Andy McCombie

McCombie was born in Inverness (where he was a neighbour of future teammate Peter McWilliam ) [ 3 ] [ 4 ] and started his career at Inverness Thistle before moving south of the border to join Sunderland in December 1898. He made his first team debut away to Sheffield Wednesday on 18 February 1899, while regular right-back Philip Bach was playing for England at Roker Park , Sunderland . In Bach's absence on international duty, McCombie took over at right-back in a 1–0 victory. [ 5 ] Bach was unable to regain his place, making only two further appearances before he was transferred to Middlesbrough . McCombie was an ever-present in his first full season , with Sunderland finishing third in the League table. The following season McCombie only missed one game as Sunderland finished runners-up, with McCombie and Jimmy Watson teaming up in front of goalkeeper Ned Doig . The three Scottish internationals appeared in a notable total of 109 league and cup games between February 1900 and February 1904. [ 6 ] In 1901–02 McCombie missed the final eight games, as Sunderland claimed the Championship by a three-point margin over Everton . In 1903–04 , Sunderland were rocked by a financial scandal involving McCombie. Sunderland's board of Directors gave the player £100 to start up in business, with the view that his benefit game would see him repay the money. The benefit game (unusually, a league fixture against Middlesbrough rather than a friendly) [ 7 ] drew in £500 for the player but cost the club in expenses; they requested McCombie repay the £100 but he viewed it as a gift and refused to do so. [ 7 ] [ 3 ] After a subsequent County Court judgement found in the club's favour, The Football Association launched an inquiry and agreed with McCombie, stating that it was a "resigning/win/draw bonus" and furthermore the books of Sunderland showed financial irregularities, violating the rules of the game. Sunderland were fined £250, with six directors being suspended for two and a half — Wikipedia