Category Archives: Players

Born Holloway, March 8, 1956. died 1989. Laurie Cunningham will probably always be best remembered as being one of West Bromwich Albion’s so called Three Degrees, along with Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis, in the late 1970’s. It is unfortunate that Cunningham did not manage to leave us with more of substance to remember him by after a career that promised everything in its early days but petered out amid… Read Article →

Born Carlisle, December 18, 1953. Sometimes things are just too good to be true. For Bobby Robson, then manager of Ipswich Town, the arrival of a brawny, wide eyed teenager off the train from Carlisle armed with a pair of football boots wrapped in brown paper and sixpence in his pocket proved to be one of them. The youngster, Kevin Beattie, would quickly develop into a footballing collossus for Robson… Read Article →

Born Glasgow; October 2, 1953 Jim Cannon – Crystal Palace footballer. For Crystal Palace Football Club the fifteen or so years from 1973 onwards provided the club with perhaps the most turbulent spell in its’ entire history. At the start of that period The Eagles were in the first division only to then suffer successive relegations and fall into Division Three. From there the club was able to recover and… Read Article →

Born Lurgan, June 10, 1928. died 1981. Wilbur Cush was a stalwart of Northern Irish football for many years who moved to English football when he was nearing the twilight of his career and belatedly enjoyed the limelight and more widespread recognition. His fleeting international fame was not really the result of his efforts in English football, however. Cush was a short but stocky man and, like many others of… Read Article →

Born Nottingham, January 20, 1968 In the days before foreign imports were commonplace at even the least fashionable Football League clubs if a team like York City wanted someone exotic sounding they still only ventured as far as Nottingham to find them. Marco Gabbiadini, born to an English mother and Italian father, joined York City straight from school. He was a pacy, instictive player who looked likely to develop an… Read Article →

Born Edmonton, October 17, 1934; died October 18 2005 Johnny Haynes will probably be best remembered as the first £100 a week footballer but this tag should not deflect attention from his special abilities as a footballer or the profound way in which he influenced the game in this country. Haynes had appeared destined for greatness as a boy, being the pick of a fine England schoolboys side in 1950…. Read Article →

Born Crewe, October 17, 1934. Frank Blunstone is an example of a rare footballing breed that is likely to become far more commonplace over the next few years, the Chelsea League Championship winner. Blunstone’s humble beginnings were about as far removed from the present day Stamford Bridge environment as they possibly could be. Born in Crewe between the wars and one of thirteen children Blunstone’s childhood, like many others, was… Read Article →

Born Enfield. February 16, 1958. David Crown was one of those lower league characters who make football worth living for the hundreds of thousands of people who spend their time following teams from outside the Premier League. His brash brand of flair and attitude made him a favourite with the fans at most of the places he passed through while his showmanship also assured him of abuse from opposing supporters…. Read Article →

Born Buxton, November 6, 1947 Les Bradd, the leading goalscorer in Notts County’s history, is a good example of the wonderful club servant formerly commonplace in English football but now an extremely rare breed. Having started his career with a brief spell at Rotherham United, who plucked him from non league East Sterndale, Bradd spent eleven seasons at Meadow Lane, barely missing a game and offering sterling service as the… Read Article →

Born South Shields, May 26, 1921, died 1991 There can be no doubt that Stanley Mortensen owed a large debt of gratitude to the imperious wing play of Stanley Matthews during his illustrious career as a rapacious goal getter for both Blackpool and England, a debt the universally gracious Mortensen was always first to acknowledge. Yet never has a footballer lived so unjustly in the shadow of one of his… Read Article →