GoS-DB Players

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

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GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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GERRY MCELHINNEY

Born: 19 September 1956

Came from: Bolton Wanderers Went to: Peterborough United

First game: 22 January 1985 Last game: 27 February 1988

Appearances: 107 (106/1) Goals: 3

Known affectionately to Argyle fans as Rambo, Francis Gerard McElhinney (or to give him his Gaelic name, Gearóid Mac Giolla Chainnigh) was an all-round sporting Ulsterman, excelling at Gaelic Football, Boxing and Association Football. He started his sporting career playing Gaelic football for Banagher GAC and representing Derry, winning the All-Star Award in the 1975 All-Ireland Championship - the youngest player to do so. Also excelling as an amateur boxer, Gerry won middleweight and light middleweight titles. Early on, his robust defending on the football field with Derry City, Limavady United and then Dungiven Celtic bought him to the attention of the 'other' Celtic, though he failed to make the grade at Parkhead, moving to Eire for a loan spell with Finn Harps. A period in America then followed, persuing both Gaelic & Association Football, most notably in the case of the latter, via a spell with Chicago Sting in the NASL before returning home to sign for Distillery in 1979.

McElhinney signed for Bolton Wanderers in 1980 and whilst he took some time to establish himself, he was noticed by Billy Bingham and won his first cap for Northern Ireland in 1983 in a stunning away win against West Germany. Winning 6 full caps, he was part of the victorious Northern Ireland team that won the last ever British Championship. A loan spell at Rochdale followed prior to moving to Plymouth in January 1985.

He quickly endeared himself to the Argyle faithful for his tough, uncompromising but fair play. Above all, he was brave; hardly a game would pass without a stoppage for a McElhinney injury, often to his head, but the Devonport End would chant him back to his feet with his nickname: Rambo! He was a natural leader and captained Dave Smith's promotion winning squad to Divison Two and 7th spot the following season.

Injuries started to take their toll though and a £10,000 move to Peterborough United followed, where he played on manfully for three seasons before joining the coaching staff and then finishing his career with Corby Town, where he was briefly joint player-manager.

McElhinney’s brother Eddie was briefly on Argyle's books but never made the first team.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. I have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 21 December 2024, 12:51.