Sammy Nelson’s glittering career came to an end at Brighton

2 Sam Nelson EXPERIENCED Northern Irish international full-back Sammy Nelson was an Arsenal legend who joined Brighton towards the end of his career.

The last four of his 51 international caps came while with the Seagulls. One was a 4-0 defeat to England at Wembley when Albion teammate Steve Foster made his England debut, another was a substitute appearance at the 1982 World Cup against Spain. His last appearance for his country came in a 2-2 draw with Austria at that tournament.

nels NI col Leading up to that competition, Nelson had played a significant part in helping Albion to what remained their highest ever finish in the football pyramid – thirteenth place – until the 2022-23 season.

A lot of fans didn’t like manager Mike Bailey’s style of play, but, with some degree of resonance to Chris Hughton’s philosophy, he built his side on a solid defence and preferred experience over youth.

Nelson was a key player in that defence after ousting long-serving Gary Williams a third of the way into the 1981-82 season.

He played alongside his former Arsenal teammate Steve Gatting, who Bailey had signed for £200,000 as a replacement for Mark Lawrenson (the famous departure to Liverpool having been the trigger for Alan Mullery to quit as manager).

Nelson had made only one substitute appearance for Arsenal in the previous season but he enjoyed a bumper testimonial game when a crowd of 20,000 turned up at Highbury for a game against Celtic.

Bailey declared on paying £35,000 for a 32-year-old player who had made 339 league and cup games for the Gunners: “The signing of Sammy Nelson has now given me the sort of squad I feel we need to compete with the best in the division.

“Sammy is a fine player and a very good professional but, like everyone else, he will have to compete for a team place.”

He did indeed have to wait for his chance, largely because he had a foot strain at the time of signing. But the chance came in a league cup second leg game at home to Huddersfield at The Goldstone.

Williams was restored for the following two league games but Nelson got the nod for a third round league cup game away game at Barnsley (which ended in a 4-1 defeat) and kept the shirt for all but two games through to the end of the season, making 32 appearances in total.

After only seven games, he gave an interestingly candid interview to the Argus. He admitted he was struggling with the daily commute from his home in Brookmans Park in Hertfordshire, being that it necessitated a 6am wake up.

“Towards the end of a week, it is only natural to start feeling tired at that sort of routine when, instead, I should be fresh for the coming game,” he said.

In the same interview, Nelson went on to take a bit of a swipe at a small section of the Albion following. “They expect the championship to come overnight. Some of them, instead of getting behind the team, have begun to get abusive, even vindictive,” he maintained. “I would have expected a little more loyalty from the crowd, but I must stress that I am only talking about a small section.”

It must have given Nelson some pleasure in April 1982 to be on the winning side as Albion beat Arsenal 2-1 in the top flight for the first time in nine attempts since gaining promotion in 1979.

Especially as former boss Terry Neill was up in arms about a challenge Nelson had made that went unpunished. The News of the World declared: “Arsenal boss Terry Neill last night blames former Highbury hero Sammy Nelson for his team’s defeat.

“Neill claimed the Brighton fullback should have been booked for bringing down Raphael Meade as the striker closed in for a goal which would have sewn up the match for the Gunners.”

Nelson was born in Belfast on April Fools Day 1949 and joined Arsenal on his 17^th birthday in 1966, just as all eyes in England were focused on the World Cup.

His first silverware came as a member of Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup winning side that year, when they beat Sunderland 5-3 over two legs.

At that time he was a left winger but coach Don Howe converted him to a full back. The established first choice left back was Bob McNab and in the famous 1970-71 Double winning side, Nelson only got to play four games.

In fact he understudied McNab for the best part of five years, until the former Huddersfield man left the Gunners in 1975. Then Nelson made the position his own, with fellow Irish international Pat Rice on the opposite flank.

Nelson was almost ever present for five seasons and was part of the Arsenal team which reached three successive FA Cup Finals: 1978, 1979 and 1980, picking up a winners’ medal in the 1979 win over Manchester United. The Arsenal 1-2-3 that day were all Ulstermen: Pat Jennings, Rice and Nelson.

I particularly like this story from Arsenal fan Paul Reynolds, published on untold-arsenal.com: “In 1980 I took on a paper round and one of the houses I delivered newspapers to was where the Arsenal left-back Sammy Nelson lived. I didn’t see him often because I delivered the papers very early, but I’ll never forget the morning of the Arsenal v West Ham final.

“At about 10am I got a phone call from the paper shop owner to tell me that Sammy had popped in the night before and dropped off two tickets to give to the lad who delivered his papers. I was thrilled to bits and my girlfriend and I rushed off to Wembley and just about made it in time for kick-off – we didn’t care that we had to stand right at the back.

“Although, sadly, we lost the game 1-0 I’ll never forget that generous and thoughtful gesture by my former Arsenal hero and will always be grateful to have been supporting the club during an era when the players genuinely had a connection with the supporters and cared enough to go out of their way ahead of a massively important game to help a fan like me. Arsenal ‘til I die.”

arsenal.com remembers Nelson as one of their top 50 players, describing him as “a funny and endearing individual, the Ulsterman was held in genuine affection by team-mates and supporters alike”.

It also recalls the time he dropped his shorts and bared his backside to the North Bank – which earned him a fortnight’s ban by the FA. It was his response to scoring an equaliser after he’d earlier been barracked for scoring an own goal in a league game against Coventry.

The website adds: “A fine strike in a League Cup trouncing of Leeds United in 1979 was the pinnacle of his goalscoring feats, but Nelson was always willing to venture into enemy territory. At the back his obdurate tackling and bravery was complemented by a sure touch on the ball.”

Arsenal’s signing of Kenny Sansom spelled the beginning of the end of Nelson’s time at Highbury and he moved to Albion in September 1981.

Although he started the 1982-83 season in the Albion first team, he picked up an injury and retired at the end of the season having played a total of 45 games for the Seagulls.

On retirement he initially became Albion’s reserve team manager and then first team coach when Chris Cattlin took over as manager from Jimmy Melia. But he left after only one season and took up a City consultant job in life assurance and pensions.

Funnily enough, as a regular commuter to London myself at that time, I’d frequently see Sammy joining the train at Hove in the mornings and then relaxing in the buffet car on the return journey in the evenings.

He told the Independent in a ‘where are they now?’ feature in March 1994: “It’s funny, I never saw myself being part of the rat race but now I find myself standing on the platform in the right place for ‘my’ seat, just like everyone else.”

Pictures from my scrapbook and matchday programmes

A Goal magazine action shot of Nelson in Arsenal’s colours and the full-back in action for the Albion at the Goldstone, pictured in the matchday programme.

Also pictured: Nelson in full flight against Southampton; with young Gary Stevens captured by the Argus singing In Brighton at Busby’s disco in Kings Road; making the headlines in the News of the World; in action against Wolves.

Cup Final hero Dave Beasant was Brighton’s oldest player

Beasant BHA

THE FIRST goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup Final – and the first to captain his team in the historic end of season finale – played between the sticks for Brighton at the ripe old age of 44.

Admittedly Dave Beasant is better known for his years playing for Wimbledon, during which time he laid down those FA Cup milestones in the 1988 final against Liverpool.

Nicknamed Lurch after the butler in The Addams family, Beasant’s heroics to keep out John Aldridge’s spot kick and preserve the 1-0 lead given to the humble south west London club by Lawrie Sanchez, led to the giant goalkeeper lifting the cup.

It also turned out to be the last ever game he played for Wimbledon. A month after that Wembley triumph, Newcastle paid £750,000 for his services – a transfer fee record for a goalkeeper at that time.

Not a bad return on Wimbledon’s £1,000 investment ten years earlier after he had impressed Dario Gradi playing for Edgware Town against the Dons in a pre-season friendly.

Beasant made his league debut against Blackpool in January 1979, and, remarkably, between August 1981 and the end of that 1987-88 season, made 304 consecutive league appearances for the Dons as they rose through the leagues.

When Newcastle sold Paul Gascoigne to Spurs for £2.2 million, they decided to splash £750,000 of it on the big Wimbledon goalkeeper.

Sadly, it was not money well spent. Beasant’s spell on Tyneside lasted just five months and certainly didn’t match the fairytale ending at Wimbledon.

Newcastle struggled at the foot of the table in 1988-89, and were relegated, but before the trapdoor opened Beasant had already departed after just 20 appearances.

He moved back to London in January 1989 to join Chelsea, where he played 193 times, initially under Ian Porterfield, until falling out of favour in 1992.

It was towards the end of 1989 that Beasant won two England caps, playing against Italy and Yugoslavia, and an injury to David Seaman saw Beasant selected for Bobby Robson’s 1990 England World Cup squad, although he didn’t play.

When Glenn Hoddle took over at Stamford Bridge, Beasant was relegated to number three ‘keeper behind Dmitri Kharine and Kevin Hitchcock, so he went out on loan for brief spells at Grimsby Town (six games) and Wolves (four games) before securing a £300,000 move to Southampton in 1993 to succeed Tim Flowers as their no.1.

He played 105 times for Saints but several managerial changes saw his fortunes fluctuate and, in 1997, he once again found himself third choice – this time behind Maik Taylor and Paul Jones – and he was on the move again.

By this time he was 38, but retirement was still not on his agenda. After joining on loan initially, Beasant moved permanently to Nottingham Forest in November 1997 and played 139 games in four years.

It was back to the south coast again in 2001, when Portsmouth needed a goalie following the death in a road accident of their regular ‘keeper, Aaron Flahavan. Beasant played 27 times for Pompey.

Emergency loan spells then followed successively at Tottenham, Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, although he didn’t play any first team games for any of them.

It was from Wigan, just a few weeks before his 44^th birthday in 2003, that he once again headed south, this time to join Brighton’s brave but ultimately unsuccessful attempt under Steve Coppell to stave off relegation from Division One.

With Michel Kuipers out of the side with a thigh injury and loan replacement, Ben Roberts, suffering from ‘flu, Beasant was drafted in.

In the Bradford City v Brighton programme in February 2003, Colin Benson wrote almost poetically about the legendary goalkeeper.

Beasant landsc “The unmistakeable figure of Dave Beasant stood tall under the Brighton crossbar at the Bescot Stadium a fortnight ago marking his debut for his 11^th club at 43 years of age by brilliantly saving from Leitao’s shot on the rebound after beating out an effort from Corica,” he wrote. “Unfortunately he could not crown the day with a match winning clean sheet for Walsall pinched a 1-0 victory but it amply demonstrated that after 20 years between the posts he has lost none of his technique or resilience.”

In a 2018 interview with Spencer Vignes, Beasant said: “Stevie Coppell gave me a bell. I think you’d lost 12 straight games. I remember looking at the table thinking ‘They’re going down’. But there was also something about it that I quite liked. It was a challenge.”

Beasant said that morale was good despite the league position, and he added: “Wherever I go, I can add something on the field and off it. And that’s what happened. We clicked really well together.”

He played 16 games through to the end of the season and although ultimately the bid to stay up was not successful, no blame could be laid at Beasant’s door for lack of effort.

Never was it more evident than in the final game of the season away to Grimsby. With the score 2-2 and all hope virtually extinct, Beasant was still giving his all when other players’ heads had dropped.

I chatted briefly to Beasant at the club’s end of season dinner and remarked how I had been impressed by his never-say-die attitude right to the very end of that game, even though it was a lost cause.

Obviously the consummate professional, he said to me that however unlikely a win would be, you had to continue to play in the hope things might change round.

What a pro and exactly the sort of attitude that meant Beasant endeared himself to the Albion faithful. In a prophetic assessment after the Grimsby game, he told the Argus:

“You feel for those fans because they have been superb. They are gearing themselves for next season already and hopefully the players can set the same target as the fans and, obviously, that is to bounce straight back.”

Beasant cemented his place in the record books as Albion’s oldest-ever player while Albion, of course, went on and did just as he thought they might on that glorious day at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Although Coppell offered Beasant the chance to stay on with the Seagulls, he didn’t want to drop down to the third tier and instead took up Chris Coleman’s offer to become a player-coach at Fulham. He was proud to say that on his 45th birthday he was on the bench when Fulham played Chelsea.

Beasant remained on the Fulham coaching staff after Coleman’s departure under his old Wimbledon teammate Lawrie Sanchez (he had already worked with Sanchez in his previous role as Northern Ireland manager). But when Sanchez was fired, Beasant went too.

He subsequently worked for his son, Sam, at Stevenage, and at the age of 55 was famously registered as part of the squad for the 2015 play-off final, even though he didn’t play.

Between 2015 and 2018, Beasant was goalkeeping coach at Reading.

Cup Final was highlight for Irish rookie Gary Howlett

Howlett GARY HOWLETT is probably the least well remembered player of Brighton’s 1983 FA Cup Final side.

There were plenty of other characters, goalscorers and headline makers to detract from the contribution of a quiet lad from Dublin who almost sneaked into the side under the radar.

That Wembley appearance was only his 11^th senior appearance in the Albion first team. Can you imagine?

And as the history books now tell us, he actually only made 26 more appearances for the Seagulls before being transferred to Bournemouth.

Born in Dublin on 2 April 1963, Howlett’s football career began at the famous Dublin-based Home Farm club, which produced dozens of footballers who went on to make names for themselves in England and Ireland; players like Paddy Mulligan, Mick Martin and Ronnie Whelan.

Howlett followed suit and had Manchester United and Coventry City keen to sign him. He chose Coventry because manager Gordon Milne made him feel more welcome. Unfortunately, just when he thought he had the chance of a first team breakthrough, Milne was sacked and his replacement Dave Sexton let him go as part of a cost-cutting measure that saw a dozen players leave the club.

In May 1982, he was back home in Dublin watching the FA Cup Final between Spurs and QPR on TV. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine just a year later he would be playing in what was then a showpiece occasion watched by a worldwide audience.

Coventry’s youth team manager, John Sillett, had tipped off Mike Bailey about Howlett’s availability and the Albion took him on. Howlett was soon involved in first team training and believed he was on the verge of making the team away at Coventry, of all places, in early December 1982. But Bailey was sacked and it wasn’t until the beginning of March that Howlett finally made the step up.

He was a non-playing substitute for successive away games against Swansea City and West Ham and then, on 22 March 1983, newly-appointed manager Jimmy Melia gave him his first start, at home to Liverpool. And what a debut! The youngster scored as the Seagulls held the league leaders to a 2-2 draw.

With fellow Irishman Gerry Ryan sidelined by injury, Howlett kept his place in the team for a couple more games, sat out two, and then returned to the starting line-up.

Because Ryan was not 100 per cent fit, it was Howlett who got the nod for the FA Cup semi final match against Sheffield Wednesday. He then retained his place for the remaining six league games before being picked for the Cup Final itself.

That momentous match on 23 May 1983 was only 13 minutes old when the young Dubliner made a telling contribution to the game.

It was his chipped diagonal pass over Manchester United centre back Kevin Moran that found Gordon Smith, who arched a header past Gary Bailey to put the Seagulls in dreamland.

Howlett told the press after the match: “I saw Gordon at the back of the goal and just dipped it over Moran.

“I was dying to do something good out there and when the goal came I couldn’t believe it.”

Howlett told the Argus he wasn’t overawed by the occasion but had felt nervous when the national anthem was played.

“Until then all the lads were laughing and joking. It was a great atmosphere beforehand – very relaxed,” he said.

With Albion snatching a replay, Howlett, aged just 20, got to play on the hallowed turf a second time five days later, thus getting the sort of opportunity that eludes the vast majority of players throughout their entire careers.

He was subbed off on 74 minutes (Ryan replacing him) but the game was dead and buried by then anyway.

For Gary Stevens, that Cup Final was the stepping stone to a glittering career. Unfortunately for Howlett, it was the pinnacle and his career never subsequently reached such heights.

Interestingly, in a matchday programme interview with Spencer Vignes in 2004, Howlett reflected that he should have worked harder to ensure he built on that early success.

“Gary Stevens was only a year older than me. After the cup final, he knuckled down and said ‘I want more of this’. I just thought it was going to happen naturally. I didn’t realise I was going to have to work at it.

“That’s the difference between the likes of me and the real pros, people like Roy Keane. Nothing will get in their way.”

Only five years after those two appearances at Wembley, Howlett was turning out in front of 2,500 crowds at York City’s Bootham Crescent.

There had been one brief bright spot, though, and that came when he represented his country.

On 3 June 1984, he earned a full international cap as a 55^th minute substitute in a 1-0 win against China.

That Republic of Ireland team also included Brighton teammates Tony Grealish and Ryan. Mick McCarthy was in central defence and the side was captained by Frank Stapleton.

In the season leading up to that, Howlett managed just 17 appearances, plus two as sub, and in the first part of the 1984-85 season he appeared just six times.

In December 1984, Melia’s replacement, Chris Cattlin, sold Howlett for £15,000 to the then Division 3 Bournemouth, where Harry Redknapp was the manager.

Among his teammates at Dean Court were future multi-club manager Tony Pulis and the much-travelled striker Steve Claridge.

Howlett spent four years with the Cherries, making 60 appearances, although he said he was never the same player after damaging his knee ligaments. In his final year, he was sent out on loan to Aldershot and Chester City. At Aldershot, former Seagull Michael Ring was among his temporary teammates.

In January 1988, he made a permanent move to York City, and in three years playing in Division Four with the Minstermen, Howlett played a total of 119 games and contributed 13 goals.

He left them in 1991 and went back to Ireland to play for Shelbourne. He also played for Crusaders and was on the coaching staff of Bohemian FC.

Howlett spent nine seasons as manager of Drumcondra in the Leinster Senior League, before switching to their rivals Killester United in 2016.

1 howlett 2 howlett prog cover 3 Howlett cooks by Tony Norman 4 howlett now

Pictures show Gary Howlett’s entry in the Cup Final programme, on a matchday programme cover, Tony Norman’s shot of him cooking at home and a screen grab of him following a recent managerial appointment. Also, a montage of other headlines and action pictures.

Eire captain Tony Grealish swapped one Albion for another

1 main pic TG cover boy THE PLAYER who led out Brighton at Wembley for the 1983 FA Cup Final against Manchester United was an experienced Republic of Ireland international who went on to play for West Bromwich Albion.

Tony ‘Paddy’ Grealish, sadly no longer with us having died of cancer aged only 56 in 2013, was given his international debut against Norway in 1976 by the legendary Johnny Giles, who knew a thing or two about midfield play.

In fact it was Giles, in his second spell as WBA manager, who took Grealish to The Hawthorns in 1984 as the break-up of the Brighton cup final squad continued.

After his untimely death, Giles told the Irish Times: “I obviously knew him at that stage from the Ireland set-up and knew what to expect.

“He wasn’t the classiest of players but he was one of the most hard working and you knew exactly what you were going to get.

“He was a great lad; a social animal who liked a drink after a game but gave you absolutely everything during it.”

Born in Paddington, London, on 21 September 1956, Grealish qualified to play for the Republic through his father, Packie, who was born in Athenry, Galway, and his mother Nora’s parents, both from Limerick.

He began his career across the other side of London, at Orient, and played 171 games for the Os, one of the last being the memorable 3-3 draw against Brighton in 1979 which featured on The Big Match. One of his teammates that day was Henry Hughton, brother of subsequent Brighton manager, Chris.

The previous year Grealish had been part of the Orient side that made it through to the FA Cup semi final against Arsenal, played at Stamford Bridge, but they were beaten 3-0 (the Gunners lost 1-0 to Ipswich in the final).

In 1979, David Pleat paid £150,000 to take him for Luton Town for whom he played 78 games in two seasons.

The managerial upheaval at the Goldstone Ground in the summer of 1981 saw the arrival of Mike Bailey in place of Alan Mullery, and one of his first moves was to bring in Grealish as part of a swap for Brian Horton, the ageing, inspirational captain who led Brighton from the old Third Division to the First.

Grealish was definitely what you’d call a players’ player, someone who did the hard work in the engine room of the team to enable players with more flair to shine.

He talked about just that scenario in an interview with the Daily Mail after Brighton had beaten Sheffield Wednesday at Highbury in that 1983 cup semi-final.

Referring to an incident when he’d charged down a free kick, he told Brian Scovell: “That’s my job. I’m the bloke with the ugly mug so they get me to do it.”

It was Grealish who rolled the ball to Jimmy Case to smash home that memorable opening goal and he relished his teammate’s strike, saying: “It wasn’t just the power, it was the way the ball swerved away from the ‘keeper that did it.”

After the disappointment of missing out in 1978, reaching the cup final was extra special for Grealish and he found himself thrust centre stage as a result of usual captain Steve Foster’s suspension from the first match.

Even all this time later, people remember how Grealish wore the trademark Foster headband as he led Brighton out. “It was a small protest over Steve’s exclusion from the final,” he told the media after the game.

In the News of the World, Fred Burcombe began his report: “Tony Grealish, Brighton’s stand-in skipper, yesterday entered the Wembley arena with a gesture of defiance and left for home in a blaze of confidence.”

In fact, Grealish was involved in both Brighton’s goals in the 2-2 draw. James Mossop reported in the Sunday Express: “Brighton stayed on the attack after a corner. Tony Grealish collected the ball and his teammates began to fan out, all eager for a pass. He chose Neil Smillie on the right. Smillie gave young Gary Howlett the chance to centre – and as the ball curved in Smith met it ideally, sending his header over the ‘keeper’s outstretched forearm and into the net.”

And with the clock ticking down, United by now 2-1 up, it was Grealish who drilled the ball hard into the penalty box where Gary Stevens controlled it and fired the ball past Gary Bailey to net the equaliser.

Grealish lived in Peacehaven during his time with the Seagulls and clearly enjoyed the social life with his teammates.

“The atmosphere at Brighton is particularly good,” he told Tony Norman in a club programme feature. “There’s always plenty going on. I enjoy our Wednesday golf games. There’s often as many as 10 of the players there. That’s always a laugh.”

Following relegation to the second tier, the Seagulls squad was broken up bit by bit; Gary Stevens and Michael Robinson going first. Grealish lasted a little longer and played two thirds of the 1983-84 season before being sold to West Brom in March.

It didn’t stop him being selected alongside teammate Case in the PFA representative side that season (the centre half selection was Mick McCarthy and the forwards included Kevin Keegan and Mark Hateley).

In total, Grealish played 116 games plus five as a sub for Brighton, and his last game for the Seagulls saw him score in a 1-1 home draw with Manchester City, who he would subsequently join in 1986-87. He played 65 games for West Brom, and 11 times for City, who also had former Seagull Neil McNab in their line-up.

In August 1987, Grealish moved to Rotherham United and played 110 games for the Millers before moving to Walsall (36 appearances).

During his time at Rotherham, in 1988-89, he once again found himself in the PFA representative selection, this time for Division Four. Grealish then did the rounds of various non-league clubs in the Midlands: Bromsgove Rovers, Moor Green, Halesowen Harriers, Sutton Coldfield and Evesham United.

He returned to Bromsgrove Rovers as player-manager before calling it a day, and then worked in the scrap metal business. His career record showed he played a total of 589 league games, plus 45 for the Republic of Ireland; 17 of them as captain.

Little surprise, then, that when he died in 2013, the Football Association of Ireland paid a warm tribute. FAI president Paddy McCaul said: “He will be remembered as a great servant of Irish football who was part of the international set-up under John Giles and Eoin Hand that came so close to qualifying for major tournaments and helped change Ireland’s fortunes at that level of the game.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney added: “Tony Grealish was one of my footballing heroes when I was a child and I always remembered him as a great competitor who always gave his all for Ireland.”

It was during Alan Kelly’s brief reign in charge, in 1980, that Grealish was first made Eire skipper – against Switzerland – and he was a central figure in successor Eoin Hand’s team.

“He was a great character,” said Hand. “I don’t think I ever selected a team during my time in charge that didn’t have him in it.

“I think it’s fair to say he raised his game when he was playing international football. I’d say he was a great club player but the commitment he gave for Ireland; he just couldn’t have given that on a twice weekly basis playing club football. He gave absolutely everything.

“He contributed so much (including eight international goals), had an infectious enthusiasm for it all. If ever there was someone who showed how proud he could be to represent his country then Tony was it. He was very much part of it all; a great ambassador; very generous.”

Hand added: “He was a great example to others in the way he dealt with people; other players, supporters, kids….a really wonderful guy. I was very lucky to have him around when I was manager.”

3.TG shoot cover

Pictures from my scrapbook show Grealish on an Albion matchday programme cover, a Match magazine pic of him in WBA colours via Football Past on Twitter, on the front of the 1983 FA Cup Final preview edition of Shoot!, and, below, a montage of various headlines and images.