Ivo Den Bieman and Greg Shields were inducted at the Twelfth Dunfermline Athletic Hall of Fame held at the Carnegie Conference Centre on Saturday 20th April 2024.
Ivo Den Bieman
Ivo was worth his weight in gold for the Pars in their push for promotion in the mid-1990s. The tall Dutchman played for Montrose and Dundee before signing for Dunfermline in July 1993. He was an integral part of the title winning team in the 1995-1996 season.
As popular as he was unpredictable, Ivo was renowned for his long throw-ins and his wickedly powerful crosses. Ivo made 185 appearances for the Pars, scoring 13 goals, before he moved to Ross County in 1999.
On accepting the award Ivo described how special an occasion it was for him:-
“It is something that you cannot work for, you cannot achieve it, it is given to you. That makes it very special. Dunfermline has a very special place in my heart, Scotland has a very special place in my heart. The ten years in total that I spent here with five at Dunfermline were the best of my career.
“I was probably one of the first signings that Bert (Paton) made in 1993 when he took over with Dick (Campbell). Stewart (Petrie) was the second one and we had five fantastic years here. We had a style of play that was phenomenal to the players but also to the supporters. It attracted a lot of fans and we just enjoyed ourselves. That was always what Bert and Dick always promoted. Go out and enjoy yourself, do your best and we will take care of the rest. That is what we did.” Claiming that he was just an ‘average’ player Ivo continued:-
“I was never the most gifted of players so to get an award like this means even more. To be honest this is my second Hall of Fame because I`m in the Montrose Hall of Fame as well.”
Stewart Petrie is the current Montrose manager and he said of his one time team mate:-
“He was a vital part of a successful team at Dunfermline. He was a massive player, there is no doubt about that along with a few others. I`m delighted for him, I am a big fan of him in my life as well. He was the best man at my wedding and we have kept in touch. He comes over and is always full of advice.”
Former goalkeeper Ian Westwater added his memories on the night:-
“The memories that I have got of Ivo is that through that time with Dick and Bert, all down that right hand side with no disrespect to Stewart who always played on the left, we had some really gifted players in that time. We had wee Jackie McNamara, Ivo and Shieldsie. All that time we had a really strong team with particularly the big man galloping up that right hand side and firing in crosses or long throws. I will never forget that, he does himself a disservice, he was better than just `average` he was a very good player.
“He was a character as well and this Hall of Fame is a testimony to how well he was considered by the fans and the players as well. It is well deserved.`
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Ivo closed by reflecting on his recent visit for the reunion of the 1988-1990 teams:-
“I saw George O`Boyle and was the main striker in the first of those seasons. I had an understanding that we didn`t talk about with George. George knew exactly where the ball was going to come. He knew that I wasn`t going to dilly dally on the ball, he knew I`d be crossing it first time at the front post if I made it to the byeline.
“We had an understanding in that team, there was so much understanding between the players and it wasn`t that Bert and Dick advised that but that was just the knowledge of the game that you had, an insight into the game that you had as a player and as a team. We were just lucky to have a strong nucleus of players that wanted to give everything for the club, for Bert and Dick, for each other and that`s what stands out.
“Since then I always refer back to the era in my life now, in business, how strong teams mean to the result that you can achieve. I use that everyday in my present day life. I use it in my family, I use it in my business and this period was the most special time for that.”
Greg Shields
A stylish right-back who could also play at centre-back, Greg Shields had two spells at East End Park. A local lad, he initially joined as a 20 year-old at the start of season 1997-98 after the Pars paid Rangers a reported fee of £200,000. His debut was in a 2-0 home defeat by Motherwell on 2 August 1997.
He was virtually ever present until after the Pars were relegated at the end of the following season a bid of around £600,000 from Charlton Athletic could not be declined and Greg played his last game of his first spell in a 2-1 League 1 home win over Morton on 21 August 1999.
His time at The Valley was ravaged by injury and he only made 32 appearances for Charlton, scoring twice and playing a few games in the Premiership. Latterly he was loaned out, first to Walsall and then to Kilmarnock whom he joined permanently in June 2002, scoring against the Pars in a 2-2 draw at Rugby Park on 19 October 2002.
Jimmy Calderwood brought Greg back to Dunfermline in the January 2004 transfer window. He made his second-spell debut in a 1-0 home win against Motherwell on 24 January 2004 but he was ineligible for the 2004 Cup Final, having been cup-tied with Kilmarnock. However, he played in the 2006 League Cup Final and the 2007 Cup Final, both lost to Celtic. His second spell lasted until June 2009 when he left to join Carolina Railhawks. He had a brief loan spell with Partick Thistle at the beginning of 2010 but he returned to the Railhawks where he was assistant coach.
Greg returned to Scotland to be assistant to Stevie Crawford in January 2019. When Stevie`s successor Peter Grant term in charge ended Greg and Steven Whittaker were caretaker managers until the appointment of John Hughes.
The change of management team following relegation to League One in 2022 saw Greg promoted to Head of Academy Football working alongside Bill Hendry until Greg decided to leave in 2024 to make a career change.
In total Greg made 237 appearances for the Pars and scored 4 goals. While at Rangers he gained 2 Scotland under-21 caps.
When Greg dropped everything to fly across the Atlantic in 2019 to return to the Pars as assistant to Stevie Crawford, that demonstrated what Dunfermline Athletic means to him. He said he was proud and honoured to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“When Chris Wishart made the call to tell me, he probably could tell by the tone of my voice, the change in my voice just just how humbled I was to be put in that bracket along with some of the guys around here tonight. It is such a fantastic achievement so thank you very much.
“My whole family are here tonight, it is a proud moment and very very rarely in my career do I get to share with my family so this is for you as well.”
Greg was a player in two different eras at Dunfermline and he reflected on them:-
“When I look back it was a big step coming from the Old Firm to make a name for yourself at a provincial club. You don`t know what challenges are ahead. I put a lot of this award down to Bert taking a gamble on me, him and Dick way back in ’97 when they signed me. I was relatively unknown but I wouldn`t be standing here if it wasn`t for you. So a big special thanks to you as well. It was a fantastic education for me yourself and Dick. I didn`t know how to defend properly because at Rangers you had the ball all the time but coming here was a learning curve, learning from you guys who were more experienced as well. I had a decent career and I put that down to the break that you gave me.
“The other piece that will always stick in my throat and bring tears to my eyes. I was in a hotel room before the cup final in 2007, I think I was sharing a room with Scott Wilson and the phone went. I said to Scott who on earth is going to phone us on the day of a final? When I picked the phone up, it was the man himself the great Roy Barry. I didn`t really know Roy as well as I know him now and he called me to say `˜I want you to be the next Dunfermline captain that wins the cup.` That will stick with me for the rest of my life. It is a testament to how good Roy is and what a gentleman he is.
“I had a fantastic time under Jimmy Calderwood, you didn`t want to leave the stadium, you wanted to be there all the time. Ivo spoke of the camaraderie, the team spirit and the energy that took us to fourth in the league year.”
Stewart Petrie added:- “I am very privileged to have played with two of the best right backs that Dunfermline had for a number of years. There was wee Jackie and Greg came along a couple of years later. He was outstanding and certainly earned his move down south and he was a massive part of the success that we had.”
Westie confessed that he was injured for the large part of the time that he and Greg were together at the club but he said `I probably played thirty games with you but I always remember Shieldsie in training. Most of the lads that come from the Old Firm bring good traits with them, real discipline about them and good qualities and Greg was testimony to that as well. As Stewarty said it is no surprise in any shape or form that he had the opportunity to take up a fantastic offer from down south.
“Let`s be honest about it, Dunfermline is a club that absolutely lives and breathes for a big money move. It keeps the coffers going and Shieldsie did that and I`m sure that he enjoyed his time down south as well. He came back to the Pars under Jimmy Calderwood and then going on to his coaching days. Congratulations Greg you thoroughly deserve this.”
Greg closed by mentioning his hopes for the Dunfermline Athletic Academy and its young prospects. `A large part of my job was bringing in young boys and pushing them on towards the first team as soon as I possibly can. Nothing pleases me more than making a phone call to parents like I have done, telling them that their boy is going to be in the first team squad. The elation brings tears to my eyes when I tell them they are going to get a contract or in the first team that next day.
“I am hopeful that there will be more players (from the Academy) in the first team as we go forward. Fans can still play a big part in the future of the young boys and in the last three or four years I have seen that from your donations and all the money that you have given to the Academy, so thank you.”
