Tag: Alan Duffy

Albion promotion winner with a place in West Ham history

BERTIE LUTTON has a place in the West Ham history books even though he only made 13 appearances.

He was the first Hammer ever to play for Northern Ireland, winning four caps in 1973 (more on these later).

Lutton, frozen out at second tier Brighton less than a year after signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers, stepped back up a level to join Ron Greenwood’s side.

Although he had played at the elite level for Wolves, having been unable to hold down a regular first team spot at Molineux, he joined Pat Saward’s promotion-chasing Brighton in the 1971-72 season.

Lutton played his part in helping Albion go up from the old Third Division as runners up behind Aston Villa in the spring of 1972, as described in my 2016 blog post about his contribution.

But, when Brighton struggled to cope with the higher grade football, Saward questioned the commitment and attitude of certain players and Lutton was put on the transfer list.

It was certainly something of a surprise when, unable to get a start in a second tier side, he went on loan to First Division West Ham.

Lutton did well enough to secure a full-time switch to Upton Park. Almost a year to the day of his arrival at the Goldstone, he was London-bound and the shrewd Saward turned a £10,000 profit on the player.

The enigmatic Irishman made his Hammers First Division debut in a 1-0 away win against Norwich City on 10 February 1973, alongside the likes of Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking, in front of a crowd of 32,597.

Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson scored the only goal of the game and finished the season as the club and League top goalscorer with 28 goals from 46 games. Lutton didn’t reappear until April when he went on as a sub in a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds and a 4-3 Good Friday win over Southampton at the Boleyn Ground (when George Herrington captured the action picture below of him).

Reviving his scoring feat for Brighton at Bournemouth a year previously, given a start on Easter Saturday, Lutton scored his only goal for the Hammers in a 1-1 draw away to Derby County. He then played in the last two games of the season, a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City, and a 2-1 defeat at home to Arsenal. West Ham finished the season in sixth place, though, which was the highest league position they’d achieved under Greenwood.

Lutton’s crucial equaliser for Brighton at Bournemouth on Easter Saturday 1972

Those league appearances earned Lutton a recall to the Northern Ireland squad and manager Terry Neill sent him on as a second half sub for Bryan Hamilton in a World Cup qualifier against Cyprus on 8 May 1973.

The game was played in front of a paltry 6,090 at Fulham’s Craven Cottage because of the troubles in Northern Ireland at the time. The Irish were already 3-0 up at half time and that’s how it finished: Sammy Morgan (later to play for Brighton) scored one and Man Utd’s Trevor Anderson hit two.

Eight days later, Lutton went on for goalscorer Anderson in Glasgow as the Irish succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Scotland in the Home International tournament.

Three days after that, he saw action again when he once again replaced Ipswich Town’s Hamilton, who’d scored the only goal of the game as the Irish beat Wales 1-0 at Everton’s Goodison Park. Only 4,946 watched that one.

Back with West Ham at the start of the 1973-74 season and Lutton was in the starting line-up for home defeats to Newcastle United (2-1) and QPR (3-2) and was a sub in a 3-1 defeat away to Manchester United.

He started a 1-0 home defeat to Burnley, but was subbed off, as the Hammers’ torrid first half of the season continued. Previously imperious captain Bobby Moore was dropped and the side were bottom of the table at Christmas.

Lutton only re-appeared in the starting line-up in January when, in a FA Cup third round replay away to Third Division Hereford United, West Ham embarrassingly lost 2-1.

He retained his place three days later when, although the Hammers were missing Moore, Brooking, Kevin Lock, John McDowell and Robson, they made amends by beating Man Utd 2-1 at Upton Park. Billy Bonds and Pat Holland scored for the home side, Sammy McIlroy for United.

A week later, Lutton played his last Hammers match when appearing as a sub in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United.

It came two months after he had made his last appearance for his country. That was in another World Cup qualifier, on 14 November 1973, when the Irish earned a 1-1 draw against Portugal in Lisbon. He played in midfield alongside Tommy Jackson and captain Dave Clements behind George Best, Anderson and Morgan up front.

Lutton had made his Northern Ireland debut three years earlier when his Wolves teammate Derek Dougan led the line in a 1-0 Home International defeat against Scotland in Belfast.

N Ireland training with George Best

Three days later, on 21 April 1970, he played the first half against England at Wembley when Best scored but the hosts won 3-1 (Lutton was replaced by sub John Cowan for the second half).

That was the game in which Bobby Charlton won his 100th England cap (and was made captain for the occasion) and his Man Utd teammate Brian Kidd made his debut. Ralph Coates also won his first England cap. Charlton, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst scored the English goals.

Born in Banbridge, County Down, on 13 July 1950, Lutton’s brief footballing career began with his hometown club, Banbridge Town, and it’s reported just £50 exchanged hands to take him to Wolves in 1967.

At a time when Wolves were blessed with some outstanding players like Dougan, Hugh Curran, Dave Wagstaffe, Jim McCalliog and Mike Bailey, the young Irishman managed just 25 matches for Wolves between 1967 and 1971.

Although he may have only had a brief spell in the limelight, he seems to have had a penchant for earning a place in footballing history.

His one and only First Division goal for Wolves was also the club’s 2000th goal in that league to be scored at Molineux.

Goal v Arsenal in frront of the Match of the Day cameras

Arsenal were the visitors on 15 November 1969 and Lutton seized on a fortunate deflection off the aforementioned Terry Neill to net in the 47th minute past the Gunners’ back-up ‘keeper Geoff Barnett. The home side won 2-0 with Scottish international Curran scoring the second just two minutes after Lutton’s opener.

Not listed in the matchday programme line-up, Lutton played instead of the injured Mike O’Grady in the no.8 shirt (players didn’t wear a squad number shirt in those days).

The game was featured on Match of the Day with the legendary Kenneth Wolstenholme commentating and the rather grainy black and white coverage of the game can still be found on the internet wolvescompletehistory.co.uk/arsenal-h-1969-70/.

Lutton only made one start and one sub appearance in the 1970-71 season but was a regular in the Wolves reserve side in which the emerging John Richards was banging in the goals.

The pair were room-mates as teenagers with Wolves and were reunited after 37 years by the wolvesheroes.com website.

They hadn’t seen each other since 12 May 1973 at Goodison Park when Lutton was an unused sub for Northern Ireland in a Home International against England and Richards was playing up front for the English alongside two-goal Martin Chivers. (England won the game 2-1).

Lutton has popped up on the Wolves history site on several occasions over the years, often when he has returned from his home in Australia to the Black Country to see his son, Lee, who still lives in the area.

Brighton fans had first seen Lutton back in September 1969 when he played for them in a memorable third round League Cup match in front of a packed Goldstone Ground.

Two years later Saward, quite the specialist at using the loan market, acquired Bertie’s services on a temporary basis between September and November, 1971.

He made his debut in a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa and scored twice in seven games (in a 2-2 draw at Torquay United and a 3-1 home win over Bristol Rovers) before returning to his parent club.

Celebrating a goal at the Goldstone for Brighton

Then, on 9 March 1972, with the clock ticking down to what in those days was the 5pm transfer deadline, Saward completed a double transfer swoop, securing Lutton’s permanent signing for £5,000 together with Ken Beamish from Tranmere for £25,000 (plus the surplus-to-requirements Alan Duffy).

A delighted Saward declared to Argus reporter John Vinicombe: “Bertie can do a job for us anywhere. This can’t be bad for us. At 21 and with two caps for Ireland he has a future and played very well for us while on loan.

“He can play right or left, up the middle, or midfield and Beamish can fit into a number of positions.”

It’s likely that versatility counted against him and, in the days of only one substitute, he was more often than not a sub, being able to go on in a variety of positions.

He was on the bench when Brighton began the 1972-73 season in the second tier and went on in three games. He then got four successive starts before going back to the bench.

Albion were finding life tough at the higher level and although Saward switched things around and brought in new faces, results went from bad to worse.

Lutton started three games in December which all ended in defeat and the 3-0 Boxing Day reverse at Oxford United turned out to be his last appearance for the Albion.

It fell in the middle of a spell of 12 successive defeats during which only five goals were scored. Saward couldn’t put his finger on the reason for the slump but Lutton found himself one of three put on the transfer list.

The West Ham move must have seemed ideal but sadly it was all over after just 13 games. Injury forced him to quit the professional game and he had a brief spell playing non-league for Horsham before emigrating to Australia.

There he played semi-professional football in the Australian Soccer League for a number of years before settling in Melbourne where he worked for the paint giant Dulux.

The FA Cup semi-final hat-trick hero who wore red and blue

ALEX DAWSON was even younger than Evan Ferguson when he scored a FA Cup semi-final hat-trick.

The bull-like centre forward who broke through at Manchester United in the wake of the Munich air crash wrote his name in football record books on 26 March 1958.

Dawson was just 18 years and 33 days old when he netted three goals in United’s 5-3 win over Fulham in front of 38,000 fans at Highbury, north London. No-one that young has ever repeated the feat.

Eleven years later, Dawson scored twice for Brighton in a Third Division match against Walsall. It was my first ever Albion game. He followed up the two he got in that game with six more in four other games I saw that 1968-69 season. They were enough to sow the seeds of a lifetime supporting the Albion and the burly Dawson, wearing number 9, became an instant hero to an impressionable 10-year-old.

Dawson scored twice v Walsall in 1969

Dawson is no longer with us but the memory of his goalscoring exploits live on amongst those fans of a certain vintage who had the pleasure of seeing him in action.

A man who played alongside him at Wembley in 1958 – Freddie Goodwin – made Dawson his first signing for Brighton, for £9,000, not long after he had taken over as manager in the winter of 1968.

By then, he was plying his trade with Bury. He had left United in 1961 after scoring a remarkable 54 goals in 93 games, including one on his debut aged just 17 (in a 2-0 win over Burnley).

After losing 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers in 1958, another losing Wembley appearance followed six years later. He scored a goal for Preston North End but the Lancastrian side lost 3-2 to West Ham United.

United pair Freddie Goodwin and Alex Dawson were reunited at Brighton

Nevertheless, Dawson was prolific for Preston scoring 132 goals in 237 league and cup games over six years. The purple patch I saw him have for Brighton saw him find the net no fewer than 17 times in just 23 games, including three braces and four in an away game at Hartlepool. That was only one behind top scorer Kit Napier whose 18 came in 49 matches.

Alex Dawson in snow action at the Goldstone Ground

In a curtain-raiser to the 1969-70 season, Dawson scored four times as Albion trounced a Gibraltar XI 6-0 at the Goldstone. But the signing of Allan Gilliver and, in the New Year, young Alan Duffy, began to reduce his playing time. He got 12 more goals in 28 appearances (plus three as sub) but, when Goodwin left the club, successor Pat Saward edged him out.

Even in a loan spell at Brentford he scored seven in 11 games. Greville Waterman, on bfctalk.wordpress.com in July 2014, recalled: “He was a gnarled veteran of thirty with a prominent broken nose and a face that surely only a mother could love, but he had an inspirational loan spell at Griffin Park in 1970.”

Still smiling and scoring goals at Corby

Released by the Albion at the end of the 1970-71 season, Dawson’s final footballing action was with non-league Corby Town, where he didn’t disappoint either.

In his first season at Occupation Road, he finished top scorer with 25 goals in 60 appearances and by the time he retired from playing on 4 May 1974, his tally for the Steelmen was 44 in 123 appearances.

When the curtain came down on his career, Dawson had scored 212 goals in 394 matches – more than one every two games. A true goalscorer.

It was in the wake of the decimating effect of the Munich air disaster that Dawson found himself thrust into the limelight at a tender age.

The crash claimed the lives of eight of United’s first choice team – Dawson’s pals. Youngsters and fringe players had to be drafted into the side to fulfil the remaining fixtures that season. One was Dawson, another was Goodwin.

Thirteen days after the accident, Dawson took his place beside survivors Bill Foulkes and Harry Gregg and scored one of United’s goals as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in the fifth round of the Cup.

He scored again as United drew 2-2 with West Brom in the sixth round, before winning through 1-0 in a replay to go up against Fulham in the semi-final.

Dawson told manutd.com: “In our first game with Fulham (played at Villa Park), Bobby Charlton scored twice in a 2-2 draw, and I was put on the right wing. I was a centre-forward really and, when we played the replay at Highbury four days later, I was back in my normal position.

“Jimmy (Murphy) said before the game: ‘I fancy you this afternoon, big man. I fancy you to put about three in.’ I just said: ‘You know me Jim, I’ll do my best,’ but I couldn’t believe it when it happened.

“The first was a diving header, I think the second was a left-footer and the third was with my right foot.

“It was a long time ago, of course, and it’s still a club record for the youngest scorer of a hat-trick in United’s history. Records are there to be broken and I’m surprised that it’s gone on for over half a century.

“I’m a proud man to still hold this record. Even when it goes, nobody can ever take the achievement away from me.”

While Dawson was my first Albion hero, when he died in a Kettering care home at the age of 80 on 17 July 2020 the esteem in which he was held by others also came to the fore in the tributes paid by each of the clubs he played for.

Born in Aberdeen on 21 February 1940, Dawson went to the same school as United legend Denis Law, but his parents moved down to Hull and Dawson joined United straight from Hull Schoolboys.

Dawson and future Preston and Brighton teammate Nobby Lawton were both on the scoresheet as United beat West Ham 3-2 in the first leg of the 1957 FA Youth Cup Final and Dawson scored twice in the 5-0 second leg win. West Ham’s side included John Lyall, who later went on to manage them.

On redcafe.net, Julian Denny recalled how Dawson once scored three hat-tricks in a row for a United reserve team that was regularly watched by crowds of over 10,000.

After that goalscoring first team debut against Burnley in April 1957, he also scored in each of the final two matches that season (a 3-2 win at Cardiff and a 1-1 draw at home to West Brom) to help United win the title and secure their passage into Europe’s premier club competition.

Obviously, circumstances dictated Dawson’s rapid rise but, with the benefit of hindsight, some say his United career may have panned out differently if he hadn’t been thrust into first team action at such a young age.

He was just short of his 18th birthday when the accident happened. In an interview with Chris Roberts in the Daily Record (initially published 6 Feb 2008 then updated 1 July 2012), he recalled: “I used to go on those trips and had a passport and visa all ready but the boss just told me I wasn’t going this time.

“I had already been on two or three trips just to break me in. I know now how lucky I was to be left in Manchester. The omens were on my side.”

Dawson went on to describe the disbelief and the feelings they had at losing eight of the team, including Duncan Edwards several days later.

“We were all so close and Duncan was also a good friend to me before the accident,” said Dawson. “Duncan was such a good player, there is no doubt about that. He was a wonderful fellow as well as a real gentleman.

“I will never, ever forget him because he died on my birthday, 21 February, and before that he was the one who really helped me settle in.”

Dawson gradually became an increasingly bigger part of the first-team picture at United, making 11 appearances in 1958-59 and scoring four times. The following season he scored 15 in 23 games then went five better in 1960-61, scoring 20 in 34 games.

He was at the top of his game during the last week of 1960 when he scored in a 2-1 away win at Chelsea on Christmas Eve, netted a hat-trick as Chelsea were thumped 6-0 at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, and then scored another treble as United trounced neighbours City 5-1 on New Year’s Eve.

A fortnight later he had the chance to show another less well-known string to his footballing bow…. as a goalkeeper!

It was recalled by theguardian.com in 2013. When Tottenham were on their way to the first ever double and had an air of near-invincibility about them, they arrived at Old Trafford having lost only once all season, and had scored in every single game.

Long before the days of a bench full of substitutes, when ‘keeper Harry Gregg sustained a shoulder injury, Dawson had to take over in goal.

Dawson excelled when called upon, at one point performing, according to the Guardian’s match report, “a save from Allen that Gregg himself could not have improved upon”.

The article said: “Tottenham’s attempts to get back into the game came to nought and Dawson achieved what no genuine goalkeeper had all season: keep out Tottenham’s champions-elect. In the end, there were only two games all season in which Spurs failed to score, and this was one of them.”

Scoring for Preston North End

Tottenham’s north London neighbours, Arsenal, finished a disappointing 25 points behind Spurs in 11th place, but United manager Matt Busby had been keeping tabs on the Gunners’ prolific centre forward David Herd (Arsenal’s top scorer for four seasons), and in July 1961 took him to Old Trafford for £35,000. It signalled the end of Dawson’s time with United.

When the new season kicked off, Dawson had a new apprentice looking after the cleaning of his boots….a young Irishman called George Best. In his 1994 book, The Best of Times (written with Les Scott),

Best said: “Alex Dawson was a brawny centre forward whose backside was so huge he appeared taller when he sat down. To me, Alex looked like Goliath, although he was only 5’10”. What made him such an imposing figure was his girth.

“He weighed 13st 12lbs, a stone heavier than centre half Bill Foulkes who was well over 6ft tall. What’s more, there wasn’t an ounce of fat on Alex – it was all muscle.”

Best’s responsibilities for Dawson’s boots didn’t last long, however, because in October that year, Busby sold the centre forward to Preston for £18,000.

In 1967, Dawson took the short journey to Bury FC where his goalscoring exploits continued with 21 goals in 50 appearances, before he joined Goodwin’s regime at Brighton.

What a career to look back on: Alex Dawson recalling his goalscoring exploits

Duffy had Burleigh pal for company on his Albion arrival

HISTORY has seen a whole string of goalkeepers play for both Newcastle United and Brighton. Dutchman Tim Krul was the most recent and others stretching back over the years – Eric Steele, Dave Beasant, and Steve Harper – have featured in this blog at various times.

My post this time, though, centres on Martin Burleigh, for many years an understudy to Northern Irish international Iam McFaul.

When stocky striker Alan Duffy travelled 350 miles from home to join Brighton in early 1970, it was with some relief that he found the familiar face of Burleigh amongst his new teammates.

How Albion’s matchday programme reported Duffy’s delight in meeting up with a familiar face

The goalkeeper, who was only 18, was on loan at the Albion at the time. The previous year he and Duffy had been in the same Newcastle United youth team.

Not only did that side do the Northern Intermediate League and cup double, 10 days before the first team won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the youth team brought even more silverware to Tyneside – winning a prestigious international youth tournament at Feyenoord’s ground in Rotterdam.

Toon’s trophy-winning youth team of 1969

Unlike Albion’s new £10,000 permanent signing, though, Burleigh was to have only a short-lived stay in Sussex. Manager Freddie Goodwin had brought in the Toon no.3 ‘keeper (Iam McFaul was first choice and John Hope his deputy) as cover while Albion were reduced to only one fit goalkeeper (Brian Powney) following a serious head injury to Geoff Sidebottom in the first match of a marathon second round FA Cup tie against Walsall (it took four games to decide it; those were the days before penalty shoot-outs).

Thankfully Powney avoided injury so young Burleigh was not called into match action, and he returned to the north east still waiting to make his league debut. Indeed, he had to wait until Boxing Day 1970 for that chance. Although Toon went down 3-0 at Leeds United, opposition manager Don Revie praised the youngster, saying: “I thought he had a fine game. He had no chance with the goals. Some of the saves he made showed he has a fine future ahead of him.”

It would seem Toon boss Joe Harvey wasn’t so sure and it was more than a year before Burleigh got his next chance to shine, making his home debut in a 4-2 win over Coventry City on 8 January 1972.

Once again it was to be his only first team appearance of the season, but in the 1972-73 season he finally got a run of games when McFaul was injured. He played in 11 matches but then had the misfortune to fracture a finger in a collision with Mick Channon during a 1-1 draw at Southampton, and McFaul returned.

The Toon 1892.com website recalls Burleigh then having a struggle with weight issues and he had a public dispute with manager Harvey which saw him walk out of the club saying he was going to join the RAF. But Newcastle retained his registration and when the dust settled on the dispute he was sent on loan to Darlington before making the move permanent in October 1974 for a fee of £8,000.

He was only at Darlington for a season before switching across country to Carlisle United, where he spent two seasons.

When Burleigh died at the age of 70 on 27 September 2021, Carlisle chairman Andrew Jenkins said: “Martin was a big character who was a pleasure to have around. He was tall and strong in stature and very stylish in the way he kept goal.

“We used to talk about how he very much had the manner of how the goalkeepers in Europe used to do things, with flair and a bit of theatre.

“I remember that Alan Ashman was really keen to get him signed and over here to join us. When he was speaking to the board about him, he said that the fans would be queuing along Warwick Road to watch him – he felt he was that good.”

His death was mourned by former Newcastle teammates too and several ‘Toon Legends’ remembered him at a gathering at the Tyneside Irish Centre.

Tribute on Twitter following Burleigh’s death

“Martin was a great friend and a lot of players who played alongside him at Newcastle from junior to first team level want to pay their respects to a real character,” Toon Legends official Chris Emmerson told Chronicle Live.

After his spell at Carlisle, where he also had to bide his time behind first choice Allan Ross, Burleigh returned to Fourth Division Darlington for two more seasons, during which time (in October 1978) he kept goal when the north east minnows only narrowly lost (1-0) to First Division Everton in a third round League Cup tie.

Burleigh went on to spend three seasons in goal for Hartlepool, ending his league career with a total of 222 appearances.

He then became a painter and decorator but continued playing for non-league sides in the area, appearing for Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor and Langley Park until packing up playing in 1984.

Born in Willington, County Durham, on 2 February 1951, Burleigh was playing for his hometown team at 17 when Newcastle signed him in 1968, initially as an amateur.

Kenneth Scott, in The Toon1892 Chronicles, wrote: “He displayed within the junior and reserve teams that he was more than capable between the posts and it was not long before he turned professional.”

That happened in December 1968 and before the end of the season he was in goal for the Newcastle youth team under coach Keith Burkinshaw (who later managed Spurs) when they won the international tournament in Holland, beating an Arsenal side containing the likes of Ray Kennedy, Sammy Nelson, Charlie George, Eddie Kelly, and Pat Rice.

The achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the first team’s triumph in the old Inter-Cities Fairs Cup when Toon beat Hungarian side Ujpest in the two-legged final, skipper Bobby Moncur lifting the trophy in Budapest.

Although Burleigh managed to edge out McFaul’s deputy Hope to become the no.2 at St James’s Park (Hope joined Sheffield United along with David Ford in exchange for John Tudor in 1971), the form and fitness of the Northern Irish international (who later spent three years as manager of Newcastle) always kept him on the sidelines.

• Incidentally, in line with the tradition of Albion ‘sharing’ goalkeepers over several decades, when McFaul was in the manager’s chair in January 1988 he took Albion’s long-serving Perry Digweed on a month’s loan with the Magpies. He played in their reserves but didn’t appear in the first team. The following month he went on loan to relegation-threatened Chelsea where he featured in three matches: a 3-3 draw away to Coventry City, a 0-0 home draw v Everton and a 4-4 draw at Oxford United.

Fans took Alan Duffy to their hearts after debut goal

Hair-raising moment
Distinctive ‘mutton chops’ look
Debut goal v Bradford City
In action v Reading
In the the thick of it v Rotherham
Heading for goal v Shrewsbury

TWENTY-year-old Alan Duffy couldn’t have wished for a better start to his Brighton career than scoring a belter on his debut.

A £10,000 signing from Newcastle United, he was quickly off the mark on 17 January 1970 in a 2-1 Third Division win over Bradford City.

He appeared to be “the Third Division answer to George Best by beating two Bradford players and smashing a ferocious shot in off the crossbar” according to Seagulls TV, which recounted he was a “stocky striker with a robust style”.

Fan Mo Gosfield, posting on North Stand Chat in January 2011, described the goal as “one of my top 10 Albion moments, because it took your breath away”.

Mo added: “He had all the makings of a cult figure at Brighton. The swagger, the shock of hair, the slight beer belly. I loved him, but he never quite lived up to that sensational start.”

The fans in the old North Stand adapted the Hare Krishna chant to incorporate his name and, after that promising debut, the young striker kept his place in the starting line-up through to the end of the season.

He repaid manager Freddie Goodwin’s faith in him with five more goals. Particularly memorable were Duffy’s two goals in Albion’s 2-1 win over Reading on Good Friday when a huge crowd of 32,036 packed into the Goldstone.

2 AD action BW.jpg

Brighton were top of the league going into the game and looking a good bet for promotion.

Former goalkeeper Brian Powney discussed that game – and Duffy – when he was interviewed by Brian Owen for an article in the Argus on 20 February 2017.

There were question marks over both Duffy’s goals – a suspicion of handball for one, the other possibly offside – but, while both stood, a seemingly good goal from the youngster was ruled out later on.

Looking back on the game was a painful reminder for Powney, who dislocated a finger which physio Mike Yaxley had to put back while out on the pitch, it being the era long before substitute goalkeepers were available.

Unfortunately, too, Albion blew their promotion chances by losing four of the last five games after that Easter win over the Royals.

The only other points collected came in the penultimate game, a 2-1 home win over Rotherham, when Duffy again scored twice – one a penalty.

Asked about Duffy in that 2017 interview, Powney said: “Alan was hit and miss, a bit madcap.

“He had a lot of talent and, had he applied himself, he would have had a longer career. He was a good player but not such a good pro.”

Like many a player before and since, a change of manager in that World Cup summer of 1970 didn’t help Duffy’s progress at Brighton although, according to Seagulls TV: “Weight issues and injury woes, starting with a thigh problem on the opening day, marred his 1970-71 campaign.”

Duffy began in the no.8 shirt for the opening two games of that season under Goodwin’s replacement,Pat Saward, but a thigh injury picked up away to Bristol Rovers proved more problematic than first thought and he missed a large part of the first half of the season.

Duffy was out of the side from mid-October to February and, on his return to the starting line-up, was involved in one of the most curious incidents I ever saw at the Goldstone.

On 27 February 1971, against Preston North End, Albion won a controversial penalty at the south stand end of the pitch after Duffy somewhat unconvincingly tumbled in the area.

Centre forward Kit Napier took the spot-kick;  ‘keeper Alan Kelly saved it, but referee Tom Reynolds ordered a retake because of encroachment. As Napier steadied himself for the retake, Duffy stepped forward, pushed his teammate out of the way, took the penalty himself – and missed!

In the Argus, reporter John Vinicombe wrote: “Napier watched aghast as the ball thudded against the bar. Duffy hung his head, as well he might.” The game finished in a disappointing 0-0 draw.

“The manager went mad at him afterwards,” Powney recalled, and Saward promptly dropped Duffy to the bench for the next two matches.

In the meantime, the manager brought in the experienced Bert Murray and Willie Irvine on loan to add some nous and quality. Although Duffy did get back in the side for six games, the rest of the time he was on the bench.

One time when he entered the fray from the bench against Aston Villa, a BBC radio commentator described him as “a square little man – an oddity” but he was soon singing his praises for a through ball that set up Napier to score.

His only goals of the season came in the same match – against Bradford City, in a 3-2 win at Valley Parade on Easter Monday. Duffy struck twice in the second half as Albion came back from being 2-1 down at half-time.

By the season’s end, he had made just 15 starts, and was subbed off on five occasions. There were seven appearances off the bench, plus three occasions when he was a non-playing sub.

In 1971-72, he made just one start – in a league cup match – and was only ever a substitute in the league, coming on 12 times and not being used on 10 other occasions.

A Brighton & Hove Gazette special publication noted that shortly after coming on as a substitute in a second round FA Cup game at home to Walsall in December 1971, he was booked for fighting with the Saddlers’ goalkeeper, Bob Wesson.

A subsequent post-match incident with the goalkeeper led to Duffy being suspended for six weeks. His final appearance saw him come on for Murray in a 4-2 win away to Oldham Athletic in mid-January 1972.

Saward clearly didn’t see Duffy as a long-term part of his plans and when he plunged into the transfer market on deadline day in March, the Geordie was used as a makeweight in the deal which brought Tranmere Rovers striker Ken Beamish to the Goldstone for a fee of £25,000. On the same day, Wolves’ Irish international Bertie Lutton returned to the Albion following a loan spell earlier in the season.

In two years at Prenton Park, Duffy made 33 appearances and scored just twice, before heading back to the north east in 1973 to join Darlington.

In the 1973-74 season, he played 24 games for Darlington without getting on the scoresheet and the following season drifted into non-league football, playing for Consett.

It was quite some fall from that glorious day on 21 September 1968 when he had made his Newcastle first team debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 3-1 defeat.

Born on 20 December 1949 in Stanley, Co Durham, Duffy joined Newcastle in 1966 and on 7 April 1968 won an England Youth international cap when he featured in a 0-0 draw away to Bulgaria.

The game took place in Nimes, France, and was part of the UEFA Youth tournament. Amongst his teammates were Burnley’s Dave Thomas and Steve Kindon and fellow Magpie Alan Foggon.

After that debut at Old Trafford, Duffy didn’t play for the first team again until 9 August 1969, coming on as a sub in a 1-0 defeat v West Ham.

His next chance came on 20 September 1969 when he came on as a sub in a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

A week later, he got a start in another 1-1 draw, this time against Wolverhampton Wanderers. But Toon1892.com recounted: “In his time at Newcastle he was always considered to be Pop Robson’s deputy rather than a first team choice.”

When the Toon decided to let him join Brighton, Duffy had to admit he’d never previously ventured that far south before. At least there was a familiar face waiting for him when he arrived: at the time, Albion had a young Newcastle goalkeeper, Martin Burleigh, on loan.

The matchday programme revealed how manager Goodwin and club secretary Alan Leather had quite a journey travelling to the North East to clinch the deal for Duffy because bad weather caused them to alter their train and plane arrangements.

Leather then had to dash from Newcastle to the Football League headquarters at St Annes on the Lancashire coast to register the paperwork ahead of the 48-hour deadline for new signings so that Duffy would be eligible to play in Albion’s away game at Barrow. He managed it…..but then the match was postponed!

Pictures from my scrapbook either originated in the matchday programme or were published in the Evening Argus. Also featured, a special publication produced by the Brighton & Hove Gazette.

Ken Beamish dumped by Clough without a word

1-k-beamish-btn-goalSWASHBUCKLING Ken Beamish was a good old fashioned centre forward who crowds appreciated for his never-say-die attitude in pursuit of goals.

He mostly played in the third tier but had three seasons at the next level up (one was Brighton’s disastrous 1972-73 season and he had two with Blackburn).

He twice won promotion from the old Third Division – with Brighton in 1972 and Blackburn in 1975 – and scored 198 goals in 642 league and cup games between 1965 and 1982.

Born in Bebington on 25 August 1947, Beamish started his career with nearby Fourth Division Tranmere Rovers in the 1965-66 season and was top scorer in two of his six seasons with the club, helping them to promotion to the Third Division in 1966-67.KB Tran

He joined Brighton on transfer deadline day on 9 March 1972; manager Pat Saward having set off for the north west from Sussex at 5am to ensure he captured his man before the 5pm deadline that existed at the time.

When Beamish signed for £23,000 (plus the surplus-to-requirements Alan Duffy), Albion had just scored 13 goals in three games so supporters were baffled as to why he was needed.

After two substitute appearances, Beamish made his full debut in the oft-talked about televised game v Aston Villa and then got off the mark in the 3-1 Good Friday win over Torquay United (see picture).

He contributed six goals in 14 games, including last minute winners in two games in the same week, against Rotherham and Rochdale.

In an interview in Goal magazine after promotion was clinched,  Saward explained why he had signed him when the team was already riding high and looking a good bet for promotion.

Aiming a bit of a sideswipe at the incumbents Willie Irvine and Kit Napier, Saward said: “We had plenty of skilful players up front but none had the devil in him. We wanted more thrust. Beamish gave us it.”

Reporter David Wright wrote: “He added the final spark to an ever-improving Brighton side that, after promising a great deal for two-thirds of the season, finally showed their true force in the last two months of the season when they enjoyed a marvellous run of 12 games without defeat.”

Saward was delighted with his signing and said: “Ken shows great courage and has an insatiable appetite for scoring goals. He would die in the box for you. He goes in where angels fear to tread. The whole side never know when they’re beaten – something they proved over and over again – and Beamish epitomises this. He battles away from the first whistle to the last.”

There was clearly mutual admiration because Beamish reflected in an Albion matchday programme how Saward had helped him to become a better player. “He really put in the work with me on the training pitch,” he said. “My ball control was never the best but he worked hard with me to make sure it improved. He was a good man.”

In Brighton & Hove Albion Supporters’ Club’s official souvenir handbook, produced to celebrate the promotion, coach Ray Crawford, the former England international striker who was part of Saward’s backroom team, said: “I don’t like to single out players because football is a team game, but I must on this occasion. Ken Beamish added the final bite up front, and those vital goals that he scored helped us into Division II. What a player this boy is – he never gives up!”

Unfortunately for Beamish, the goals were harder to come by in the division above, particularly in a struggling side and with a new strike partner in the shape of experienced Barry Bridges. Beamish’s scoring ratio dropped to one in four during 1972-73 and, back in the third tier the following season, it didn’t get much better.

He kept his place in the side after Brian Clough’s arrival in October 1973 but 12 goals in 45 games didn’t impress a manager used to better things and he found himself part of the former Derby manager’s huge clear-out of players – and he was none too happy at the manner of it.

A contributor to Jonathan Wilson’s biography about Clough, Nobody Ever Says Thank You, Beamish spoke about how most of the players failed to get any rapport going with the manager because he was seldom around. “I played most of the games but we never saw much of Clough,” he said. “We saw him on matchday and Friday.”

Clough didn’t help matters when he missed a game altogether so he could go to America to watch a Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight. That left him open to criticism but Clough was not remotely bothered. Instead he went on the front foot and openly criticised the players for lacking moral courage and declared: “There is a gale blowing through this club and the players concerned are about to feel the draught.”

That one of them was Beamish appeared harsh at the time and the manner of his departure clearly left a nasty taste in the mouth.

Beamish told Simon Levenson in his interview for Match of My Life (Know The Score Books Ltd): “I knew my time was up when I wasn’t included in the end of season tour to Torremolinos. We’re all grown men and there are ways of telling people that you’re not part of their future plans. He could have told me face to face, but instead I discovered I’d been transfer listed when my neighbour told me he’d heard it on the radio.”

A subsequent Albion matchday programme interview revealed his dismay at the circumstances, which understandably made it easy for him to leave.

“I never spoke to anyone at Brighton between the end of the season and signing for Blackburn,” he said. “That was the disappointing thing because I’d enjoyed my time at Brighton and made some good friends there.

“It was a sad ending to a happy period in my life.”

Clough’s loss was Gordon Lee’s gain. Lee, who would go on to manage Everton, paid £26,000 to take Beamish to Blackburn Rovers – the start of an association which continues to this day.

After scoring 19 goals for Blackburn in 86 appearances between 1974 and 1976, including promotion in 1975, he then had two years at Port Vale – where he was the player of the year in 1977-78 – a year at Bury and a second spell at Tranmere. He ended his playing days at Swindon Town, where he originally went to become assistant manager to long-serving John Trollope – father of former Albion assistant manager, Paul.

When Trollope senior left Swindon, Beamish ended up taking over as boss for 15 months (as pictured below), from March 1983 to June 1984, but 1983-84 proved to be a nightmare season in Swindon’s history with them finishing 17th in the old Fourth Division, the lowest finishing position in their history.Beam Swin mgr

Beamish subsequently became commercial manager at Blackburn from 1986 until his retirement in 2012. He then became vice chairman of the Blackburn Rovers Former Players Association.

  • Pictures from my scrapbook show a great action shot of Beamish scoring against Torquay, as featured in a Brighton & Hove Gazette end of season publication, a portrait of him in Goal magazine. Dig the hairstyle, pear drop collar shirt and tank top in this Goal picture of him with his son. The Argus captured Ken’s elation as he celebrated Willie Irvine’s goal against Aston Villa. And the man himself signed the photo of him being interviewed. Below, interviewed in 1992 by Sky Sports.

Kit Napier top scorer for Brighton in five of six seasons

FORMER Newcastle United centre forward Kit Napier, who moved from the Magpies to Brighton in 1966, was playing up front alongside Alex Dawson when I first started watching the Albion (in 1969).

Kit Napier at full stretch to score against Bournemouth in front of a packed Goldstone Ground on Boxing Day 1971

Born in Dunblane on 26 September 1943, Kit’s promise as a schoolboy prompted his headmaster to put his name around as a future footballing talent and he left Scotland to join Blackpool (then playing in the top tier) as a junior before turning professional in 1960. But he only played twice for the Tangerines before moving on to Second Division Preston North End in 1963-64. Things didn’t work out there either, though, and he dropped down a further division to Workington, where it all started to click.

Workington were newly-promoted to the Third Division and Napier was on the scoresheet during what has been described as the club’s proudest night, a 5-1 win in a Football League Cup 3rd round replay against First Division Blackburn Rovers on 22 October 1964.

In a team managed by Ken Furphy, who later enjoyed success as manager of Watford, one of Napier’s teammates was Keith Burkinshaw, who several years later would become manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Workington archive also recalls the fifth round tie, on 25 November 1964, when Workington hosted Chelsea at Borough Park.  At the time, Chelsea were riding high in the top flight of English football and were unbeaten on their travels when they arrived in west Cumbria.  Reds were fourth in the old Third Division at the time.

“In front of a record League Cup attendance (17,996), Reds gave Tommy Docherty’s Chelsea the fright of their lives by holding them to a 2-2 draw having been 0-2 down early in the game,” the archive records.  “Dave Carr and Kit Napier scored for the Reds and we had a ‘goal’ disallowed late in the game for an offside offence.

“We eventually lost the replay, 0-2, but the crowd at Stamford Bridge was 10,000 fewer than the gathering at Borough Park.”

Napier scored 25 goals in 58 games for the Cumbrian side which attracted the attention of the Geordie giants at St James’ Park. He was still only 22 when they paid £18,000 for him.

KN NUFCHe made his Newcastle debut on 6 November 1965 in a 2-0 home win over Blackpool. But it probably didn’t help his cause that Newcastle lost six of his seven other games, and drew the other!

His last game was in the Tyne-Wear derby game on 3 January 1966 when Sunderland triumphed 2-0.

Toon1892.com, a veritable mine of Newcastle history, says of Napier: “He was seen as a forward who had great potential. Unfortunately, he struggled to come to terms with the First Division and despite having all the ‘tricks’ he could not put the ball into the net.

An autographed Evening Argus photograph of Kit Napier from the 1970-71 season

“Being given only eight games to prove himself, one wonders whether he was given a real chance or not, but the arrival of (Welsh international) Wyn Davies settled any argument and Kit was off to Brighton.”

That move came early in the 1966-67 season when Brighton – bottom of the league table at the time – paid £9,000 to bring him south. He made an instant impression, scoring twice on his debut in a 5-2 win over Peterborough.

It was the perfect start to what was to be the most successful period of his career.

Over Easter in 1971, Napier scored in all three of Albion’s matches – a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa on Good Friday, a 2-0 home win over Reading the following day, and a 3-2 away win at Bradford City on Easter Monday.

The matchday programme for the following home game declared: “This gift of marksmanship blends very nicely with his ball control and general skill in possession. Not to mention the times when he lets fly at goal from outside the penalty area.

“We’ve seen some thrilling thunderbolts from him, including several during 1967-68 season when he broke Albion’s post-war individual scoring record with 30 goals, 24 of them in the league.”

He was top goalscorer in five of his six seasons with the club and, by the time he left, he’d netted 99 goals in just short of 300 appearances, including 19 in the 1971-72 promotion-winning side. Against Shrewsbury at the Goldstone, on 30 October 1971, he netted his 100th career league goal (see below). At that time, his Albion tally was 75.

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The superb The Goldstone Wrap blog did an extended piece on him in which they said: “Kit Napier is rightly considered an Albion legend. He was a ball-playing attacker, skilful with both feet, and with tremendous talent for goalscoring. At the Goldstone, Napier’s class and quick-witted play endeared him to the crowds.”

Aside from the goals, three things about him stand out in my memory:

• Kit had an amazing talent for scoring direct from corners: quite some skill. The first came in a 2-0 home win over Bury on 27 December 1969.

• In a game against Preston, on 27 February 1971, when Napier was shaping to take a penalty in front of the South Stand, Alan Duffy, promptly stepped forward, pushed his teammate out of the way and took the penalty himself – and missed!

• The following season, in a home game against Wrexham, Napier had been having a bit of an off day and the crowd were getting on his back. Eventually manager Pat Saward subbed him off and, as he trudged towards the tunnel, rather than the polite applause that tends to accompany today’s substitutions there were lots of ironic cheers to greet his withdrawal. Napier responded by waving a two-fingered salute to all corners of the ground! I’m pretty sure nothing came of it although, of course, in this day and age he’d no doubt have been hauled before the powers that be.

irvine napier saward

Kit Napier celebrates promotion with Willie Irvine, left, and manager Saward.

With Albion promoted, Saward knew he needed to strengthen the side and he clearly didn’t think Napier was up to playing at the higher level and put him on the transfer list.

Although he made a handful of starts in the 1972-73 Second Division campaign, by the end of August he’d been sold to Blackburn Rovers (who were in the Third Division at the time) for £15,000 as Albion sought to recoup some of the £29,000 record fee they spent bringing former England international Barry Bridges to the club from Millwall.

Napier had two seasons at Ewood Park and brought down the curtain on his English league career with a further 10 goals in 54 appearances. When he returned to the Goldstone with Rovers, he was made captain for the day. “I still get goosebumps and feel emotional at how the whole crowd gave me a standing ovation,” Kit remembered many years later.

He moved to South Africa to play for Durban United and, after packing up playing, had a very successful career as a Ford car salesman in the city (he was national sales manager of the year seven years in a row) alongside his former Albion teammate Brian Tawse. An Albion matchday programme reported how they both also turned out for a local Sunday league side in Durban.

Napier’s later years were blighted by emphysema and he died in Durban on 31 March 2019 at the age of 75.

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