Terry Cochrane
Posted on: Mon 24 Sep 2007
DURING the early to mid eighties, Gillingham manager Keith Peacock built up a flamboyant attacking side spearheaded by strikers Dave Shearer and Tony Cascarino and supplemented by the exciting wing play of Martin Robinson and the cheeky Terry Cochrane.
Cochrane, a Northern Irish international no less, was the joker in that particular pack, a skilful crowd-pleaser, a big hit with the fans and team-mates alike. The volume in the crowd always rose when 'TC' received the ball on the wing and showcased his impudent skills in trademark rolled down socks.
These days Terry thinks that the entertainment factor is now missing among a lot of the top sides in the country and that they could do worse than adopt the 'Peacock approach': "I watch Middlesbrough these days and I think they would do well with that attacking attitude we had. They're too reliant on one or two players to pull them out of holes. Keith always wanted to go from 4-4-2 to 4-2-4 when we attacked and I thought it worked well.
"In this present climate teams should try to bring back the excitement. You've got to get the fans off their seats, and then you get the extra buzz on the pitch. Yes - I used to do daft things too like wiping my nose on corner flags, running off the pitch and sitting on seats in the stand, but that's what the fans liked to see. I used to love the banter with the fans - you knew you carried their hopes out there and that it was about more than just taking your wages."
The real surprise with the gifted Cochrane was that Gillingham got him for free: "I didn't get on with Big Malcolm Allison and all of a sudden Keith Peacock stepped in and asked if I would come down to Gillingham. I like to think that Gills fans remember me as an entertainer. I think most will remember 'that' goal against Bristol Rovers more than anything else."
Ah yes, quite possibly the greatest ever goal seen at Priestfield. For those of you who weren't there, think of Junior Lewis' chipped winner in the home game against Wigan in 1999-2000, then try to imagine him doing it from the half-way line!
"I think it was a six iron I used! The ball had been knocked back to the keeper and Shakey Shearer was charging him down and it panicked him a little bit. He miskicked it to about the half-way line where I stopped it with my left and then clipped it back and it flew into the top corner. It was the best technical goal I ever scored - after all, we're talking about a shot from over 45 yards!"
Cochrane also attracted attention off the pitch, not least when his housemate Dave Shearer decided to go AWOL. "I had a black Ford Capri at the time and Shakey was staying with me. Unknown to me, he just took the car to Middlesbrough one day and crashed it, somewhere around the area of Ripley.
"So, I got this call at about half seven in the morning from Derbyshire police and they said: 'Do you have a footballer called Mr Shearer staying with you?' So I said 'Yes - he's here but...' and the copper interrupted saying 'Oh no you haven't - we've got him!' After that, Keith Peacock asked me if I wanted Dave to leave the club but of course I said no...after all, I might have done the same in his car!"
These days TC is working on the football development side of things for Middlesbrough - coaching 8 to 11 year olds - and on matchdays can be found working as a statistician for SKY Sports and the Press Association.
He still keeps an eye out for his old club though and is delighted with the Gills' recent success: "This wee boy Hessenthaler seems to be all emotion and has the club at his heart. You can see on the pitch that he's wholehearted. We were like that - me, Shakey, Big Cascarino, Dave Mehmet and all."
We ended the conversation before we reached nostalgia overload, but Terry finished by asking that I included this final message: "Please do tell all the Gillingham fans that I really appreciated their support there when I played for them." Ah, once a crowd-pleaser, always a crowd-pleaser!
The above article, by Haydn Parry, first appeared in the Gillingham versus Barnsley programme on 21st October 2000. Below are the thoughts of BBC Radio Kent's Matt Davison on 'TC':
The name of Terry Cochrane will forever be ensconced on the brains of Gillingham supporters above the age of about 20.
The Northern Ireland international winger was one of Keith Peacock's signings in season 1983-84, initially on a month's loan, before making his move from Middlesbrough permanent on a free transfer.
Cochrane had started his English career at Burnley, having joined them from Coleraine, and also had a spell at Hartlepool. As Home of the Shouting Men recalls: "Cochrane was a showman; an immensely skilful if temperamental winger of international calibre who loved to entertain and always, absolutely always, played with his socks rolled down. Cochrane was soon providing alternative entertainment by pretending to blow his nose on a corner flag or visually suggesting that a linesman needed glasses!"
Cochrane's introduction in season 1983-84 helped lift the Gills to eighth place in the Third Division table. He scored seven goals in the remainder of the season, including one on his debut against Preston, and went on to score a further 14 in the subsequent two seasons, the best of them being a 45-yard lob against Bristol Rovers.
But his input was by no means as a mere goalscorer. He operated down one flank with Martin Robinson down the other and must have totted up a great deal of assists for Dave Shearer and for Tony Cascarino, who scored 53 goals when Cochrane was on the club's books.
Cochrane eventually departed for Dallas, Texas in 1986.
The Gills On-Line would like to thank Haydn Parry of BBC SPORT for this article.
Cochrane, a Northern Irish international no less, was the joker in that particular pack, a skilful crowd-pleaser, a big hit with the fans and team-mates alike. The volume in the crowd always rose when 'TC' received the ball on the wing and showcased his impudent skills in trademark rolled down socks.
These days Terry thinks that the entertainment factor is now missing among a lot of the top sides in the country and that they could do worse than adopt the 'Peacock approach': "I watch Middlesbrough these days and I think they would do well with that attacking attitude we had. They're too reliant on one or two players to pull them out of holes. Keith always wanted to go from 4-4-2 to 4-2-4 when we attacked and I thought it worked well.
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The real surprise with the gifted Cochrane was that Gillingham got him for free: "I didn't get on with Big Malcolm Allison and all of a sudden Keith Peacock stepped in and asked if I would come down to Gillingham. I like to think that Gills fans remember me as an entertainer. I think most will remember 'that' goal against Bristol Rovers more than anything else."
Ah yes, quite possibly the greatest ever goal seen at Priestfield. For those of you who weren't there, think of Junior Lewis' chipped winner in the home game against Wigan in 1999-2000, then try to imagine him doing it from the half-way line!
"I think it was a six iron I used! The ball had been knocked back to the keeper and Shakey Shearer was charging him down and it panicked him a little bit. He miskicked it to about the half-way line where I stopped it with my left and then clipped it back and it flew into the top corner. It was the best technical goal I ever scored - after all, we're talking about a shot from over 45 yards!"
Cochrane also attracted attention off the pitch, not least when his housemate Dave Shearer decided to go AWOL. "I had a black Ford Capri at the time and Shakey was staying with me. Unknown to me, he just took the car to Middlesbrough one day and crashed it, somewhere around the area of Ripley.
"So, I got this call at about half seven in the morning from Derbyshire police and they said: 'Do you have a footballer called Mr Shearer staying with you?' So I said 'Yes - he's here but...' and the copper interrupted saying 'Oh no you haven't - we've got him!' After that, Keith Peacock asked me if I wanted Dave to leave the club but of course I said no...after all, I might have done the same in his car!"
These days TC is working on the football development side of things for Middlesbrough - coaching 8 to 11 year olds - and on matchdays can be found working as a statistician for SKY Sports and the Press Association.
He still keeps an eye out for his old club though and is delighted with the Gills' recent success: "This wee boy Hessenthaler seems to be all emotion and has the club at his heart. You can see on the pitch that he's wholehearted. We were like that - me, Shakey, Big Cascarino, Dave Mehmet and all."
We ended the conversation before we reached nostalgia overload, but Terry finished by asking that I included this final message: "Please do tell all the Gillingham fans that I really appreciated their support there when I played for them." Ah, once a crowd-pleaser, always a crowd-pleaser!
The above article, by Haydn Parry, first appeared in the Gillingham versus Barnsley programme on 21st October 2000. Below are the thoughts of BBC Radio Kent's Matt Davison on 'TC':
The name of Terry Cochrane will forever be ensconced on the brains of Gillingham supporters above the age of about 20.
The Northern Ireland international winger was one of Keith Peacock's signings in season 1983-84, initially on a month's loan, before making his move from Middlesbrough permanent on a free transfer.
Cochrane had started his English career at Burnley, having joined them from Coleraine, and also had a spell at Hartlepool. As Home of the Shouting Men recalls: "Cochrane was a showman; an immensely skilful if temperamental winger of international calibre who loved to entertain and always, absolutely always, played with his socks rolled down. Cochrane was soon providing alternative entertainment by pretending to blow his nose on a corner flag or visually suggesting that a linesman needed glasses!"
Cochrane's introduction in season 1983-84 helped lift the Gills to eighth place in the Third Division table. He scored seven goals in the remainder of the season, including one on his debut against Preston, and went on to score a further 14 in the subsequent two seasons, the best of them being a 45-yard lob against Bristol Rovers.
But his input was by no means as a mere goalscorer. He operated down one flank with Martin Robinson down the other and must have totted up a great deal of assists for Dave Shearer and for Tony Cascarino, who scored 53 goals when Cochrane was on the club's books.
Cochrane eventually departed for Dallas, Texas in 1986.
The Gills On-Line would like to thank Haydn Parry of BBC SPORT for this article.
