Welcome back Vinnie Berry – Midfielder ready to share memories in Black and White
FORMER midfielder Vinnie Berry is back at Queen’s Park – for one afternoon only.
The popular player spent two seasons with the Spiders and was part of Gus MacPherson’s play-off winning side in 2016.
Things will be a little different to what he was used to having moved from Hampden to The city Stadium since his last visit… but the football landscape is fairly different for Vinnie too.
He’s still playing the game, but Down Under – in Australia at Clifton Hill.
This weekend he’s back at Queen’s Park though – and will be special guest speaker in the Black and White hospitality lounge.
Many of his family will join the 37-year-old to celebrate a special family birthday, but the special occasion is a special return for Vinnie too, to a club where he made many special memories – not least winning the play-off 3-2 on aggregate against Clyde.
Vinny said: “What a squad we had for the couple of seasons I spent at Queen’s Park.
“Gus MacPherson brought me in back in 2014, after a great time at Clydebank.
“He built a dressing room that was focused on heart and endeavour. It was brilliant to be a part of.
“The team had a real strength and culture within it – and I can’t speak highly enough of that period of my career.
“When we came in the club had just finished bottom of the league – before the pyramid play-offs had been introduced – but Gus said he was building a team with ambition not just to avoid a repeat – but to get out of the division.
“In my second season we won promotion through the play-offs and it was fantastic.
“After that I moved on to Stenhousemuir – maybe against my dad’s advice to stay at Hampden – but I always look back on Queen’s Park really fondly. We had such a great dressing room.”
His spell at the Spiders paid off on the other side of the world too
After emigrating to Oz Vinnie kept kicking a ball and joined FC Clifton Hill in the State Leagues of Victoria – Australia’s fifth tier.
But he met up with former Spiders striker Chris Duggan who encouraged him to move to the Victorian Premier League.
Vinnie added: “Chris was a great team-mate and put me in touch with Port of Melbourne FC and we ended up playing together again in the Victoria Premier League until COVID.
“The lockdown was quite strict in Australia and I missed two seasons of football but I’m still in the game back at Clifton Hill and still enjoying it.”
It will be great to see Vinnie back and hear more of his time as a Spider and Australia – and he’ll have a captive audience too.
He added: “I have a lot of family coming to this weekend’s game to celebrate my dad’s birthday.
“I’ve been back to the club before last year, this time I’m back for two weeks, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Places are still available in the Black and White Lounge – click here for more details.
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