William David Young (25 November 1951 – 31 October 2025) was a Scottish footballer. Playing as a centre-back, he featured for Aberdeen, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Darlington.

Club career From Heriot near Edinburgh, Young attended Ross High School in Tranent. Nicknamed "Big Willie", he first played professionally for Aberdeen, making 187 appearances for the Dons between 1970 and 1975.1975 | All Change in Scottish Football, Aberdeen FC, 19 March 2020 He was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in September 1975, and while playing under Terry Neill made 64 appearances for Spurs in two seasons. In March 1977, Young once again signed for manager Neill so as to link up at Highbury with Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal.

Young immediately became a regular in the Arsenal first team, and played in all of the 'Gunners' trio of FA Cup finals; after losing to Ipswich Town in 1978, he was on the winning side the following year, with a 3–2 defeat of Manchester United. Young was a runner up in the 1980 FA Cup final, where he made an infamous tackle on West Ham United's Paul Allen, and also a runner up in the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Young continued to be Arsenal's first choice centre back until the 1981–82 season, when he lost his place to Chris Whyte. Having played 237 times and scoring 19 goals for Arsenal, the 30-year-old Young then joined Nottingham Forest in December 1981 for £50,000, and played 59 times over two seasons there.

In 1983, he joined Norwich City, but with injuries dogging him, he failed to secure a regular place in the side. He then had short spells at Brighton and Hove Albion followed by Darlington before retiring from the game in 1984.

International career Young was capped five times, scoring one goal for the Scotland under-23 national team. He never played a full international for Scotland having been banned for life after an incident in a Copenhagen nightclub in 1975.

Personal life and death As a player at Aberdeen, Young worked on oil rigs during the summer to top up his earnings. He was married to Lynda; they had three children. After retiring from football he spent 19 years running a pub called Bramcote Manor near Nottingham, and then bought kennels in Bottesford, Leicestershire.

Young died on 31 October 2025, at the age of 73.

Career statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAberdeen1970–71Scottish Division One90000010–1001971–72Scottish Division One263311040–3441972–73Scottish Division One3024011220–4741973–74Scottish Division One3421010040–4921974–75Scottish Division One313404100–3941975–76Scottish Premier Division30006000–90Total133101213231100018814Tottenham Hotspur1975–76First Division352206100–4331976–77First Division 191002000–211Total54320810000644Arsenal1976–77First Division141000000–1411977–78First Division 353617000–4841978–79First Division 3301021061–5031979–80First Division 3831106093106561980–81First Division 404104000–4541981–82First Division 100002130–151Total170112832011841023719Nottingham Forest1981–82First Division251000000–2511982–83First Division 344000000–344Total59500000000595Norwich City1983–84First Division60000000–60Brighton & Hove Albion1983–84Second Division40000000–40Darlington1984–85Fourth Division40000000–40Career total430294246052941056242

Honours Arsenal FA Cup: 1978–79; runner-up: 1977–78, 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1979–80

References

External links Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk