a reprieve mainly due to the fact that there wasn’t a ready-made replacement for him. Paul Harvey and John Davies were only just starting to make their breakthrough.
A suitable offer finally came for David, and it was a move to Motherwell back in the Premier League. A £35,000 fee was good business and David’s mostly successful Bankies career came to an end. It was eventually recognised that the incident that led to his departure was out of character, and he was well respected within the club.
David stayed at Motherwell for three years, but didn’t play too often, but subsequent moves to Stirling Albion, Queen of the South, and Arbroath saw him extend his career into his mid-30s.
Players like David rarely get the credit when they are playing, but looking back over a number of years you can more accurately assess their contribution. No doubt David’s time at Clydebank was the highlight of his career in a very good side.
David has remained a friend to the club and is a regular attendee at the Sportsman’s Dinners held by the club and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Debut
April 28th, 1984
Clydebank 1 - 1 Greenock Morton
League (Division 1)
Timeline
-
Date of Birth
Davie was born on this date in Bellshill.
-
Signed For Clydebank
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First Team Debut
Clydebank 1 - 1 Morton
League (Division 1)
Report coming soon....
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First Goal
Clydebank 1 - 1 Morton
League (Division 1)
Report coming soon....
-
50th Appearance
Aberdeen 3 - 1 Clydebank
League (Premier Division)
-
50th League Appearance
Hearts 4 - 1 Clydebank
League (Premier Division)
-
Last Goal
Clydebank 2 - 1 Hamilton Accies
League (Premier Division)
Match report coming soon
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100th Appearance
Clydebank 1 - 2 Dundee Utd
League (Premier Division)
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100th League Appearance
Dundee Utd 1 - 1 Clydebank
League (Premier Division)
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Last Appearance
Clydebank 2 - 0 East Fife
League (Division 1)
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Left the Club
Davie signed for Motherwell for a fee of £35,000
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