The Crazy World Of Andy Ritchie

This Friday, March 5, Morton legend Andy Ritchie will be appearing at Greenock's Arts Guild Theatre for an evening titled The Crazy World of Andy Ritchie.

In a one-off stage show, the Idle Idol will be interviewed by sports journalists Jim Black and Bryan Cooney, and they have promised to leave no stone unturned in their discussion of his brilliant yet controversial career and the terrible lows he has suffered since retiring.

The night starts at 7.45pm with tickets priced at £12. You can book your seat by calling 01475 723038.

A promotional blurb for the night says:

Andy Ritchie, the King of Cappielow, makes a nostalgic return to Greenock this week.

The Crazy World of Andy Ritchie will be co-hosted by sportwriters Jim Black and Bryan Cooney.

Ritchie, blessed with the dead ball skills of a Brazilian and capable of scoring the most audacious goals, promises to tell all in a no-holds barred interview.

He will discuss his tempestuous relationship with the late Jock Stein and the highs and lows of his career at Cappielow.

Ritchie will also tell his audience how his life fell apart in the wake of his sacking as Celtic’s chief scout.

The hurt of being dismissed by Kenny Dalglish just weeks into the Scotland legend’s ill-fated reign as manager a decade ago without so much as a word from his former team-mate went deep.

So deep, in fact, that Ritchie ended up homeless and living in an institution in Barrhead. For fully two years Ritchie, 54, says he experienced a desperate sense of helplessness as he fought to put his life back together. He recalled: "I lost just about everything. Being without a home is the biggest reality check you can get and that’s what happened to me."

Ritchie now works as an SPL match delegate and he insists that he has no regrets about turning his back on a career at Celtic to pursue new beginnings with Morton. But he still wonders how much different his life might have turned out had he accepted an eleventh hour offer from Jock Stein to sign a new four-year deal."My relationship with Big Jock was either very, very good or very, very bad. He could be nice as nine pence one minute and the next there was no time for niceties," he added.

The audience will also be invited to participate in a question and answer session.

It promises to be an evening to remember featuring one of Scottish football’s true icons.

Arts Guild Theatre - What's On

The Scottish Sun - Kenny Didn't Have The Guts To Tell Me I Was Getting The Sack (26.02.2010)