Duncan McKenzie was born in Grimsby in 1950 and signed for Forest in 1967. He spent seven years at the City Ground and he’ll live long in the memory of those who were lucky enough to be entertained by him.
McKenzie made 111 appearances for the Reds and scored 41 goals, most of them of the spectacular variety. One of my most vivid memories of him was a stunning overhead kick he scored at Kenilworth Road against Luton. The goal was the opening shot in the Sunday football programme Star Soccer, shown on ITV.
Probably the most exciting player with the ball at his feet, he could be as equally frustrating. Although he could take on and beat an entire defence he would often run into trouble and infuriate his team mates.
As with most talents he had his flaws and McKenzie’s was probably the 60 fags a day he said he smoked. He was also something of a showman and was famed for having the ability to jump over a Mini with a single leap.
From Forest he moved to Leeds. He was signed by one Brian Clough during his ill fated 44 day reign. His signature was seen by the Elland Road faithful as being the one good things that Cloughie did for them.
Two seasons at Elland Road saw him finish as the clubs top scorer during the 75-76 season. He then spent a season at Belgian side Anderlecht, before moving to Everton and becoming a Goodison legend. He finished his career playing for Blackburn and Chelsea, before spells in the US and Hong Kong.
Duncan McKenzie now has a reputation as an entertaining after dinner speaker and he’s hosted radio shows in Liverpool as well as taking over from Danny Baker on the BBC’s 606 show for a while. He will be remembered by all those who saw him play as a wizard with the ball and a healthy goals to game ratio, with over 100 goals in just over 300 appearances.
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