Lavety & Kerr Leave Neilston

Kerr got the injury when he was the subject of an assault from Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Ross Tokely in August 1999, a tackle that put him out of the game for nearly eighteen months. On his return he was nowhere near the player he once was and ended up being released in 2003. He played for Ayr and Albion Rovers the following season before moving into the juniors last summer.

Kerr was a left sided player who broke into the Saints first team in 1998 and looked a better prospect at the time than David McNamee, who ended up signing for Blackburn Rovers. He could play at left back or left wing back and would have hd a bright future in the game had it not been for Tokely's disgraceful lunge at Love Street.

There is no news on Lavety retiring but it is possible he could follow suit. Basher left Saints for the third time last summer and ended up at Neilston, but it seems he has been unable to adapt to the junior game.

Basher forced his way into the Saints first team after our relegation from the Premier League in 1992. He scored a shedload of goals over the next few seasons, even though he had drug problems at one stage, and moved to Hibs in the mid 1990s. He started well there before picking up a serious injury and falling out of favour.

In 1999, just a few weeks before Kerr's injury, he returned to Saints on loan and started bashing in the goals again. He was signed permanently a few months later and chipped in with another few before the season ended with Saints as champions. However, Basher didn't join Saints in the SPL as he was injured and the club weren't willing to take a chance on him. He was not impressed and vowed never to return to Saints.

He was out of football for over a year before signing for Clydebank, then he moved to Bath University to study Sports Science. He was a part of Team Bath, the first student team to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup in over 100 years, and played against Mansfield live on Sky.

In the summer of 2003 Basher did return to Love Street on trial, and was signed permanently after some good performances in friendlies. Sadly he wasn't very good and was often injured, though he did manage to score against Airdrie United in the cup. He left last summer and signed for Neilston.

Both players were great prospoects, both have had careers wrecked by injuries (amongst other things in Basher's case). Such a tragic waste of tallent.

Story source: The Paisley Daily Express