The ‘Derry Pelé’ only briefly strutted his stuff at Brighton

PADDY McCourt put a dent in Brighton’s promotion hopes when he scored for managerless Barnsley at the Amex. Eight months later he joined the Albion’s renewed attempts to lift themselves out of the Championship.

The mazy dribbler from Derry lit up the evening of Tuesday 3 December 2013 when he gave the bottom-of-the-table Tykes an unlikely first-half lead.

Barnsley arrived at Falmer having just sacked manager David Flitcroft and when McCourt teased and tormented the retreating Seagulls defenders to net in the 35^th minute it ended a sequence of nearly five hours without a goal.

*McCourt celebrates scoring for Barnsley at the Amex*

Recalling what was something of a trademark finish by the bearded Irishman in a 2018 post wearebrighton.com described howMcCourt picked up a loose ball 40 yards out from goal, dribbled round Liam Bridcutt and Andrew Crofts, drifted past Matt Upson with a quick step-over, nutmegged Gordon Greer before playing a quick one-two with Worthing-born Marcus Tudgay, then ghosted round Stephen Ward before slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the goal past Tomasz Kuszczak in Albion’s goal.

Five minutes after the restart, the visitors went further ahead through Jacob Mellis before Upson pulled a goal back with a header from a Craig Conway corner. Barnsley had on-loan goalkeeper Jack Butland to thank for ensuring they left with all three points, making notable saves from subs Will Buckley and Leroy Lita (who moved to Barnsley the following year).

While Albion went on to finish sixth under Oscar Garcia but failed to get further than the play-off semi-final for the second year running, Barnsley, who’d appointed former Albion captain Danny Wilson as Flitcroft’s successor, exited the division the wrong way, finishing in 23^rd place.

Barnsley’s top scorer, Chris O’Grady, stayed in the division by signing for the Albion and a month later his former teammate, 30-year-old McCourt, released on a free transfer at the end of the season, joined him in Sussex after impressing new Seagulls boss Sami Hyypia in a trial period.

“We have seen enough of Paddy in the last week or so to know that he is a player who has quality going forward,” said Hyypia. “He is the type of player who can pick a pass and create a chance.”

That said, Hyypia only gave McCourt starts in two League Cup games (v Burton Albion and Tottenham Hotspur); his 11 other Albion appearances were all as a substitute.

When he did start, away to Burton, he set up goals for Rohan Ince and Craig Mackail-Smith in Albion’s 3-0 win and he told the matchday programme: “There’s nothing like playing games for your fitness and I’m sure that the more I play the better I will feel.”

Hyypia kept his feet on the ground, though, pointing out: “He needs to realise what he needs to do to improve and to be a very important player for the team defensively as well.”

Often described as a ‘maverick’, McCourt’s response was: “I like to get on the ball and be creative; that’s always been part of my game and something I’ve always been good at. I love taking on players, creating chances and now I just hope I can get a run in the team and show what I can do on a regular basis.”

He certainly couldn’t have been accused of lacking ambition, maintaining: “I still have aspirations to play in the Premier League and hopefully that will happen in my time here.

“I’ve played international football, I’ve played Champions League and Europa League football with Celtic, so the next step for me would be to play at the highest level in England – I would love that to happen.”

That international career was as strange as much of his career. There were 13 years between the first and last of 18 caps for Northern Ireland: he made his debut under Sammy McIlroy in 2002 (a 5-0 defeat against Spain) then had to wait seven years before he was selected again. That was in a 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over San Marino, when he went on as an 81^st minute sub for future Albion teammate Aaron Hughes.

He scored twice in Northern Ireland’s 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2012 qualifier in August 2011 (when Hughes scored his first goal for his country in his 77^th appearance!).

McCourt’s second goal that day was reckoned to be one of the best ever goals seen at Windsor Park. According to the Belfast Telegraph, he “collected the ball just inside the opposition half and left three defenders in his wake with magical dribbling skills and impeccable close control before outfoxing another… then to cap it off he produced a stunning left foot chip over the bemused goalkeeper which floated into the net.”

McCourt helped manager Michael O’Neill’s side reach the Euro 2016 finals, but was not available for the finals in France because his wife Laura was seriously ill (more of which later).

“I really enjoyed it,” he told BBC Northern Ireland’s Mark Sterling in a lockdown interview in 2020. “Any time I was picked I turned up, and to be involved in the Euros qualifying campaign was fantastic.

“Everybody wants to play international football, The fans took to me straight away, were always singing my name and I hope I gave them some good memories.”

Born in Derry on 16 December 1983, McCourt’s early footballing promise was nurtured by Eunan O’Donnell, his PE teacher at Steelstown Primary School. At the club he joined as a youngster, Derry-based Foyle Harps, it was club chairman Gerry Doherty “who deserves more credit than anyone else” according to McCourt’s brother Leroy (who was his agent).

However, McCourt reckoned: “The street is where I learnt how to play football.”

In that lockdown interview with BBC’s Sterling, he said: “When I was younger there was more emphasis on players to develop themselves. We trained once a week for an hour with our clubs, when you might only get 40 or 50 touches of the ball at most, with 20 kids in a session.

“It was up to you to go out into the streets with your mates and practice your skills in small-sided games. We’d play for six or seven hours, there might only be four of you and you’d get thousands of touches.

“You were probably playing with older kids and on concrete as well, so that would improve your balance.”

Although given the moniker of the greatest Brazilian footballer of all time, McCourt’s boyhood hero was Robbie Fowler. “I’m a Liverpool and Celtic fan, and for some reason he was a player I just absolutely adored growing up,” he said.

“My memories are of seeing Fowler scoring – left foot, right foot, header – it didn’t seem to matter to him. He just had this unbelievable talent for putting the ball in the back of the net.”

McCourt’s first taste of professional football in England came at Third Division Rochdale, joining them in 2000 aged 17. But in an open and honest question and answer session in March 2018 at the Talent Development Academy Elite Soccer Coaching event, at the Magee Campus of the Ulster University, the player spoke about how youthful wrong lifestyle choices meant he blew the opportunity.

“I was nowhere near ready for it and the events that transpired in the next couple of years proved that. It’s very hard to know the situation you’re going into when you’re not prepared for it.

“I was coming from Foyle Harps, playing junior football and then going into a professional environment. It wasn’t that big of a jump in terms of what you did differently because Rochdale was a small club and you went in and trained and were home for 1pm living in digs and I didn’t drive at the time.

“You had so much spare time on your hands and as a young lad, you do daft stuff and make mistakes and I admit I made plenty. It was basic stuff like going out too much and not eating the right food.”

Although he made 94 appearances for Rochdale, around half were as a substitute and after unsuccessful trials with Motherwell and Norwich City he was eventually released in February 2005 and returned to the League of Ireland with Shamrock Rovers.

“Initially when I was at Rochdale I did quite well and broke into the first team quite early but when I came back I took stock. I made mistakes and wasn’t really living my life to be a professional footballer.

“I had six months with Shamrock Rovers where I didn’t make many changes to my lifestyle but I was doing quite well on the pitch.”

It was only when he returned to his home town and played at Derry City where things began to change under the positive influence of future Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny.

“I learned what it takes to become a proper athlete because you need to live a clean lifestyle to make it as a footballer and I wish I knew back then what I know now,” he said.

“There was a bit of sports science starting to come in at Derry in terms of what to do leading up to a game, and then your recovery sessions on a Saturday morning after a game. It was tiny, basic stuff but it started to kick in then and that helped me because I was getting information I didn’t have before. It was up to yourself to buy into it and I started to buy into it a bit more and started to see the benefit.”

Between 2005 and 2008 with Derry, McCourt won an FAI Cup, three League Cups, was involved in a league runners-up spot (2005) and was part of a UEFA Cup run in 2006.

He then got the chance to join Celtic, the side he’d supported as a boy, signing for a fee of £200,000 in June 2008. Hoops boss Gordon Strachan told the Derry Daily: “Paddy is as gifted a footballer as I’ve ever seen. Some players can pass but can’t dribble. Others can dribble but can’t pass. Paddy can do both.”

It wasn’t until the 2009-10 season that he forced his way into the first team and his first goal for the club was in a 4-0 League Cup win at Falkirk in September 2009 when he skipped past five defenders before chipping the goalkeeper.

His own favourite was his first goal at Parkhead in a 3-0 win over Hearts on 11 September 2010 which realised a lifetime ambition.

“I actually had dreams of scoring at Celtic Park,” he said. “I felt I had let that go when I had that setback at Rochdale. Self-doubt creeps in but I remember the night. It was Hearts at home and it was a very proud moment.

“It might never have happened if I hadn’t made the sacrifices I made and I have a lot of people to thank for that.”

When Aiden McGeady left Celtic for Spartak Moscow in August 2010, Celtic manager Neil Lennon challenged McCourt to step into his shoes and said: “He’s wonderful to watch. He’s beautifully balanced and he’s got great vision and great feet and that’s why we decided to get him on a longer-term contract. He’s pleased and we’re pleased.”

In his five years in Glasgow, McCourt scored 10 goals in 88 appearances for the Hoops although he actually only made 20 starts. He collected medals for his part in Scottish Premier League title wins in 2011-12 and 2012-13 as well as Scottish Cup wins in 2011 and 2013.

That 3-0 2013 final win over Hibernian was his last game for Celtic before he joined English Championship Barnsley, who were managed by his former Rochdale teammate David Flitcroft.

The goal against Brighton in December 2013 was one of only two he scored for the Tykes in 15 starts plus eight appearances off the bench and Barnsley fans certainly had mixed views about his contribution.

Online chat group contributor ‘Jay’ posted: “At his best he was as good as I’ve ever seen. Be nice if he can produce that sort of form consistently, even if it’s not for us. All that talent shouldn’t go to waste.”

Another, ‘JLWBigLil’ reckoned: “One of the most skilful players I’ve ever seen play for Barnsley in all my years of going down to Oakwell. Possibly the right player at the wrong time for us.”

Whereas ‘MarioKempes’ opined: “There was no doubting his ability but the other key aspects such as workrate, fitness, stamina and heart were sadly lacking from his game.”

It almost certainly didn’t help McCourt’s cause at Brighton that new boss Hyypia struggled to get to grips with the task in hand and chopped and changed the line-up. The addition of several loan players didn’t help matters either.

Frustrated Albion fans reckoned McCourt should have had a bigger involvement than his few cameos off the bench, citing his influence in helping to salvage a point away at Watford, and planting the ball on Gordon Greer’s head to score a consolation goal from his corner kick at Middlesbrough.

After Hyypia left the club before Christmas, McCourt’s last Albion appearance was as a sub in the home Boxing Day 2-2 draw with Reading (on loan Glenn Murray scored twice for the visitors; Jake Forster-Caskey and Inigo Calderon for the Albion), going on for Danny Holla.

Nathan Jones was in caretaker charge that day and the pair were subsequently reunited at Luton Town the following season.

Before then, unable to get games under Albion’s new boss Chris Hughton, McCourt dropped into League One on loan at relegation-bound Notts County.

He scored County’s winner in their 1-0 win at Colchester on 3 March 2015 but they went on an 11-game winless run after that and went down with Crawley Town and Leyton Orient.

Released by Brighton that summer, McCourt joined the League Two Hatters under John Still in July 2015 and was followed there a month later by Mackail-Smith.

After a run of three starts in September, when Town won all three matches, McCourt played in a 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient on 20 October, before being restricted to a role on the bench.

On his return to the starting line-up in January 2016, away to Mansfield, he scored his fist Luton goal after just seven minutes in a 2-0 win. He told Luton Today: “It was great, all players want to play from the start and it’s been disappointing to sit on the sidelines.

“It was very frustrating because we’d just won three or four games in a row, then I came back from an international double header, was on the bench, played in the draw against Leyton Orient and that was it, I didn’t play again.

“I don’t know why, I didn’t ask the manager and he ended up getting the sack, but it was very disappointing as I felt that although I wasn’t where I wanted to be in terms of performance, I was playing, we were winning games.”

When former Brighton coach Jones was appointed as Still’s successor, McCourt told Luton Today: “He’s a coach who wants to play football, ball from the back, get between the lines, bring a wee bit of flair and creativity back to Luton, so hopefully I can play a big part in that.”

Unfortunately, he cut short his stay at Kenilworth Road after 16 starts and nine appearances off the bench to return to Ireland because his wife Laura had to undergo treatment for a brain tumour. She recovered after a successful operation and O’Court resumed playing at Glenavon.

According to the Belfast Telegraph: “It ended up being a disappointing half-season at Mourneview Park and was followed by a move to Finn Harps, where he was able to roll back the years, not least when he ghosted past a whole host of Sligo players and dinked home the finish with his inimitable swagger.”

That was in 2018 before he retired from playing and began coaching academy players at Derry City. He later became the club’s technical director and left in January 2024 before taking up a role as assistant to manager Declan Devine at Irish Premiership side Glentoran.

Perhaps the last words should go to reporter Daniel McDonnell, who wrote in the Irish Independent: “Football is nothing without entertainers. Punters paying cash to watch a game want to see individuals capable of doing things that the ordinary player could only daydream about. McCourt could do things that top pros were unable to manage.”

While recognising McCourt’s CV might have glittered more brightly, he declared: “There are players who will retire with more medals and more money that will never garner a comparable level of affection.

“Mention McCourt’s name to those who had the pleasure of watching him in full flight and responses will be delivered with a smile.”

Managerial turnover played havoc with goalscorer Bent’s career

FORMER England striker Darren Bent, who now shares his opinion of the game with listeners to talkSPORT, was still only 30 when he pulled on the stripes of Brighton, one of nine clubs he represented in the Premier League and Championship.

He couldn’t have got off to a better start when he scored on his debut at the Amex, netting against one of his former clubs, Fulham. Unfortunately, the visitors turned the game on its head and won 2-1.

Timing is everything in football and perhaps if Bent had joined the Albion in happier circumstances, there may have been a better story to tell. The Seagulls were about the ditch the manager who brought him to the club – an all-too-familiar scenario Bent encountered on many occasions throughout an 18-year playing career.

At Spurs he played under three different managers – he later described it as “the worst two years of my career” – and his temporary move from Aston Villa to Brighton came about because he’d been frozen out by Paul Lambert even though Gerard Houllier had smashed Villa’s transfer fee record to sign Bent from Sunderland for £18m in January 2011.

Bent arrived at the Amex in November 2014 with 184 goals in 464 career appearances behind him, and only three years earlier had won the last of 13 caps for England, for whom he scored four goals.

“His record speaks for itself,” said Albion boss Sami Hyypia. “He is a top-class striker with more than 100 Premier League goals with Charlton, Spurs, Sunderland and Aston Villa. I hope he will score plenty of goals for us during his time with us.

“There is no doubting his ability to score goals. He also wants to play regular games and that is evident in his willingness to step down from the Premier League to the Championship.”

The player himself told the matchday programme: “Anyone who knows me knows that all I care about is football.

“It has never been about money or anything like that. It has always been about playing football. I’m always at my happiest when I’m playing.”

Bent added: “Brighton felt like the perfect place to come and play football, especially for someone like Sami Hyypia, who I’ve played against many times over the years.

“As a manager, I think he is the right man. He is the kind of guy I want to play for.”

It was a generous assessment in the circumstances because Brighton had managed only two wins in 16 matches before Bent’s arrival.

The experienced striker’s second goal for the Albion looked like it might have earned the beleaguered coach a reprieve from the inevitable. He scored in the 10^th minute away at Wolves, stooping to head Inigo Calderon’s first-time cross past goalkeeper Carl Ikeme. It was a lead that lasted until the 88th-minute but was cancelled out by a Danny Batth equaliser after Albion had played 30 second half minutes with 10 men following a red card shown to Bruno. Brighton parted company with the big Finn shortly afterwards.

Bent played one more game, under caretaker Nathan Jones, when Albion fought back from 2-0 down (both scored by on-loan Glenn Murray against his old club) to earn a home draw against Reading, but he was forced off injured after less than half an hour and the knock kept him out of the next game at Fulham, when Brighton won 2-0.

Hyypia’s replacement, Chris Hughton, spoke at his first press conference of trying to keep the player, but Bent had the chance to join a side at the opposite end of the Championship and he moved to promotion-seeking Derby County instead, scoring 12 times in 13 starts as the Rams missed out on a play-off spot by one point.

Released by Villa at the end of the season, he subsequently joined the Rams on a permanent basis in the summer of 2015. He saw even more managerial churn at Pride Park – Paul Clement and Darren Wassall in 2015-16 and three – Nigel Pearson, Steve McLaren and Gary Rowett – in 2016-17. Across the two seasons in the Championship, Bent scored 14 in 67 matches, but a hamstring injury sidelined him for the start of the 2017-18 season.

In January 2018 he went on loan to Championship strugglers Burton Albion under Nigel Clough where he scored twice in 14 appearances (nine starts + five off the bench) including netting the equaliser against his old club Sunderland when Burton’s 2-1 win relegated the Black Cats to the third tier of English football for only the second time in the club’s history. Burton also went down.

Released by Derby in the summer of 2018, he announced his retirement at 35 in July 2019.

Funny that he should end his career at Derby County because it was against them that he scored his first competitive goal for Tottenham in a 4–0 home victory in August 2007.

Bent had previously scored 37 goals in 79 matches over two seasons at Premier League Charlton Athletic before making what at the time was a record £16.5m move to White Hart Lane, where Dutch boss Martin Jol greeted him enthusiastically.

Although he already had Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe and Mido as forward options, Jol said of the new signing: “Darren’s strength is his stamina. Normally players will make runs three or four times in 45 minutes, he will do it all the time and if you manage to play balls behind the defence, he will be there.

“He has pace, he links play well and can see a pass – he can exploit the space and play as well.”

What happened subsequently is covered superbly in a 2019 article by Jack Beresford on Planet Football, but, to fast forward a little, Jol was shown the White Hart Lane exit and his replacement, Spaniard Juande Ramos (assisted by Gus Poyet) was a lot less enamoured by the big money signing.

Indeed, Beresford writes: “Bent later recalled how Tottenham became ‘a horrible place to be’ under Ramos, who regularly lambasted players over a lack of professionalism in regards to training and nutrition, demoting several senior figures to the reserves.”

Although Bent struggled to cement a regular starting spot in his first season at White Hart Lane, he was Spurs’ top scorer at the end of the 2008-09 campaign with 17 goals.

While things initially looked good under Bent’s third Spurs boss, Harry Redknapp, the manager’s decision to publicly humiliate the striker eventually brought an unhappy spell to an end.

Bent missed a golden chance to score in a match against Portsmouth and Redknapp told reporters after the game: “You will never get a better chance to win a match than that. My missus could have scored that one.

“Bent did not only have part of the goal to aim for, but he had the entire net – and he put it wide. Unbelievable. I was just so frustrated.”

Bent put in a transfer request and said: “No one goes out to deliberately miss. When you miss a chance and your manager comes out and supports you rather than criticises you, it’s a big help.”

Ironically, circumstances meant Bent went on to make 12 more appearances for Tottenham, scoring five times and his 12 league goals made him the club’s top scorer.

Although Redknapp said Bent had a future at the club, he signed Peter Crouch and Beresford reported Bent later said: “I didn’t feel Redknapp wanted me there. It’s massive to have the support of your manager and that’s not been the case for the last two years.

“My career stood still at Tottenham. There’s a lot of politics going on there. I scored a lot of goals, but it was the hardest two years of my life.”

In those two years, he scored 25 goals in 79 games for Tottenham, but 36 of those appearances had been as a substitute.

Born in Tooting, south London, on 6 February 1984, Bent seemed always destined to be a footballer because his dad Mervyn had been on the books of Wimbledon and Brentford as a youngster.

The family moved to Cambridgeshire when the young Bent was only 10 and his early football career was nurtured at Godmanchester Rovers.

Ipswich Town picked him up as a 14-year-old and nurtured him through their youth ranks until he signed his first professional deal on 2 July 2001. George Burley gave him his debut five months later as a sub in a 3-1 UEFA Cup win away to Helsingborgs IF.

He scored twice in seven league and cup appearances that first season but the Tractor Boys were relegated from the top flight. Burley was soon replaced, temporarily by Tony Mowbray, then Joe Royle, under whom he cemented a regular starting berth in the second tier over the next three seasons.

By the time he left Ipswich in 2005, he’d scored 56 goals in 141 appearances. Former Brighton midfielder Alan Curbishley was at the helm of the Addicks when they paid a fee of £2.5m to take him to The Valley.

He scored five goals in Charlton’s first four league games (including two in the opening day 3-1 win over future employer Sunderland), finished his first season with 22 league and cup goals and was named Charlton’s Player of the Year.

Bent top scored again the following season, with 15, but under three different managers – Iain Dowie, Les Reed and Alan Pardew – they were relegated to the Championship along with Watford and Sheffield United.

As described earlier, Spurs presented the opportunity for him to continue playing in the Premier League, and he continued playing at that level when Sunderland bought him for £16.5million in the summer of 2009. Demonstrating the knack he had at several clubs, he scored on his debut, giving the Black Cats a 1-0 win at Bolton.

Bent went on to score 24 league goals for the Black Cats in his debut season at the club – and you can only imagine how delighted he was (pictured below) to net two in a 3-1 win over Spurs at the Stadium of Light!

The first came after just 34 seconds of the game on 3 April 2010, and a 29^th-minute penalty gave him his 23rd goal of the season, although incredibly Bent also saw two other penalties saved by Spurs ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes. He had also missed a penalty in the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane the previous November, when Spurs won 2-0.

He obviously wasn’t the most reliable from 12 yards: I witnessed a Bent penalty miss myself back in 2003 when he’d gone on as a sub for Ipswich against Brighton at Portman Road. With the score at 1-1, Richard Carpenter’s foul on Chris Makin gave Bent the chance to restore the home side’s advantage from the spot. But he blasted the ball over without goalkeeper Dave Beasant needing to make a save. Tony Rougier then put Albion ahead but a Martin Reuser thunderbolt evened it up.

Bent’s 18-month stay with Steve Bruce’s Sunderland proved to be his most prolific goalscoring spell in football, netting 38 goals in just 52 appearances.

In the first half of the 2010-11 season, his partner up front was young Manchester United loanee Danny Welbeck, but in the January 2011 transfer window Bent was on the move again, this time to Villa.

Once again, he got off to a great start for a new club, marking his debut with the only goal of the game in a win over Manchester City. It was the first of nine goals in 16 league appearances which put him joint top scorer with Ashley Young, even though he’d only arrived at the club in January.

After health issues forced Houllier to step down as Villa boss, Alex McLeish took over for what was a tumultuous and under-performing season when relegation was only avoided by two points, although Bent was top scorer with 10.

McLeish’s successor Lambert not only took the captaincy off Bent, he also froze him out, only selecting him for 13 Premier League appearances. If he thought it was difficult enough to have three different managers in three seasons at Villa, when he spent the whole of the 2013-14 season on loan to Fulham, they had three different managers in one season!

Bent’s old Spurs boss Jol was in charge as the campaign got under way but, with only two wins in 14, he was replaced by former Man Utd no.2 René Meulensteen in December before Felix Magath took over in February. All the upheaval saw Fulham relegated with a team that included David Stockdale, Steve Sidwell, Aaron Hughes and Dan Burn. Bent scored six in 14 starts + 15 sub appearances.

If Bent was used to managerial change at club level, it wasn’t much better with the England national team: he played under three different managers in five years!

He had previously earned selection for his country at under 15, 16, 19 and 21 levels – he scored nine in 14 matches for the under-21s – and he was first called up to the full squad by Sven-Goran Eriksson shortly after he’d made the move from Ipswich to Charlton, although he didn’t play in a 4-1 defeat to Denmark.

“Making my Premiership debut for a new club, scoring my first brace in the Premiership and then to get the England call-up on the back of that was just a dream come true,” he told the FA website.

It was another six months before he made his full England debut, in a 2-1 win over Uruguay but he didn’t do enough to stake a claim for a place in the World Cup squad.

His next cap came as an 80^th minute substitute for Joe Cole in the 3-2 defeat to Croatia in November 2007 that cost Steve McLaren his job when England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament.

By the time he made his second start for England, on 14 November 2009, Fabio Capello was in charge. England lost 1-0 in a friendly to Brazil in Qatar when Bent’s teammates included Matthew Upson, Wayne Bridge and James Milner.

“Bent was struggling to make an impact as he attempted to convince Capello of his worth, not helped by a lack of service that rendered his task almost impossible,” reported the BBC’s Phil McNulty. “He had one opportunity, but could not direct a header on target from Milner’s cross.”

He didn’t make the cut for the 2010 World Cup squad but in September was back in the fold and scored his first England goal after going on as a 70^th minute sub for Jermain Defoe as England beat Switzerland 3-1 in Basle.

By now at Villa, it was the first of three goals in three games (he also netted against Denmark and Wales) after which he told the Birmingham Mail: “I’d love to be No 9 for as long as possible, there are a lot of top strikers about but Fabio keeps picking me and hopefully I can keep producing the goods.

“Even when the goals weren’t going in, I always believed I was good enough to score at this level and hopefully it’s showing now. I’m finally getting my chance and getting a good run in the side. I’m delighted with it.

“It has been years since my first chance and it’s certainly been a long, long wait but it’s finally come.”

He started the 2-2 Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro in October 2011 and the following month was in the side that beat World Cup holders Spain 1-0 at Wembley; it was his header from Milner’s cross that rebounded off a post for Frank Lampard to nod in.

Three days later, he played what turned out to be his – and Capello’s – last game for England as a 70^th minute sub for Bobby Zamora when England beat Sweden 1-0 at Wembley.

Yet another man was at the helm when it came to selection for the Euro 2012 tournament and Roy Hodgson didn’t reckon Bent had recovered sufficiently from an injury to merit inclusion.

For all the highs and lows of a lengthy playing career, nothing came close to what he suffered in front of a nation of TV quiz viewers: he scored only three points over two rounds of Celebrity Mastermind and admitted to talkSPORT listeners: “Honestly? It was probably the worst experience of my life!”

He explained: “As a footballer you get nervous before games, when you take a penalty in front of thousands of people, when you join a new club, but when you’re sitting in that chair opposite John Humphrys, it’s pitch black in there and all you can see is him, his eyes looking at you and he’s asking you questions and you just go blank.”

Zamora found the F in Fulham for barracking boo boys

BOBBY ZAMORA was arguably at the top of his game when he played for Fulham, even though some supporters begged to differ.

Although he had played Premier League football for Spurs and West Ham, the form he showed in Roy Hodgson’s side finally propelled him into the England reckoning.

And he might even have gone on to greater heights after the rich goalscoring vein he hit in the 2009-10 season: Hodgson wanted to sign him for Liverpool, but he preferred to stay in the south.

Zamora had been surprised to discover West Ham had sold him to Fulham without any consultation at the start of the 2008-09 season, but he knuckled down to play a supporting role as Fulham finished seventh in the Premier League.

Certain sections of the Fulham faithful were expecting more than the four goals he scored, even though the player was fulfilling the manager’s brief, and let their feelings be known.

The player eventually had enough of the barracking and, after he had scored the only goal of the game to beat Sunderland in December 2009, he confronted them and invited them to “shut your fucking mouths”.

Hodgson defended him saying: “He has been a key player for us. Just a very good player.”

In no mood to apologise for his outburst, Zamora told Amy Lawrence of The Guardian he found some of the stick unacceptable.

“I just can’t get my head round some people,” he said. “If you are a supporter, support your team. You expect it at away grounds, fair enough, but from your own supporters it is a bit strange.

“It wouldn’t make me want to leave but it’s not nice. I wish at times football could be a happier environment.

*Young Zamora scored goals for fun at Brighton*

While Brighton fans had witnessed Zamora leading from the front and scoring goals for fun, at Fulham he was asked to play a different role, and it disappointed him that people were only judging him on goals alone.

“If you ask Joe Bloggs down the street how many assists I have had this season they wouldn’t be able to tell you. Or how many team-mates I have set up for a shot at goal. Or pass completion. They just know goals, full stop,” he said.

“I was asked to play more as a defensive centre forward,” he said in an interview with the Fulham website. “It’s a job I did and I enjoyed putting AJ (Andrew Johnson) through.

“The team appreciated it; the fans possibly not. We didn’t finish seventh because I didn’t do a job. Ultimately it helped the team. Roy had faith in me and I’d like to think I repaid him.”

Zamora added: “The gaffer has been behind me from day one. There was a lot of pressure on me to score goals. Because I wasn’t, the press and the fans didn’t think I should be playing. But the gaffer and the players appreciated what I was doing for the team. That’s all that matters.”

‘Gentleman Jim’ on friendsoffulham.com recalled: “He had it in for some fans who kept booing him or saying he was not the best player and not supporting him.

“He was quite harshly criticised at the time by the fan base because he wasn’t scoring, but his general play and hold up play was very good for most of his time here.

“Whilst he could’ve managed the situation differently to endear himself more to the fans, he was combative and ended up doing very well for us.”

On the same forum, Graham Leggat said: “His best was as good as Mitro (Aleksandar Mitrovic) at his best for us and Saha (before we sold him to Man Utd). I would say even higher. He was absolutely unplayable, even if he didn’t bang in as many as the other two. A true Fulham great.”

Zamora might have escaped the Fulham boo boys if he’d accepted an approach from Hull City but he chose to stay, much to Hodgson’s delight, and went on to produce his best form.

He scored 19 goals in the season when Fulham finished 12^th in the Premier League and made it through to the final of the Europa League (the first season of the revamped competition previously known as the UEFA Cup).

Zamora had been a fitness doubt before the game against Athletico Madrid in the People’s Park Stadium in Hamburg and he had to give way to Clint Dempsey 10 minutes into the second half.

The game went into extra time with the score 1-1 after 90 minutes and agonisingly Fulham succumbed to an extra time winner scored by ex-Man Utd striker Diego Forlan. Sergio Aguero, later of Man City fame, beat defender Aaron Hughes and crossed for Forlan to flick the ball home four minutes from the end.

The achilles injury Zamora had picked up prevented him from joining Fabio Capello’s England squad for the 2010 World Cup and he underwent surgery instead of heading out to South Africa.

As described in a previous blog post, Capello nevertheless kept Zamora in mind and the striker did eventually get his chance with the national side.

It was that same summer that Hodgson left Fulham to take over at Anfield and as the August transfer deadline loomed the manager hoped to persuade Zamora to join him at Liverpool.

But the player’s wife had just had twin daughters and he didn’t want to uproot the family. He was also getting on well with Hodgson’s successor Mark Hughes.

“I enjoyed my time with Mark, he came at the start of the season, I had a good pre-season with him,” he told the Say It and Spray It podcast. “Roy came in for me at Liverpool and Harry Redknapp came in for me at Spurs, but Mark said he wanted me to stay, and I’d just had my twins in August.

In the event, Zamora signed a new four-year contract – and the very next day suffered a broken leg in a tackle by Wolves’ Karl Henry.

He was sidelined for five months but managed to return before the end of the season, scored seven goals in 16 appearances and finally got to play for England that summer.

When Hughes decided to leave Fulham after just one season in charge, Zamora expressed his shock in newspaper interviews. “There was no hint of it,” he told the Mirror. “It was going well. Everyone had bought into his ideas and were just starting to play the way he wanted.

“He has decided not to stay and we go on and try and find another manager and hope we do well.

“But Mark has got his reasons. I don’t blame him at all. It’s one of those things. Managers and players come and go.”

Seven months later, Zamora left Fulham himself to rejoin Hughes, who had taken over at QPR.

Zamora didn’t see eye to eye with Hughes’ successor at Craven Cottage, Martin Jol, who he said had not got the best out of him, although he had scored seven goals in 29 appearances at the time of his departure.

Jol tried to deny there had been a rift with the player saying any talk of a disagreement between them had been inflated by the press.

“If you look at the media, they started this Bobby thing in August,” said Jol. “They said we had a bust up at the start of the season, but you always have a little bit of a disagreement.

“I don’t think there is any problem,” said Jol. “I said to him a few weeks ago ‘Do you love this club?’ and he said ‘Yes, I love this club, I love this team’.”

Nevertheless, Zamora joined QPR on deadline day in January 2012 for £4.5m and was given a two-and-a-half-year contract.

“We needed a player of his ilk at the football club and I couldn’t be more delighted, he’s a great foil for any team,” said Hughes, who’d only replaced Neil Warnock a few weeks earlier. “Bobby is a guy that makes things happen on the pitch, be it scoring goals or creating chances for others.

“He’s got great power and pace and his technical ability is top class. He’s got an excellent left foot.”

For his part, Zamora, by then 31, said: “I got on really well with the manager at Fulham. We all grew to like Mark. I think that will be the case here. He’s looking to take the club forward.

“This was the right time for me to have a fresh challenge. I had some great experiences at Fulham. Going to a European final is special. But this is a new challenge and I’m thoroughly looking forward to it.”

If Zamora hadn’t always seen eye to eye with Fulham’s followers, it didn’t get much better at Loftus Road – although he ended up the hero when he once again scored the winner in a Championship Play-Off Final.

Replicating the feat he achieved at West Ham, in May 2014 he went on as a substitute in the Championship play-off showdown at Wembley and his 91^st-minute goal was enough to beat Derby County (who’d beaten Oscar Garcia’s Brighton in the semi-finals) to restore the Rs to the Premiership.

They’d only narrowly avoided relegation, by a point, at the end of the 2011-12 season and after Hughes had been sacked in November 2012, new boss Harry Redknapp couldn’t save them from the drop in 2013. Rangers went down in last place and Zamora made only 17 starts plus seven off the bench, scoring five goals.

Nevertheless, he was hailed as an example to others for putting himself through the pain barrier for the Hoops’ cause.

A troublesome hip injury hindered his involvement and some questioned why the former manager had paid big money for ‘veterans and cast-offs’. Paul Doyle in The Guardian reported that fans didn’t like an interview Zamora gave in which he said that he did not regularly watch football on television, which some took to mean he did not care about sport and was only interested in the money.

“Fans wondered aloud whether he was even bothered about getting fit enough to play again,” wrote Doyle. But he went on: “All that has changed. Now he is considered the embodiment of the warrior spirit that QPR need if they are to pull off the great escape from relegation. Zamora did not score against Sunderland but he led the line strongly, combined well with his new strike partner Loïc Rémy and, most of all, lifted his team-mates by battling manfully through pain.”

Redknapp reckoned that Zamora was only 60 per cent fit, and the persistent hip trouble was further aggravated by ankle ligament damage.

“That’s the sort of character we need,” said Redknapp. “He’s waiting for a hip operation and he has torn ankle ligaments but he’s played through that.

“At half-time we have to keep him on the move because if he sits down he’ll seize up. So, he puts a water bottle on his hip and stands at the wall doing stretches. He can’t get in his car after the game. But he’s a proper bloke. He’s not an idiot, he’s a sensible guy. He’s good for the team. He talks to people and is a big influence in the dressing room.”

QPR chairman, Tony Fernandes, also chipped in to acclaim Zamora, tweeting: “There are many young professionals who could learn a thing from Bobby Zamora. He’s an ultimate club man.”

Sadly, Rangers couldn’t avoid the drop but they bounced straight back via the aforementioned play-offs after finishing fourth in the Championship, 13 points behind second-placed Burnley, and 17 points adrift of champions Leicester City.

QPR had five fewer points than third-placed Derby and in the final at Wembley Redknapp admitted they were hanging on for their lives against the Rams having had Gary O’Neil sent off on the hour mark.

The lottery of extra time and penalties was looming when substitute Zamora struck in the dying embers of the match. “It was a fantastic goal to win the game and I couldn’t be more pleased,” Redknapp told The Standard.

“I would be a liar if I said I thought I would see us scoring. They had 11 men, were probing us and we were hanging on.

“That was a one off where you stand on the touchline, hanging on for grim death and get a goal like that.”

Once again Rangers found the Premier League too hot to handle and Zamora’s ongoing hip problem limited his involvement to 19 starts and 14 appearances off the bench. He scored just three goals as QPR went down in last place.

Redknapp, who was replaced by former Albion full-back Chris Ramsey in February 2015, described how managing Zamora’s game time had been similar to the way he had to manage Ledley King at Tottenham.

“Ledley didn’t train at all to be fair,” said Redknapp. “To think he didn’t train one day and then play 90 minutes was unbelievable.

“It does take Bobby a few days to recover after a game, so it’s always on how he feels. He’s as good as anybody at doing what he does, holding the ball up and bringing people into play.”

Redknapp continued: “Bobby has been very important for us. After about 60 to 65 minutes he has to come off, but when he’s on the pitch he has been outstanding.

“We were bringing him off the bench to start with, but we’ve reversed it and started him recently. He’s been captain and great in the dressing room, I couldn’t be more pleased with Bobby.

“He’s got his hip but he manages it and when he plays he’s been great and his attitude has been first class.”

Released in the summer of 2015, Zamora’s long-held desire to end his career back at Brighton was fulfilled when Chris Hughton invited him to join the bid for promotion from the Championship.

Hughton had previously worked with Zamora at Spurs and said: “He is a great professional. I know he will bring plenty of experience to the team, having played Premier League, European and international football.

“He will also bring a lot in terms of character to the club and to the dressing room – but most importantly, having played more than 30 times for QPR last season, he brings top quality to our offensive options.”

There was frustration all round that in spite of a handful of vital goals he registered in that 2015-16 season, the injury issues prevented him from being able to help the Albion to promotion from the Championship.

In retirement, Zamora has tried his hand at various ventures and indulges one of his great loves away from football, carp fishing, in the Grand Fishing Adventure series with Ali Hamidi on ITV 4.

Unsurprisingly, he’s also often seen as a pundit commenting on televised games involving his former clubs and is a popular guest on all sorts of podcasts, looking back at his playing days.

For example, he told the Albion podcast in November 2023: “When I came to retirement it was painful, I couldn’t carry on playing with the aches and the pains day-to-day. It was a nice relief, not having to take painkillers, anti-inflammatories that aren’t good for your stomach and liver.

“Christmas and New Year, being able to go skiing for the first time, it’s really nice. I am seven years into retirement now, but after three or four years you start to miss it; the boys and the banter in the dressing room.”

Zamora has also been involved in property development and is one of a multitude of top former players who are ambassadors with Football Escapes, football-based holiday experiences at exclusive hotels and resorts around the world.

Zamora also works in an ambassadorial role for the Albion, such as being an interviewee at the 2023 event when the club showcased the value its success has brought to the city of Brighton and Hove.

Why Shane Duffy is forever grateful to Everton

SHANE DUFFY has seized the opportunity to re-establish himself at the heart of Brighton’s defence to the obvious delight of the manager who appeared to have shunned him.

With injury sidelining Dan Burn and Covid-19 isolation protocol ruling out Joel Veltman, Duffy stepped up with a solid performance in the season-opener at Burnley, and a goalscoring return to the Amex in the 2-0 win over Watford.

“It was a fantastic header from Duffy, he’s a monster in the box,” boss Graham Potter told the BBC after the televised Watford match. “He is so big and strong to stop – it was a great goal.”

Duffy’s form has been a reminder of the solid centre-back partnership he formed with Lewis Dunk as the bedrock of Brighton’s promotion from the Championship in 2017.

Although a metatarsal injury in a 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest meant he missed out on the run-in, Duffy was obviously confident of being restored to the line-up when the Premier League season got under way.

“I’m looking forward to going back to Everton to see a few mates but they’re all going to be big games,” Duffy said in a matchday programme article. “I feel more ready for it than I was four or five years ago at Everton, and I deserve another crack at it, but I know I’ve got to work hard.”

While additions to the squad were to be expected as the Albion sought to stay among exalted company, the Duffy-Dunk pairing at the back didn’t look much like being broken up. Certainly not under Chris Hughton.

Happy with his mainstays at the heart of the defence, Hughton allowed Connor Goldson to leave for Glasgow Rangers and Uwe Hünemeier to return to Germany and Duffy was comfortable alongside Dunk as Albion retained their top division status. And so it remained for Albion’s two first two seasons back amongst the elite.

But when Potter replaced the popular Hughton in 2019, it soon became apparent Duffy didn’t fit the mould of the sort of ball-playing centre-back he wanted in the side.

Although he started the season under Potter, his place was gradually taken over by big money signing Adam Webster. Duffy invariably ended up warming the bench and at the start of the 2020-21 season, with Ben White preferred alongside Dunk and Webster, he jumped at the chance to go on loan to Glasgow giants Celtic, the team he’d supported as a boy.

Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be quite the dream move Duffy had hoped for, with criticism arrowing in from all quarters as the Republic of Ireland international underwhelmed in the centre of the Hoops defence, and Celtic could only watch as city rivals Rangers won the Scottish title.

Doubtless the irony wasn’t lost on Duffy that his first match back in a Seagulls shirt saw him up against Rangers in a pre-season friendly, when the home fans ensured he was given a ‘warm’ reception.

But let’s go back to where it all started.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 1 January 1992, Duffy was playing for Northern Ireland Under-16s against England in the Victory Shield when he caught the eye of watching Everton boss David Moyes.

Duffy had been playing for his local side, Foyle Harps, at the time and, although Arsenal took him on trial and offered him a scholarship, Everton invited him to train with them and offered him a professional contract immediately.

“Of the two clubs, I just had a good feeling about Everton; obviously it was more of a family club, and there’s also the Irish connection with the city of Liverpool, so it was easy for me to settle in,” Duffy told the matchday programme.

In his second season at Goodison Park, he made his first team debut aged just 17 in a Europa League match against AEK Athens.

“David Moyes handed me my debut and I owe him a lot because he always had belief in me, whereas I could have gone somewhere else and maybe ended up back in Ireland,” he said. “I was raw as I hadn’t been with an academy before, but he was patient with me, as were all the coaches, and I came through the youth team and reserves before I got my break in the Europa League and then later in the Premier League.”

Duffy played against Brighton when the third-tier club’s youngsters (with Dunk in defence) acquitted themselves brilliantly in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup against Everton at the Withdean on 21 January 2010 before eventually losing 2-0. The programme pen picture said of him: “Strong in the tackle and dependable in the air, Shane is considered a ball-playing defender.”

Duffy recalled: “I’d just turned 18 and had recently broken into the Everton team in the Europa League. I do remember Dunky a little bit because we were marking each other at corners.”

A month after his visit to Withdean, Duffy decided to switch allegiance to the Republic having previously captained Northern Ireland’s Under-19s. It came just as he was selected for the full international squad to face Albania in a friendly in Tirana where he was expected to receive his first cap in the absence of captain Aaron Hughes (who later spent a season with Brighton) and Chris Baird.

Disappointed Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington told The Guardian: “There is a loophole where a player can walk away after a lot of time and investment has gone in. Until it is resolved, that’s where we are. Shane has represented Northern Ireland all the way through from a very early age to the Under-21s.

“I am a big admirer of Shane. I like him as a player and a lot of work has gone in with different coaches. I am disappointed with the situation as he is going to be a very good player. Shane has decided, after discussing the matter with his family, to represent the Republic. As a manager, I have got to respect that.”

Duffy, who had close family ties to Donegal in the Republic, said the decision to switch his allegiance from Northern Ireland was the right thing to do to help his international career.

Speaking to evertontv, Duffy said:“It was difficult for me to leave because of what they’ve done for me in Northern Ireland since I was young. They brought me through the ranks which gave me the chance to come to Everton.

“It was hard to leave all the coaches and all the players, but it was always a case of wanting to come to my own country. I spoke to a couple of people about it because I didn’t want to disrespect Northern Ireland, but I just had to do what was best for me and I thought it would be best for me to switch.”

Astonishingly, in his first-ever training match with the Republic, under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, he was involved in a freak collision that lacerated his liver and emergency surgery was required to save his life as he lost a huge amount of blood.

After a speedier-than-expected recovery, Duffy was soon lining up for the Republic’s Under-19s and Under-21s and he went on to make 20 appearances for the Under-21s.

In 2012 he was called up to the senior squad to replace the injured Richard Dunne but missed out on the squad for the 2012 Euros. He had to wait until June 2014 to make his full debut and it was another two years before he was next involved.

He was called up to the side who famously beat Italy in a 2016 Euros group match to qualify for the final 16 but was then sent off as the Republic bowed out 2-1 against France. Nevertheless, under Martin O’Neill, Duffy became established in the side and in March 2018 was named his country’s Player of the Year. He told the matchday programme: “When I heard the news, I was shell-shocked, but when it sunk in it gave me time to reflect on how far I’ve come in a short space of time.

“So much has happened: the Euros, failing to reach the World Cup in the play-offs, winning promotion with Brighton, playing in the Premier League.

“The manager noticed a difference in me when he brought me back into the side two years later, and that’s because I went away, played games and I worked hard. I got myself properly fit, dedicated, and I feel like I’ve benefited from that.”

Reflecting on the experiences given to him by Hughton and O’Neill, Duffy pointed out: “Chris has given me the chance to play in the Premier League where I’m developing, and Martin has given me the chance to play on the big stages and in a big tournament.

“You take little things out of each one of them and it’s coming together a bit now, and hopefully there’s more to come. I’m still a bit raw in some things I do but I’m getting better and it’s a nice feeling to go out knowing you can compete with top players and feel comfortable.”

Duffy went on to captain the Republic for the first time in a 1-1 draw against Denmark in November 2019 and retained the captaincy in Stephen Kenny’s first game in charge, in September 2020; a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria.

As an established international, Duffy has nearly 145,000 followers on Twitter.

Looking back, by his own admission, Duffy had realised his early exposure to senior football at Everton was going to be short-lived, telling the club’s website at the time: “I know I’m not ready to play in Everton’s first team yet as I’m so young but if I’m needed I’ll do my best for the team. A loan would obviously make me better and make me more mature on the pitch.”

Initially that loan came at Burnley in the Championship, but he only played one game under Eddie Howe and, in 2011-12, he had a more fruitful loan at League One Scunthorpe United, playing 19 games under Alan Knill.

An injury to Phil Jagielka prompted Everton to recall Duffy from Scunthorpe in January 2012 and a week after playing against Hartlepool he found himself going on as a substitute for Sylvain Distin against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Emmanuel Adebayor in their line-up but Duffy said: “I refused to get overawed by the occasion. I just treated it as another football match, another opponent, and only afterwards did I take in what had happened.”

He said: “Everton are a club that will always mean a lot to me because they gave me my chance as a professional and shaped the player I am today. David Moyes was a big influence on my career; he helped me a lot.”

Duffy spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Yeovil – “another fantastic learning curve for me” – when Gary Johnson’s side were in the Championship and although Moyes’ successor Roberto Martinez offered Duffy a new contract at Everton, he was warned he would have to wait to establish himself because he was still young and inexperienced.

So, in the summer of 2014, he decided to join Paul Lambert’s Championship side Blackburn Rovers and, while a knee injury restricted his appearances in his first season at Ewood Park, he became a permanent fixture alongside Grant Hanley in 2015-16.

When Gordon Greer’s imposing reign as Brighton centre-back and captain came to an end in 2016, Hughton turned to Duffy as his replacement (Greer went back to Rovers). The fee was undisclosed but was reported in The Mirror to be £4m.

It remains unclear where Duffy’s future lays although his performances in the opening two games of the season suggest there could yet be a future for him under Potter. The manager didn’t hold back in his praise for the big Irishman, but the defender didn’t get carried away.

Duffy opened up to the media after the win at Burnley, talking about what he’d been through over the previous 12 months, but he pointedly added: “It is only one game and a lot can still happen, but as long as I am here I’ll try and help the team whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch with the younger lads. That is what I am here to do.”

He said he had “hit rock bottom” when affected by off-field problems (for example, his father Brian died aged 53 in May 2020), but he praised the Seagulls for continuing to offer him support and he added: “I am still taking it day by day and be like an 18-year-old try and impress every day, try and improve and try and help as much as I can. I feel like if you do that you get the reward sometimes when maybe you don’t expect it.”

Duffy also spoke openly and honestly to Sky Sports as part of the build-up to the game against Watford.

Pictures from Albion’s matchday programme and online sources.

Halford’s timely role in helping Albion avoid the drop

TIME was of the essence when utility player Greg Halford agreed to make a temporary move to Brighton.

He penned a deal to join the Seagulls temporarily at Nottingham Forest’s training ground at 12.30pm and then got in his car to drive to Brighton for 6pm in time to be involved in the squad for that evening’s game at the Amex against Wigan Athletic.

It was 4 November 2014 and he was Sami Hyypia’s sixth loan signing – even though only five were eligible to play in any matchday squad (emergency loan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi only played one game).

Regular centre backs Gordon Greer and Lewis Dunk were perilously close to suspension and deputy Aaron Hughes was sidelined with an ankle injury, so Hyypia moved to bring in an experienced back-up.

Albion hadn’t registered a win in the previous 11 league matches but the 29-year-old Halford proved to be a lucky charm as the side finally reacquainted themselves with the taste of victory. Fellow loanee Gary Gardner got the only goal of the game and Halford made an appearance off the bench towards the end of the game.

“I wasn’t really expecting to get any game time. I thought I’d just be in and around the lads, to get a feel for how everything works,” he told the club programme. “But I’m glad I got a few minutes at the end.”

Halford explained how he’d agreed to join the Seagulls because he’d been frozen out at Forest after Stuart Pearce took over as manager.

The player said he was familiar with the south coast having previously played for Portsmouth.

Asked what he could bring to the side, he added: “I can add a bit of height, I can score goals and obviously I can defend, which is my main attribute. I’m here to help the team and manager in any way I can.”

It wasn’t long before he was helping out a different manager as the side’s run of poor form brought a premature end to Hyypia’s brief time in charge.

Halford, though, hung around at the Amex, his loan extended by Hyypia’s successor, Chris Hughton, and he had made 14 starts and five substitute appearances by the season’s end, when the Seagulls narrowly escaped the drop back to the third tier.

Born on 8 December 1984 in Chelmsford, Essex, Halford began his professional career at nearby Colchester United. I well remember a Chelmsford-based work colleague telling me about this talented young footballer who’d been head and shoulders the best player in a local schoolboy football team his son had played for.

That player was Halford, who progressed from Colchester’s youth team and made his first team debut in April 2003. Loan spells at non-league Aylesbury Town and Braintree Town were part of his development, but he eventually made his mark at Colchester and was named in the PFA League One team of the year in 2005-06.

Played mainly at right-back, Halford’s speciality was his ability to deliver searching long throws which led to a good proportion of goals for Colchester.

After playing more than 150 games in five years for the Us, Halford wanted to prove himself at the highest level. He got a move to Premier League Reading in January 2007 but he couldn’t make the breakthrough there and ended up switching to Sunderland, signed by Roy Keane.

Just six months later, Sunderland made him available on loan and he joined Championship side Charlton until the end of the season. Then he spent the whole of the 2008-09 season on loan to Sheffield United, featuring in 49 of their 56 games that season.

His personal highlight was scoring the only goal of the game as United beat Preston to reach the 2008-09 play-off final.

Unfortunately, United lost the final 1-0 to Burnley, and that summer Halford was on the move again, this time to newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers. Although he featured in 20 games, a regular starting berth eluded him and, in October 2010, he joined Championship side Portsmouth. Initially on loan, he eventually joined Pompey on a permanent basis but relegation to the third tier brought with it the need to trim budgets and in July 2012, they offloaded Halford to Nottingham Forest.

GH Forest Under Billy Davies, Halford was generally deployed as a striker but when Pearce took over at the City Ground, he didn’t get close to the first team. On his return from Brighton at the end of the 2014-15 season, he was released by Forest and joined Rotherham United on a free transfer.

Manager Steve Evans appointed him captain but, after a winless run of five games, he was deposed and only played one more game for the Millers before joining Birmingham City on loan.

GH Card That spell was also brief and although he returned to Rotherham and played 15 games for them in the 2016-17 season, he then joined Cardiff City and made 33 appearances in two seasons for Neil Warnock’s side.

Without a club for six months, in February 2019, he joined Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen as defensive cover but only made two appearances.

Northern Irish legend Aaron Hughes was talk of the Toon

AH red black VETERAN Northern Irishman Aaron Hughes only brought down the curtain on his lengthy playing career in June 2019 at the age of 39.

On 12 June he finally confirmed his playing days were over in an emotional speech to his Northern Ireland team-mates in the Borisov Arena after the country’s 1-0 victory over Belarus.

Remarkably, Hughes had first been called up to the Northern Ireland squad at the age of 17, before he’d even broken through at Newcastle United.

“Having known Aaron Hughes for nearly 25 years, it was an honour to be present to witness his typically classy speech to all of the Northern Ireland players and staff to announce his retirement from the game after an amazing career,” former Newcastle keeper and current Northern Ireland coach Steve Harper told the Belfast Telegraph.

Amongst many others paying tribute, former international Paddy McCourt added: “Without doubt the best professional I encountered during my football career. I was fortunate enough to play alongside Aaron Hughes at Brighton and we also spent many years together with Northern Ireland. A true gentleman and brilliant player.”

He had just the one season with Brighton & Hove Albion – in 2014-15. Mainly a central defender, Hughes could also play comfortably in either full-back position or midfield.

He was the first Brighton signing of Sami Hyypia’s ill-fated spell as manager, and Hyypia told the club website: “We wanted to bring another experienced defender, and Aaron fits the bill – having played at Premier League, Champions League and international level.

“I have played against Aaron a few times during my time at Liverpool and also for Finland, and I know his qualities and what he will give us.

“He has a very good footballing pedigree, is an intelligent player, and he has a great mentality and good approach to the game.

“He has that experience I wanted to bring into the squad, which alongside our other senior players, will help our younger players continue to develop and progress in the first-team squad.”

As it turned out, Hughes was only used as cover and during his season with the Seagulls made only 13 appearances.

Nevertheless, Hughes’ stay on the south coast clearly left an impression and fellow Northern Ireland international Oliver Norwood described how Hughes played a part in persuading him to join the Seagulls in 2016.

“I spoke to Hughesy about his time here and he spoke so highly of the club, mentioning the facilities, the stadium and that it’s set up to go to the Premier League,” Norwood told the club website. “He’s a wonderful person that’s achieved so much.

“I know he didn’t get the game time he would have liked here, but if I have half the career he has, then I’ll be very happy.”

Born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, on 8 November 1979, Hughes joined Newcastle United’s youth ranks at 17 and, over eight years, he made 279 appearances for the Magpies.

A Hughes superb footy pics Eyebrows were raised when former Northern Ireland manager Bryan Hamilton took Hughes to Portugal for a World Cup qualifier in October 1997, when he was still only 17, but Hamilton told the Belfast Telegraph: “There was something special in him, even at a young age, and I wanted him in the squad. I felt he could be an outstanding player for Northern Ireland and I knew that coming in early wouldn’t affect or faze him.”

Hughes had to wait until Lawrie McMenemy succeeded Hamilton to make his international debut the following March, and by then he’d made a memorable debut for Newcastle in November 1997 against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Selected by manager Kenny Dalglish, despite the 1-0 defeat, the 18-year-old showed tremendous promise against the likes of Figo, Ronaldo and Stoichkov. He eventually held down a regular first team place under Dalglish’s successor Ruud Gullitt before Bobby Robson took the helm.

Hughes made his name at St James’s Park in the centre of Newcastle’s defence, playing alongside Sylvain Distin in a side also featuring Craig Bellamy, Gary Speed and Alan Shearer. He spoke about his time playing under Dalglish and Robson in an interview with the Guardian.

Discerning followers of Toon were quick to join in the tributes paid to Hughes when he announced his retirement. Elsewhere they have vented their spleen at the decision Graeme Souness took to sell him to Aston Villa.

Hughes had three seasons at Villa, having been signed by David O’Leary in the 2005-06 season. But Villa fans are a tough lot to please and, despite his previous success at Newcastle, it seems they expected more. “Hughes, despite filling his role admirably as a centre back, never felt integral to our defence as he found himself chopped and changed with (Olof) Melberg, and fellow signing Wilfried Bouma,” declared readastonvilla.com.

Eventually with injury-hit defender Martin Laursen returning to the side under new manager Martin O’Neill, Hughes became more of a squad player at Villa Park. He was allowed to leave to join Fulham and was signed by a former Northern Irish international teammate, Lawrie Sanchez.

hughes fulham At Fulham, he formed a formidable defensive partnership with Brede Hangeland and fulhamfc.com said: “The pair worked brilliantly together, with the fans soon referring to them as our very own Thames Barrier. Their styles complemented each other perfectly, and while Hughes wasn’t the tallest of centre-backs, his leap and reading of the game more than made up for it.”

Hughes was one of three ever-presents – with Mark Schwarzer and Danny Murphy – when Fulham finished seventh in the Premier League in 2008-09, which led to European qualification.

He was part of the side captained by Murphy, with Bobby Zamora up front, who went on a gloriously unexpected UEFA Cup journey in 2010, only to be pipped to the trophy in extra time by Atletico Madrid.

“The way we lost, right at the end of extra-time, still grates with me, so the final is a bitter-sweet memory,” Hughes reflected in a 2014 interview for Albion’s matchday programme. “The Juventus game stands out more, where we came back from 3-1 down from the first leg in Italy to win 4-1 at Craven Cottage.”

On transfer deadline day in January 2014, Hughes signed a short-term deal for Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers for whom he made 11 Championship appearances.

After his season with Brighton, even at the age of 36 Hughes had no intention of packing up playing. Instead, he headed to Australia and played for Melbourne City and then linked up with India’s Kerala Blasters before he joined Hearts for his final two seasons.

His last club game saw Hearts bring him on in the 68^th minute of their final league game of the season, a 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Celtic Park. Upon replacing John Souttar, the 39-year-old Hughes took the captain’s armband for the final few minutes of a career stretching across an impressive 22 years.

Hughes won an amazing 112 caps for his country across 20 years – a record for an outfield player. He was second only to the legendary Pat Jennings as most-capped player and was captain of his country for eight years. Small wonder, then, that he should be so grateful to so many at the Irish FA for the longevity of his international career.

hughes NI

Pictures from various online sources.

Steve Coppell not the first ex-Man U player to quit the manager’s chair

coppell crop STEVE Coppell was not the first former Manchester United player I saw become manager of Brighton. More than 30 years previously Busby Babe Freddie Goodwin had been at the helm when my Albion-watching passion began.

Unfortunately, there was a parallel in their outcomes: both were wooed by better opportunities elsewhere (Goodwin to Birmingham; Coppell to Reading). One other parallel to record, though, is that each of their successors (Pat Saward and Mark McGhee) got Albion promoted.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but, if Coppell hadn’t been jet lagged the first time chairman Dick Knight interviewed him for the Brighton job, the 2002-03 season may have panned out differently…and Kolo Touré, a future Premier League winner with Arsenal and Manchester City, might have spent a season helping the Seagulls to retain their recently-won second tier status. Let me explain.

Coppell had been out of the country in Thailand during the summer of 2002 and, although Knight wanted to interview him with a view to appointing him as Peter Taylor’s successor, when the meeting in London eventually came about, Coppell began to nod off with the effects of his long-distance travel.

A frustrated Knight, under pressure on several fronts that summer (as told in his autobiography Mad Man: From the Gutter to the Stars, the Ad Man who saved Brighton) left him to it and took the decision to appoint third choice Martin Hinshelwood instead. (Knight had also considered German Winfried Schäfer, who had just managed Cameroon at the World Cup, but his poor command of English went against him).

As the opening to the season drew closer, Knight went with Hinshelwood to watch an Arsenal under 23 side in a friendly at Barnet. He was running the rule over Steve Sidwell with a view to taking him on a season-long loan but the stand-out player who caught his eye was Touré, and Albion’s cheeky chairman said he’d take the pair of them.

To his delight, Arsène Wenger and Liam Brady agreed…but astonishingly Hinshelwood said they weren’t needed because, in his opinion, they weren’t any better than Albion’s own youngsters, who he had been coaching, and who he was now intending to blood in the first team. An incredulous Knight kept schtum, believing he needed to support his new manager.

When they started the season with a 3-1 win at Burnley, it seemed maybe Hinshelwood had a point. But, after a disastrous run of 12 defeats, leading to the inevitable sacking of Hinshelwood, Knight reverted to Plan A and succeeded in attracting Coppell to manage the side.

He then swiftly went back to Arsenal to secure the loan services of Sidwell (who’d played for Coppell at Brentford the previous season). But he was too late as far as Touré was concerned. He’d already played his way into first team contention for the Gunners and was no longer available.

coppell + booker

With Albion at the foot of the table, Coppell had a rocky start at the helm of the Seagulls, including an embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Palace, but he quickly brought in some quality players such as Dean Blackwell and Simon Rodger, and, together with Bobby Zamora up front and the busy Sidwell in midfield, they put together some decent results that dared to suggest a great escape was possible.

Albion notched up some surprise results, including a 1-0 Boxing Day win at Norwich and a 4-1 home win over Wolves, who ended up in the play-offs. There was also a memorable 2-2 draw at Ipswich, a 4-0 home win over Watford and a 2-1 win at Reading, most notable for a rare appearance and goal from former Premiership striker Paul Kitson, who had been injured for much of the season.

Sadly, it wasn’t quite enough to keep the Seagulls in the division and they went down second from bottom, five points adrift of 21^st placed Stoke City.

The following season was in its infancy when West Ham decided to sack Glenn Roeder as their boss. The Hammers were determined to replace him with Reading’s Alan Pardew; and Reading, once they realised their fight to keep Pardew was fruitless, turned to third tier Albion’s Coppell as his replacement.

Chairman Knight knew Reading could offer Coppell the opportunities that were still some way in the distance if he’d stayed at the Albion, so he did the next best thing which was to get a healthy sum in compensation which went a long way to funding that season’s wage bill.

Knight was a big fan of Coppell and admired his meticulous preparation for games through in-depth viewing of opponents.

In an interview with The Guardian, Knight said: “He is probably the most analytical mind brought to football management for many a year. His preparations are detailed to the point of fastidious. His briefings are second to none. He spent hours with the video in the afternoons breaking down moves in slow-mo to work out how the opposition operate. He is very perceptive.”

Knight added: “People say he’s cold and uncaring, but he came to one of our marches on the seafront to campaign about the new stadium at Falmer long after he left for Reading. That’s Steve. He left a big impression on us.”

coppell at reading.jpg

Coppell left the Albion with a 36.7 per cent win ratio over his 49 games in charge, just over three percentage points behind his first spell as Palace manager, but higher than his other three spells at Selhurst.

To avoid this blog post turning into War and Peace, I’m not going to cover the whole of Coppell’s career but, in the circumstances, it is worth touching on how he came to be a star on the wing for Manchester United and England.

The Liverpool lad went to the same Quarry Bank Grammar School that produced Joe Royle and Beatle John Lennon, but head teacher William Pobjoy ensured football mad Coppell stuck to his studies.

It didn’t deter Coppell from having a trial with Liverpool and playing for an Everton junior side a couple of nights a week. But both rejected him as too small and his dad Jim told playupliverpool.com: “He lost faith in ever becoming a footballer and took up golf and became quite good.” He still played football for a local side but that was just for pleasure.

A Tranmere Rovers scout made several approaches but Steve wasn’t interested, and decided he was going to go to Liverpool University to take a degree in economics and social history.

Ron Yeats, the famous colossus around who Bill Shankly built his Liverpool team in the 1960s, became Tranmere manager in the early 1970s. He remembered of Coppell: “We signed him so he could combine it with university.”

Around the same time, Coppell shot up from 4ft 11in to 5ft 7in in a year, and went on to play 38 times for Tranmere, scoring 10 goals.

Word reached Manchester United boss Tommy Docherty who paid a £35,000 fee to take him to Old Trafford. He was playing for United in the old second division while still completing the third year of his degree course. United’s deal with Tranmere had it built in that they’d pay an extra £20,000 if Coppell made it to 50 appearances. They paid it after only two games, such was the impact Docherty knew he was going to have.

Indeed, he went on to make 373 appearances for United and scored 70 goals; and the 207 games he played between 1977 and 1981 broke the record for the most consecutive appearances for an outfield Manchester United player, and still stands to this day.

coppell utd action

He played in three FA Cup Finals for United, in 1976, 1977 and 1979, only ending up with a winners’ medal when Liverpool were beaten 2-1 in 1977.

Coppell was still at United in 1983, and had been United’s top scorer on the way to the Milk Cup Final that season, but he was recovering from a cartilage operation on his damaged left knee so was unable to play in the FA Cup Final against Brighton.

He told Match magazine: “I was always fighting a losing battle against time to get fit for the final. In my heart of hearts, I knew when I had the cartilage operation that five weeks wasn’t enough time to get fit for a match of this importance. I was struggling to make it from the off.”

Coppell told Amy Lawrence of The Guardian: “’I had nine wonderful years there and I still remember running on at Old Trafford for the first time. It was a real heart-in-the-mouth moment, an incredible experience for a 19-year-old whose biggest crowd before then was probably about 5,000.”

He also won 42 caps for England and Sir Trevor Booking, one of his contemporaries in the England team, spoke in glowing terms about Coppell the player in his book My Life in Football (Simon & Schuster, 2014).

“He was a winger at a time when wingers were unfashionable,” he said. “He had the pace to reach a 30-yard pass, the skill to wriggle past a defender and send over the perfect cross. But he also had the energy to run back and provide cover for his defensive team-mates down the right flank that set him apart from so many other wingers at that time.

“When his team lost possession, Steve didn’t hang about on the flank waiting for someone to win it back. He wanted to win it back himself. He was involved all the time – a quality that is a prerequisite for today’s wide players.”

Coppell made his England debut under Ron Greenwood against Italy at Wembley in 1977 in a very exciting line-up that saw him play on the right, Peter Barnes on the left, and Bob Latchford and Kevin Keegan as a twin strikeforce. It was a favoured foursome for Greenwood and when they all played together against Scotland in 1979, Coppell, Keegan and Barnes all scored in a 3-1 win.

It was while on England duty that Coppell picked up the injury that would eventually lead to a premature end to his career. Brooking recalled: “A tackle by the Hungarian József Tóth at Wembley in November 1981 damaged his knee and although he played on for a year or so more, the knee condition worsened.

“He was able to play in the first four games of the 1982 World Cup but the problem flared up after the goalless draw with West Germany and he had to miss the decisive match against Spain.”

From 2016, Coppell spent three years as a manager in India. Amongst the players he worked with at Kerala Blasters (owned by cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar) in 2016-17 was Aaron Hughes, who had a season with Albion.

The following season Coppell became the first head coach of newly-formed Jamshedpur, owned by Tata Steel, and for the 2018-19 season he took charge of Indian Super League club ATK, once part-owned by Atletico Madrid. Among its owners were former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly.

thoughtful coppell

In parallel lines

Memories from 55 years following Brighton & Hove Albion

Tag: Aaron Hughes