Tag: Brentford

Cobblers hero Mike Everitt started out with the Gunners

CONTACTS made as a youngster at Arsenal stood versatile Mike Everitt in good stead for the rest of his career.

He went on to play under his former Gunners teammate Dave Bowen at Northampton Town as part of one of football’s most remarkable stories and earned a place in the Cobblers’ ‘team of the century’.

Later, he joined a small enclave of former Arsenal players at Brighton. Everitt swapped Devon for Sussex in March 1968 when he moved from Plymouth Argyle for a £2,500 fee.

The man who signed him, Archie Macaulay, was a former Arsenal man himself who’d already brought three other ex-Gunners to Hove in goalkeeper Tony Burns, Irish international full-back Jimmy Magill and winger Brian Tawse.

Everitt started the new season as first choice left-back in Macaulay’s side and an uninterrupted 14-game run in the team as autumn turned to winter straddled Macaulay’s departure and the arrival of new boss Freddie Goodwin.

Everitt slotted home a penalty as Albion drew 1-1 away to Bristol Rovers on 18 January 1969 but the 3-1 home win over Crewe Alexandra the following Saturday was his last outing of the season.

Everitt, Howard Wilkinson and Dave Turner from this Albion line-up all went on to become coaches

He picked up an injury and, with Goodwin having signed his former Leeds teammate Barrie Wright from New York Generals, local lad John Templeman able to fill either full-back slot, not to mention the addition of Eddie Spearritt from Ipswich Town, Everitt couldn’t win back his place in the starting line-up.

Competition for a starting place only intensified in the summer of 1969 when Goodwin’s former Leeds teammate, Willie Bell, arrived from Leicester and was installed as the regular choice at left-back, while Stewart Henderson cemented the right-back slot to the extent he was named Player of the Season.

While Everitt deputised for Bell on a couple of occasions and filled Bobby Smith’s midfield spot for four matches, his only other involvement was as sub on a handful of occasions. He was a non-playing sub in the final game of the season (a 2-1 home defeat to Mansfield Town) and then left the club during the close season.

Born in Clacton on 16 January 1941, Everitt represented Essex Schoolboys and London Schoolboys before being taken on as an apprentice by Arsenal in 1956. He turned professional in February 1958 and, thanks to the excellent records of thearsenalhistory.com, we know that he first played in the first team in the Harry Bamford Memorial match at Eastville against a Bristol XI on 8 May 1959.

He then went on Arsenal’s end-of-season tour to Italy and Switzerland. He was an unused sub for friendlies against Juventus and Fiorentina but came on as a substitute in a 4-1 win over Lugano of Switzerland on 24 May 1959.

Everitt (circled back row) lines up for Arsenal – with (left to right trio in centre of front row), David Herd, Tommy Docherty and Jimmy Bloomfield

It wasn’t until Easter 1960 that he made his competitive first team breakthrough, but when he did it was a baptism of fire in George Swindin’s side.

He made his first team debut in front of 37,873 fans packed into Highbury on Good Friday (15 April 1960) as the Gunners beat a Johnny Haynes-led Fulham side 2-0.

Modern day players might not be able to comprehend it but Everitt also played the following day when Arsenal travelled to Birmingham City, and lost 3-0. Two days later, away to Fulham this time, Everitt was again in the starting line-up as Arsenal lost 3-0.

He kept his place for the following Saturday’s match – at home to Manchester United – and in front of 41,057 he was part of the side that beat United 5-2. Future Albion teammate Alex Dawson led the line for a United team that included Bobby Charlton and Johnny Giles.

That was the penultimate game of the season and Everitt retained his place for the final game, which ended in a 1-0 defeat to West Brom at The Hawthorns.

The 1960-61 season got off to a good start for him too as he played in the opening four matches and, into the bargain, scored Arsenal’s only goal as they beat Preston North End at home on 23 August. Unfortunately for him, a tigerish Scot called Tommy Docherty edged him out of the first team picture and in February 1961 he moved to Fourth Division Northampton Town (for a fee of £4,000) who were managed by the aforementioned Bowen.

His stay with the Cobblers spanned one of the most remarkable stories in football history as they were promoted season on season from the Fourth to the First….and then relegated all the way back down again (although Everitt had left for pastures new before they reached the basement again).

What he was part of, though, was achieving three promotions in five years. Glenn Billingham recalled that heady era in a 2017 article for thesefootballtimes.co.

In 1961-62, Everitt was a regular at wing-half and scored five goals in 41 appearances. He switched to left-back the following season and played 30 matches as Town went up as champions.

A season of consolidation in 1963-64 saw Town finish 11th in Division Two, when Everitt played 45 matches. He played in 43 games in the 1964-65 season which culminated in the historic promotion to the top-flight courtesy of finishing in runners up spot, a point behind champions Newcastle United.

Necessary investment in improving the squad was slow to materialise and Bowen initially had to rely on the same squad of players who’d got them up. Everitt was one of only five Town players who had previously played at that level.

A 5-2 defeat away to Everton in the opening fixture was perhaps a portent of what was to follow for the rest of the season. They didn’t record a win until their 14th game, at home to West Ham (when they won 2-1), but the underdogs performed heroics in their first two home matches. It must have been quite an occasion when in only the second game of the season Everitt lined up in the Northampton side to face Arsenal.

The game finished 1-1, although Everitt had to be replaced at half-time. However, he also played in the return fixture at Highbury which also finished in a 1-1 draw.

Town also drew 1-1 at home to Manchester United, stifling the attacking threat of Best, Law and Charlton, although United exacted revenge at Old Trafford where they dished out a 6-2 thrashing. Charlton got a hat-trick, Law scored a couple and John Connelly was also on the scoresheet.

Everitt made 34 appearances (plus one as sub) that season and scored two goals, one in a rare win, in the penultimate game, when the Cobblers beat Sunderland 2-1 (the Wearsiders scorer was Neil Martin, who later played for the Albion). Graham Carr (father of comedian Alan Carr) played 30 times for the Cobblers that season.

Back in the second tier, Everitt featured in 17 games but as Town plummeted straight through the division, he moved on to Plymouth Argyle in March 1967, where his former Arsenal teammate Jimmy Bloomfield had moved to from West Ham. Everitt was still only 26 when he made his debut in a 1-0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. After 31 games for Argyle, he made the move to Brighton.

Everitt had already gained his preliminary coaching badge when still a player and after leaving Brighton in 1970 he initially moved to Plymouth City as player-manager. Within months, he seized the opportunity to move up a level when he landed the player-manager role at then Southern League Wimbledon.

In a January 2010 interview in The Guardian, it was revealed the two candidates he beat to land the position were David Pleat, who went on to manage Luton, Leicester and Spurs, and his former Albion teammate Howard Wilkinson, who won the league title with Leeds United.

Pleat recalled: “The director, Stanley Reed, went for Mike and Howard ended up at Boston United while I was eventually appointed by Nuneaton Borough in the Southern League.”

A few eyebrows were raised in 1973 when Everitt was appointed manager of newly-relegated Brentford just seven days before the start of the 1973-74 season, taking over from Frank Blunstone, who’d left to become youth team manager at Manchester United.

Greville Waterman, on a Bees fan blog, said Everitt polarised opinion, declaring: “He was undoubtedly a cheap option and received little support from the directors (now where have we heard that before) and did his best with a wafer thin squad.”

A classic example saw defender Stewart Houston sold to Manchester United for a club record £55,000 in December 1973, but the money wasn’t immediately reinvested in the squad.

Nevertheless, Waterman pointed out: “His approach did not go down well with some of his players and he brought in a number of tough bruisers. Under his management, Brentford declined rapidly, fell to the bottom of the Football League and barely escaped the need to apply for re-election.”

Legendary Brentford defender Alan Nelmes was particularly disparaging about Everitt. “He didn’t have the technical expertise that Frank had and you felt as if the club wasn’t going anywhere with him. Frank was very advanced in his thinking, ahead of his time, really, and it was a step backwards to have Mike.”

Everitt finally got some backing from the boardroom on transfer deadline day. Experienced forward Dave Simmons was brought in from Cambridge United and former Everton and Southampton defender Jimmy Gabriel from Bournemouth and a 10-match unbeaten run from mid-February to early April did enough to assure the Bees avoided bottom spot even though their finishing position of 19th was their lowest position for nearly 50 years. Crowds were hovering around only 5,000 too.

It didn’t get much better the following season and in spite of getting a vote of confidence in November 1974 from new chairman Dan Tana, Everitt only lasted a few more weeks in the hotseat.

Ironically, after a poor start to the campaign, he’d begun to turn results round and lifted the side to a mid-table position on the back of four wins and a draw in a seven-game spell between late November to mid-January, but he was sacked on 16 January and replaced with John Docherty, who’d only packed up playing for the Bees the previous summer.

Everitt’s next role came as a coach (pictured above) under his old Arsenal pal Bloomfield at Leicester City, and former winger Len Glover came up with an amusing reminiscence on lcfc.com.

Glover recalled when he was 17 playing against Everitt for Charlton Athletic against Northampton.

“He had massive thighs, and had his sleeves rolled up. In the first five minutes he had kicked me when the ball was nowhere near, and now he was our coach!

“He was just the same when he was our coach. When he started, he gathered us round at the training ground. His opening gambit was, ‘You don’t know me, and I don’t know you, but we will soon change that!’

“Then he noticed Frank Worthington who was not with the group but was with the apprentices who were crossing the ball for him to volley like they did every morning. He went, ‘Oi, get over here!’ Frank went, ‘Yeah, in a minute’. Instead of saying, ‘Over here, now!’ Everitt just went, ‘Well, hurry up then’.

“Before Everitt left we went to Leeds and we got stuffed 3-0. After the game Birch (Alan Birchenall) was doing his hair with his hair dryer. Win or lose he would always do his hair. Mike Everitt came in and said, ‘It’s a pity you’re not as good with the ball as you are with that hair dryer!’ Birch replied, ‘If I was as good with the ball as I am with the hair dryer, I wouldn’t be playing for Leicester!’”

After leaving Leicester, Everitt managed Kuwaiti side Al-Shabab when another former Arsenal teammate, George Armstrong, was manager of the Kuwaiti national side (Armstrong’s daughter, Jill, posted a picture of them in Kuwait on Twitter in 2019).

Jill Armstrong posted this picture on Twitter of her with dad George and Everitt in Kuwait

After Kuwait, Everitt managed Cairo-based Egyptian teams Al Mokawloon and Al Ahly, the club Percy Tau joined in the summer of 2021.

According to Wikipedia, Everitt had particular success at Al Mokawloon, winning the 1982-83 Egyptian Premier League title and two African Cup Winners Cups.

• Pictures from matchday programmes and online sources.

‘Rolls’ Royce was surprise Christmas presence at QPR

IN THE DAYS before wall-to-wall media coverage of all things football, I can remember turning up at Loftus Road to watch a Boxing Day match between QPR and Brighton and wondering who on earth was in goal for the Albion.

It was in the Second Division days when Michel Kuipers was an almost permanent fixture between the sticks for the Seagulls (he’d played 46 consecutive games). But, on 26 December 2001, there was a stranger behind Danny Cullip and Simon Morgan.

He was certainly a stranger to the players, who’d only met him a few hours before kick-off, but, thankfully, he was well known to manager Peter Taylor.

It turned out, Kuipers had pulled a thigh muscle in the previous Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Chesterfield and, rather than chance rookie Will Packham, Taylor opted for an experienced ‘keeper who he’d signed twice before.

Taylor had hastily gone back to his previous employer, Leicester City, on Christmas Eve, to sign Simon Royce on loan to cover the period Kuipers was indisposed.

Royce did well to keep a clean sheet in what finished a 0-0 draw, having not had a chance to train with his new teammates.

It transpired Royce had only met them a few hours earlier, at Reigate, en route to Shepherd’s Bush, as the Argus reported, having spent Christmas Day with his family at his Essex home.

Royce managed to pull off decent saves in each half of the encounter at Loftus Road, stopping a goalbound Danny Shittu header in the first half and dealing with a 20-yard shot from crowd favourite Doudou in the second.

Albion’s Paul Watson hit the bar with one of his trademark free-kicks early in the second half while Cullip went close to breaking the deadlock from a Watson corner, only for his header to be cleared off the line by Karl Connolly.

Taylor knew what he was getting with Royce having signed him for both Southend United and the Foxes, where, under Taylor’s successor, Dave Bassett, the ‘keeper had slipped down the pecking order following a bout of laryngitis.

“I had been second choice all season at Leicester, but the way Dave Bassett works, if you are ill or injured he changes it and you have to work your way back,” Royce told the Argus. “I did so well last year, but, when you don’t play, you get forgotten just as quickly.”

He added: “I had been ill a couple of weeks before, so I had lost my place on the bench at Leicester.

“I’d not really played much reserve team football for three or four weeks, so when Peter asked me if I fancied playing a few games I jumped at the chance. It’s nice to keep yourself match fit.”

Royce admitted knowing the manager certainly helped him to drop down two divisions for the chance to play, but the main reason was to get some games under his belt.

“Dropping down a couple of divisions doesn’t bother me at all,” he said. “It’s still a decent standard and Brighton are flying high.

“There are some very good teams in the Second Division, like QPR and Blackpool, so it’s not a problem. I’ve played in the Second Division before with Southend and I quite enjoyed it.

“This is a perfect opportunity for me to get some games in and let people know I am still around.”

Royce was delighted to start his spell with a clean sheet – but that was as good as it got because he conceded 13 goals in the other five matches he played.

Three days after his debut, he let in two but saved a penalty in a 2-2 draw at Blackpool. Albion’s 10-game unbeaten away league record shuddered to a halt in a 3-0 defeat at Wigan, during which Royce needed treatment after being clattered by a Latics striker.

Physio Malcolm Stuart tends to the clattered Royce at Wigan

When Royce finally got to make his Withdean debut, against Cambridge United, he spoiled the occasion with a gaffe, pushing a long-range shot from Paul Wanless into the path of Luke Guttridge for an easy tap-in. Thankfully a Bobby Zamora hat-trick meant the Seagulls prevailed 4-3.

Royce’s penultimate game was a 2-1 win away to Chesterfield but three days later he bowed out in ignominy as Albion were thumped 4-0 by Steve Coppell’s Brentford in a live ITV Digital match, Ivar Ingimarsson and Steve Sidwell scoring two of the Bees goals.

Born in Forest Gate, London, on 9 September 1971, Royce began his football career with non-League Heybridge Swifts while working as a painter and decorator. At the age of 20, a £35,000 fee took him to Southend, signed by former Chelsea defender David Webb, who was managing the Shrimpers back then.

He made his debut for Southend in a 3-1 home win over Grimsby Town in March 1992.

In seven seasons at Roots Hall, Royce made 169 appearances in Divisions One and Two, a couple of them under Taylor, before getting a move to Premier League Charlton Athletic on a Bosman free transfer.

Addicks boss Alan Curbishley briefly promoted him from third to first choice when Andy Petterson was loaned out to Portsmouth and Sasa Ilic lost form. He kept four clean sheets in a row in eight Premier League matches in the 1998-99 season, but injury issues then sidelined him. He didn’t feature at all in the 1999-00 season and, with the arrival of Dean Kiely at The Valley, decided to link up again with Taylor at Leicester, again moving on a Bosman ‘free’.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better move,” Royce told the Daily Gazette. “I played under Peter at Southend and I can’t wait to work with him again because he’s a great coach.

“He had a hard time at Roots Hall, but Peter has matured into an excellent manager in recent years, picking up valuable experience with both the England under-21 side and Gillingham.

“I owe Peter a lot. He knew I was out of contract at Charlton this summer, but he promised me that he would take me to whatever club he was at this year.

“At the time we spoke, Peter was still with Gillingham and I’d have been happy to play for him there in the First Division. But Peter got the Leicester job and he has remained true to his word and brought me on board.”

Initially an understudy to Tim Flowers, Royce had a run of 19 Premier League matches in the second half of the 2000-01 season, keeping clean sheets on seven occasions.

David Lacey, the renowned football writer for The Guardian, even hinted at international recognition for him, after newly installed England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had been to watch Ipswich Town beat Leicester 2-0 at Portman Road.

“Eriksson was here primarily to run an eye over Richard Wright, Ipswich’s once capped goalkeeper, although, since Wright had so little to do, he must have gone away more impressed by Simon Royce, whose saves kept alive Leicester’s hopes of a point,” wrote Lacey. “Royce, back in the Leicester side because of another injury to Tim Flowers, showed excellent agility and anticipation in keeping out headers from Alun Armstrong and Matt Holland as Ipswich increasingly dominated the match.”

Taylor told the journalist: “Simon Royce’s goalkeeping was the only positive thing to come out of our own performance.”

Any hopes Royce had of taking over the no.1 shirt permanently at Leicester were dashed when Taylor paid £2.5m to install Ian Walker as his first choice ‘keeper.

After his loan spell at Brighton, he went on a similar arrangement to Manchester City later that same season, although he didn’t play any first team games.

The following season he went on loan to QPR, where he featured 17 times.

On his release from Leicester, he moved back to Charlton on a two-year contract, but made only one Premier League appearance in 2003-04.

He was quite literally a loan Ranger in 2004-05, initially playing a couple of games for Luton Town and then returning to QPR, making 13 appearances in their Championship side.

He made a permanent move to Loftus Road in 2005 and, in an away game at Stoke City, was in the news when caught up in a crowd invasion, although manager Ian Holloway said his ‘keeper was fine: “Simon Royce is a big lad and he can look after himself.”

Royce recounted the incident in an interview for brentfordfc.com. “We’d won the game 2-1. I always kept a towel and a water bottle by my left-hand post, so I bent down to pick them up and felt someone jump on my back.

“At first, I assumed it was a team-mate because we’d won the game, but then I looked down and saw a pair of trainers and felt a blow to the back of my head. It was a Stoke supporter who’d run on to the pitch, shouting ‘I’m going to do you, Roycey!’

“I had my hand on the post so managed to pick him up and throw him in the net. After that the stewards rushed on and we had more supporters on the pitch – it was complete mayhem. The fan in question was sentenced to four months in prison for assault.”

Royce managed to hold down a regular starting berth for the first time in several years during his time in west London, playing 32 games in 2005-06 and 22 in 2006-07.

However, he was back on the loan circuit, briefly, when in April 2007 he moved to League One Gillingham to play in their last three games of the season.

During the summer break, he signed for the Kent club on a permanent basis. He featured in 36 matches in the 2007-08 season, and was named Supporters’ Player of the Year, although the Gills were relegated.

When Royce penned a new one-year deal in the summer of 2008, manager Mark Stimson told the club website: “I’m delighted with Simon’s decision.  He’s going to be a vital player for us next season and one that we will need to help get this club back to where we want to be.”

He was first-choice ‘keeper throughout the 2008-09 season, making 49 appearances as Gills were promoted back to League One via the League Two play-off final at Wembley. Royce, by then 38, said keeping a clean sheet as Gillingham beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 was one of his career highlights. Former Seagulls Albert Jarrett and Mark McCammon were on the Gillingham subs bench that day.

Unfortunately, in December 2009, Royce sustained several injuries in a car accident.

Stimson told BBC Radio Kent: “His knee is in a bad way and he has a bad neck. He’s going to be out for a couple of weeks. He’s had a scan on his knee, we should get the results of that this week.

“He’s also had X-rays on his neck. I’m praying it’s just a couple of weeks because he’s a big player for us. Until we get the scan results we have to wait and see. He’s been a big part of it. He’ll be missed.”

As it turned out, Royce never regained the no.1 spot from Alan Julian, who’d stepped in to replace him, and he left Gillingham at the end of the season to take up a goalkeeper coaching job at Brentford, during which time former Albion no.2 David Button was among the goalkeepers he helped to develop.

Royce eventually left Griffin Park in the summer of 2018 after eight seasons with the Bees.In thanking him for his contribution, Phil Giles, Brentford’s co-director of football, told the club website: “He leaves behind a fantastic legacy, having developed some top goalkeepers during his time here, including Simon Moore, David Button, Dan Bentley, Jack Bonham and Luke Daniels.”

He returned to Gillingham as goalkeeper coach for the 2019-20 season, working with Bonham once again, and on 28 September 2019, at the age of 48, suddenly found himself on the substitute’s bench for Gills’ away game against Oxford United when reserve goalkeeper Joe Walsh suffered an injury just before kick-off. His previous involvement in a competitive match had been more than eight years earlier, for Brentford, in a 4-1 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge.

Royce remained on the bench as Oxford won 3-0 and, at the season’s end, he left Priestfield as part of a Covid-related cost-cutting measure.

Pictures from various online sources.

The multi-million pound striker who scored on his Albion debut

STRIKER Darren Bent spent the last month of 2014 with Championship-struggling Brighton as the hapless Sami Hyypia tried to bring a halt to a dismal run of form.

Unable to command a regular starting spot at Aston Villa, Bent made an encouraging enough start, scoring on his debut against Fulham.

But the game ended in a 2-1 defeat and his only other goal came at Molineux two days before the axe fell on Hyypia’s time in the hotseat as Albion drew 1-1 with Wolves.

Bent told BBC Radio Sussex he’d reached “boiling point” in his frustration at the lack of starts under Paul Lambert at Villa. Previous boss Gerard Houllier had smashed Villa’s transfer fee record to take Bent from Sunderland for an initial £18m in January 2011, but, after Lambert became manager in 2012, he made just 13 Premier League appearances.

albion D BentAt the time he headed to the Amex, Bent had scored 184 goals in 464 career appearances, not to mention scoring four while winning 13 caps for England.

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

“Three years ago, he was a regular in the England squad under Fabio Capello; 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.”

Bent told the matchday programme: “It doesn’t bother me that I’ve had to drop down a division to play football. 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.”

At least Bent found some familiar faces in the Albion dressing room in fellow Villa loanees Joe Bennett and Gary Gardner and former Fulham teammates David Stockdale and Aaron Hughes.

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

Bent goalBent returned to Villa after playing in five games and although new boss Chris Hughton indicated a willingness to bring him back, the striker was soon on his way to Derby County for the remainder of the season.

He scored 12 in 17 games for Steve McLaren’s Rams and subsequently joined them on a permanent basis in the summer of 2015. After two seasons in the Championship with Derby, scoring 14 in 67 matches, a hamstring injury sidelined him for the start of the 2017-18 season and in January 2018 he went on loan to Championship strugglers Burton Albion.

Having been without a club since released by Derby in the summer of 2018, he announced his retirement at 35 in July 2019.

Since then, he has joined the football pundit circuit, although not everyone is convinced he’s making that good a job of it!

pundit D BentNevertheless, Talksport and Sky Sports are happy to give him a platform and, in an interview with Metro, he suggested what might be the most difficult aspect of it. “I played with some of these guys and regard them as friends so, when they have had a bad game, will I be able to dig them out? It’s finding the line between being objective and respectfully constructive.”

Only in January 2020, Bent could be found arguing the case for Lewis Dunk to be recalled by England. The former striker is also active on Twitter with @DarrenBent attracting just short of 492,000 followers.

Born in Tooting, south London, on 6 February 1984, Bent was probably 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 eventually made it to the first team in November 2001.

In four seasons with Ipswich, he scored 56 goals in 141 appearances before then Premier League Charlton Athletic paid a fee of £2.5m to take him to The Valley.

After two successful seasons in which he bagged 37 goals in 79 games for the Valiants, he made another big money move, this time to North London to join Spurs.

It was in June 2007 they paid a club record £16.5m and he scored 25 in 79 games for them before a similar fee saw him move to Sunderland, then in the Premier League, in the summer of 2009.

After 18 months in the North East, Bent put in for a transfer and Aston Villa paid £24m to sign him on a four-and-a-half year contract. He marked his debut with the only goal of the game in a win over Manchester City.

In his second season with Villa, Bent took on the captaincy for a while but managerial changes meant his face didn’t always fit and he spent the whole of the 2013-14 season on loan to Fulham, where he scored six in 30 matches.

Owusu raised the roof as Albion escaped the drop

Owusu stripes

FEW Brighton players have made such an impact in such a short time as Lloyd Owusu, a Ghana international who in 2009 struck seven goals in 14 appearances to help Russell Slade’s Albion retain their League One status.

The popular Slough-born goalscorer also earned legendary status amongst Sheffield Wednesday fans even though his playing time for the Owls was similarly fairly limited. His most prolific time as a striker came in two spells at Brentford, but he was happy to travel and ended up playing in Australia.

Born in Slough on 12 December 1976, Owusu started his career with local GM Vauxhall Conference club Slough Town, managed at the time by future Reading boss Brian McDermott.

Owusu rose through the ranks at youth and reserve team level before breaking into the first team in September 1996. Owusu marked his full league debut for Slough with four goals in a 6-0 win over Telford United.

In 1998, after netting 18 goals in 59 appearances for Slough, Brentford, then managed by former Palace chairman Ron Noades, took him to Griffin Park for a fee of £25,000, but it was under future Albion boss Steve Coppell that saw the majority of his best playing days.

Owusu BrentOwusu scored 76 goals in two spells with the Bees, and, in the 1998-99 season, his 24 goals in 53 games in all competitions saw him lead the scoring charts in Nationwide Division Three (now Football League Two) with Brentford crowned champions.

While two below par seasons followed, in 2001-02 he was back on top form, scoring 22 goals to help Brentford reach the Division Two play-off final at the Millennium Stadium. However, the Bees lost 2-0 to Stoke City and Owusu’s contract was not renewed.

Sheffield Wednesday, then in the Championship, signed him on a free transfer and he became an instant Wednesday legend. Coming on as a substitute in a typical fierce Steel City derby match against Sheffield United, he headed a goal with his first touch.

“Scoring with my first touch for Wednesday was a dream come true. I actually dreamt that I was going to score on my debut with my first touch,” Owusu told beatsandrhymesfc.com. “All I remember was the ball coming off the cross bar from a (Shefki) Kuqi header and me being there to put it in the net past Paddy Kenny.”

Although the Owls went on to win the match 2-0, Owusu subsequently had limited game time, starting only 13 games out of a possible 34 in all competitions in that 2002-03 season.

“I missed pre-season due to a knee operation so I was always on the backburner and could never reproduce my best performances,” Owusu explained.

When a similar story followed in 2003-04, he went on loan to Reading, and then moved permanently to the Royals in the summer of 2004. In the 2004-05 season, Owusu scored six goals in 14 league starts.

The striker rejoined Brentford on a free transfer in the summer of 2005, the same year he won his first cap for Ghana. Unfortunately, he tore a groin muscle in a friendly match playing for Ghana in April 2006 and was sidelined for nearly a year.

He finally made his comeback in March 2007, but he was released by Brentford two months later and signed on a free transfer for Russell Slade’s Yeovil Town in July 2007.

In September that year, he was a scorer at the Withdean Stadium as the Glovers left with all three points courtesy of a 2-1 win. But on transfer deadline day, 1 September 2008, Owusu joined Coca-Cola League 1 side Cheltenham Town on a one-year deal.

It was in March 2009, with Cheltenham looking to cut costs, that Owusu linked up with the Seagulls on loan until the end of the season. “Going to Brighton was one of my best memories of my career,” Owusu told gloucestershirelive.co.uk.

Owusu grabbed the headlines as he scored seven goals in 14 League appearances for Brighton, helping Russell Slade’s side to avoid relegation from League One. He was even named Powerade League One player of the month for April 2009.

On the strength of his performances, Owusu was offered an extended contract by the Seagulls but he chose to try his luck in Australia, where he has since returned to work.

He initially joined A-League side Adelaide United on a two-year deal but was struck by swine flu and pneumonia, and struggled to make an impact on the pitch. He had a short spell at Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande, but his contract was terminated by mutual consent at the end of December 2010.

Back in the UK, he linked up with Luton Town, at the time trying to get back into the Football League. He scored seven in 13 games but the team missed out on promotion after losing on penalties to AFC Wimbledon in the play-off final at the City of Manchester Stadium (as it was then).

After spending pre-season with Cypriot side AEP Paphos in the summer of 2011, Owusu returned to the UK to make a handful of appearances for Barnet and Hayes & Yeading United (on loan), but picked up an injury and left Barnet after his contract expired.

In February 2012, he re-signed for Slough to help manager, and former teammate, Steve Bateman achieve promotion, before returning to Adelaide with White City. He has since developed a coaching and acting career Down Under.

Owusu took his coaching badges in Australia and, as well as coaching at some of the top private schools in Sydney, has launched his own coaching company, XL Soccer.

“There has also been a bit of modelling, TV commercials and the odd appearances in a documentaries and movies,” he told gloucestershirelive.co.uk. “I was in Gods of Egypt with Gerard Butler and also appeared in the TV shows Danger5 and Deadly Women along with ads for OPSM (opticians) and HomeAway (holiday rentals).”

His LinkedIn profile says his current role is general duties master at Cranbrook School in Sydney.

Brighton’s heroic captain Cullip clashed with Warnock

AFTER three promotions and one relegation in five years, Danny Cullip left Brighton for Sheffield United in December 2004.

Hard-up Albion needed the cash at the time and Cullip was keen to join a side who were pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

“They were a massive side and I felt that it was too good an opportunity to miss,” Cullip said in Match of My Life (knowthescorebooks.com), edited by Paul Camillin. “I felt if I didn’t take the opportunity, I would end up regretting it, and although things didn’t work out, I don’t regret it, as I would have lived the rest of my life wondering what might have happened.”

Cullip was virtually ever-present during his three months with the Blades but a clash of personalities with fiery manager Neil Warnock saw him offloaded on loan to Watford before the end of the season.

DC focusThe player who had been an inspirational captain for the Seagulls has chosen not to go into detail about what happened although Warnock had plenty to say in his autobiography, ghostwritten by journalist Oliver Holt.

“At Sheffield United I bought a centre-half, Danny Cullip, with a view to him being my leader on the pitch, my captain,” he said. “I thought he was a good talker. I realised within a week he talked a better game than he played. The only answer was to get shot of him quickly.”

Cullip swerved the controversy in an Albion matchday programme interview in 2019-20, saying instead: “We won my first three games in succession and ended up taking maximum points from five of the first six games.

“It was a great start and I was really enjoying my football but then, out of the blue, Neil said he wanted to bring in another striker, Danny Webber from Watford.

“Ray Lewington, who was coach at Watford at the time and knew me from out time together at Brentford, said they would only sanction it if they could get me in return. It was going to be a permanent move but ended up being a loan as Ray was sacked the following week, which wasn’t ideal.

“My Sheffield United career was over though before it had even begun, which was so disappointing because I’d been playing well and we’d been getting results.”

butts + DC Sheffield United’s Cullip gets to grips with ex- Albion teammate Guy Butters

Lee Connor on footballleagueworld.co.uk reckoned Cullip was one of the top 5 most pointless signings in Sheffield United’s history which seems a harsh assessment of a player who made 216 appearances for Brighton.

The £250,000 fee Brighton received for their captain was certainly much needed at the time and was a good return on the £50,000 they invested in signing him from Brentford for £50,000 on 13 October 1999.

Born on 17 September 1976 in Bracknell, Berkshire, Cullip was scouted by Oxford United while playing Sunday football and shone during a set of trial games. After getting into their under-16s, he then earned a two-year YTS apprenticeship where he was coached by future England manager Steve McLaren.

Oxford were managed by that redoubtable former centre half Denis Smith at the time and Cullip was given a one-year professional contract but faced stiff competition to make the breakthrough to the first team, where future Leicester City stalwart Matt Elliott was excelling.

“I went out on loan to Kettering Town in the Conference,” Cullip told fulhamfocus.com. “Gary Johnson was their manager and I learned a lot from him and played well there.”

Cullip had a trial at Shrewsbury and could have joined them or Kettering. But he chose to join then Fourth Division Fulham because his dad was a Fulham fan, he told fulhamfc.com in an April 2016 interview. Micky Adams had been newly appointed in his first managerial job and handed Cullip his league debut in the first game of the 1996-97 season.

It was a season fondly remembered by Fulham fans because they won promotion but the regime change the following year, when Mohammed Al Fayed took over, saw Adams dumped in favour of Kevin Keegan and Ray Wilkins and eventually Cullip rejoined Adams at Brentford in exchange for a £75,000 fee in February 1998.

Cullip found himself back in the basement division when the Bees were relegated and then on the treatment table for much of the season after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Having not played a first team game for 13 months because of the injury, Cullip was thrown a lifeline when Adams, by now in charge at Brighton, took him on a month’s loan in September 1999.

CullipHe impressed sufficiently for Adams to persuade chairman Dick Knight to make the transfer permanent, beginning an association with the club which continues to this day.

Cullip became a mainstay of the defence during the back-to-back promotions of 2001-02 and 2002-03 and famously scored the headed winner in a 1-0 win over Chesterfield at Withdean that clinched the third-tier championship.

Cullip took over the captaincy from Paul Rogers and recalls the “unbelievable day” he lifted the play-off final trophy at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in 2004.

After his Blades spell was cut short, and his brief Watford loan came to an end, Cullip joined Nottingham Forest where his manager was Gary Megson. “I really liked him,” said Cullip. “He was an honest guy; what you see is what you get with him.

“Unfortunately, I missed my first pre-season with Forest due to what was ongoing at United, so I was playing catch-up with the rest of the lads and ended up suffering a hamstring injury. It was a problem that would dog me for the rest of my career.”

He was restricted to a handful of appearances in his first season with Forest but he eventually became a regular in a three-man defence alongside Wes Morgan and Ian Breckin.

DC Forest Cullip in action for Forest, marking Albion’s Alex Revell

In January 2007, he was on the move again, to Queens Park Rangers, where former Albion player John Gregory was in charge. But his 18-month deal was terminated early after one of their many managerial changes saw him surplus to requirements.

With his family based in Sussex, Cullip looked for an opening in the south and spent six weeks training with Millwall before linking up with Gillingham, where he played from February 2008 to the end of the 2007-08 season.

He then played non-league with Lewes but, after a season, the hamstring injury forced him to retire.

Alongside his former Albion centre half partner Guy Butters, Cullip is now a coach with the Albion in the Community scheme.

Skilful Joao Teixeira scored six as Seagulls escaped the drop

THERE were few positive aspects to Sami Hyypia’s reign as Brighton manager but his Liverpool connections served the club sufficiently well enough to enable them to secure the loan signing of Joao Teixeira.

Here was a highly talented young player who often had supporters on the edge of their seats when he was on the ball.

It seems remarkable to think his six goals in 35 games (28 starts + seven as sub) for the Seagulls made him second top scorer behind Lewis Dunk’s seven in the 2014-15 season, when Albion narrowly avoided dropping out of the Championship.

Joao THis performances earned him the Young Player of the Year accolade even though his season was cut short by injury.

Having impressed as a substitute going on for Albion against Birmingham, Teixeira was on the scoresheet in his first full start, in a 2-0 win away to Leeds United. Hyypiä told Sky Sports: “Of course I am grateful to them for letting Joao come to us and get the games he needs, but it works both ways. They can benefit too because his time with us can hopefully be a stepping stone towards Liverpool’s first team.

“He is a young player and Liverpool have a very big squad. A player of his age needs to play games to improve. We have a quality player and I am very happy to have him with us.”

JT BHAFCThe Portuguese youngster scored again four days later, netting the winner as Albion came from behind to beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at the Amex.

Sadly, with the Seagulls floundering under the puzzling direction of the former Liverpool central defender, Teixeira didn’t get back on the scoresheet until after Chris Hughton arrived on New Year’s Eve 2014.

He twice scored braces (in a 3-2 home win over Ipswich on 21 January and a 4-3 home win over Birmingham on 21 February) but a leg break in a home game against Huddersfield Town on 14 April brought his season, and Albion career, to a premature end.

Born in Braga, Portugal, on 18 January 1993, he first caught the eye with his hometown club, before being snapped up by Sporting Lisbon where he continued to make progress through its youth teams.

Liverpool paid £830,000 in the January 2012 transfer window to take him to Anfield and he impressed playing for their under 21 side which led to him making a loan move to League One Brentford in August 2013. But what was originally due to be a six-month arrangement was cut short in October after only two substitute appearances because the Bees couldn’t guarantee him the game time Liverpool had been expecting him to get.

Back on Merseyside, he made it into the first team squad and on 12 February 2014 Brendan Rodgers sent him on as a substitute for Raheem Sterling in a 3-2 win at Fulham.

getty liv TeixCaptain Steven Gerrard told the Liverpool FC website: “I watched this kid a couple of years ago playing for Sporting Lisbon against Liverpool at Anfield in a youth game; I could see straight away he was the best player on the pitch.

“Credit to him, he has kept working hard. He has been invited to train with the first team. He is competing, he is trying to improve and learn. He listens – I’ve just been speaking to him in the dressing room and you can see he wants to learn and listen.

“He has got respect for the other players in the dressing room. This is the start for him now; I’ve just told him that he needs to push on, keep learning and building on what he has just achieved. He deserved his debut and he made a special tackle which helped us get over the line.”

As it turned out, his next senior action came at Brighton and he had to wait until October 2015 before his next chance at Liverpool. That came in a League Cup game in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth. He went on to make five cup appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in 2015-16, and scored his only goal for the club in a 3-0 FA Cup win over Exeter City. But he appeared only once in the Premier League.

Although Liverpool offered him a new contract, he chose to return to Portugal and join Porto. After making only eight appearances during the 2016-17 season, Teixeira joined hometown club Braga on a season-long loan, and this season is playing for Primeira Liga side Vitoria Guimaraes.

Ice man Ivar slotted in well to Coppell’s relegation battlers

VERSATILE ICELAND international Ivar Ingimarsson was one of the first players Steve Coppell turned to when manager at three different clubs.

The combative defender or midfield player originally played for Coppell at Brentford and, after the former Palace boss took charge of the Seagulls, Ingimarsson was brought in on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Later, when he managed Reading, Ingimarsson joined Coppell’s new regime at the Madejeski Stadium, and went on to become a legendary part of their rise to the elite.

Ingimarsson arrived at the Withdean Stadium in February 2003 making his Albion debut in a 1-0 away win at Bradford City on 15 February. He took over from Robbie Pethick and kept the no.20 shirt through to the end of the season.

Ivar action

In an interview with Brian Owen of The Argus in 2016, he said it was one of his best times in English football, and described how Coppell set up teams in a way players could understand.

“That is what Steve Coppell did there – and with Reading,” he said. “Brighton was up there as one of the best times. I loved the city and the atmosphere and the buildings and culture.

“I think if we had played like that for the whole season, we would have been well up the table. That had a lot to do with Steve Coppell.”

Born in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik on 20 August 1977, Ingimarsson was raised in the tiny village of Stöðvarfjörður in the east of the country and after taking up football locally he went on to play for Valur between 1995 and 1997, then moved on to IBV, a side which won the double of Icelandic Premier League and Icelandic Cup in 1998.

He played for Iceland’s under 17 international side 16 times in the 1993-94 season, represented the under 19s 11 times in 1995-96, move up to the under 21s and played 14 times between 1996 and 1999 and then over nine years played for the full international side 30 times.

Eyeing a move to England in 1999, Ingimarsson initially went on loan to Torquay United in October that year but after only four appearances his parent club did a permanent deal with Brentford which saw him sign for £150,000.

Ingimarsson spent nearly three years with the Bees, making 113 appearances, and was player of the year in the 2001-02 season which culminated in the side losing the Second Division play-off final to Stoke City.

It seems financial pressure forced Brentford to release the player on a free transfer and Wolves boss Dave Jones snapped him up and took him to Molineux.

S Rodger v Ivor Ingimarsson“I’m really looking forward to playing for Wolves,” Ingimarsson (pictured above being tackled by Albion’s Simon Rodger) told the club’s official website. “I was impressed with what Dave Jones had to say to me and although I knew other clubs were interested in me I knew this was the place to be.

“It’s a big club with big ambitions and I want to be a part of it. People say that Wolves should be in the Premier League and everyone seems determined to put that right this year.”

However, his opportunities at Wolves were limited and he made just 13 appearances for them, one of which included a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton which was Coppell’s fourth game in charge. Three months later, Coppell took the opportunity to take Ingimarsson to Brighton to try to bolster the club’s efforts to stay in the second tier after a disastrous start under Martin Hinshelwood.

Ingimarsson initially joined for a month but ended up staying to the end of the season, making 15 appearances as Coppell’s side fought a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful fight to stay in the division.

ivar ingimarssonOn signing him, Coppell told bbc.co.uk: “He’s a terrific athlete. He will fit in with the players we have and that’s an important ingredient in anyone coming to this club.

“It’s an extra body. We’ve got seven games coming in March and I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if we lost matches because of lack of numbers and personnel.”

Once Coppell had been poached by Reading to succeed Alan Pardew as manager of Reading, Ingimarsson was one of the first signings he made, for a £175,000 fee. There he linked up once again with Steve Sidwell, who Coppell had also managed at Brentford and Brighton.

It was at the Madejeski that Ingimarsson enjoyed the most successful period of his career, forming a defensive partnership with Ibrahima Sonko, which he talked about in an interview with Stuart Fagg.

Over eight years at the club, the popular Icelander amassed a total of 282 appearances for the Royals. He was part of the side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2006, he was voted player of the year in 2006-07 and, in 2009, took over as club captain.

After his time at Reading came to an end in 2011, he was offered a one-year deal by Paul Jewell at Ipswich Town but, with his appearances restricted to six starts and two off the bench, he mutually agreed to leave Portman Road in January 2012.

On retirement from the game aged 34, he returned to his home in the east of Iceland where he runs two guest houses and a farm, which he spoke about in that extended interview with Brian Owen of The Argus.

Winger Walker a genuine crowd-pleasing entertainer

CW Nobo 91 progIN MY OPINION, one of the best wingers ever to pull on the famous blue and white stripes was Clive Walker, an evergreen player who remarkably played more than 1,000 games for eight clubs.

Although well into his 30s when he arrived at the Goldstone Ground, the balding former Chelsea and Fulham wideman was an effervescent talent with the ball at his feet.

Asked by the Argus to preview the squad ahead of the 1991 Division Two play-off final at Wembley, Brighton coach Martin Hinshelwood said of him: “Alias Phil Collins. A great character. The dressing room buzzes when he is around. He is good on the ball, a great crosser and has scored some great goals this season.”

Both Albion’s wingers for that game had Wembley experience behind them having been on opposing sides in in the 1985 League Cup Final.

Walker had missed a penalty for Sunderland as Mark Barham’s Norwich City won 1-0 and six years later, against Neil Warnock’s Notts County, Walker’s bad luck continued when a Wembley post denied him as Brighton’s dream of promotion ended in a 3-1 defeat.

Both had played big parts in Albion reaching Wembley, though: Barham levelled for the Seagulls in the first leg of the semi-final at home to Millwall and Walker got the third when the Seagulls upturned the form book and beat Bruce Rioch’s side 4-1.

Born on 26 May 1957 in Oxford, Walker joined Chelsea in 1973, made his league debut in a 1-0 defeat away to Burnley on 23 April 1977 and was a first team squad regular between December 1977 and the summer of 1984, although, in 1979, Chelsea loaned Walker to Fort Lauderdale Strikers (as pictured below) where he scored nine goals in 22 appearances.

CW Fort Laud

“Those were exciting, lively times and we loved our football. We were a bunch of young lads growing up together and, in my last couple of years there, I played with the likes of Kerry Dixon for the side who brought good times back on the pitch,” Walker told Mike Walters of the Mirror. “We were a close-knit bunch with a great sense of camaraderie, and a lot of teams these days would probably envy us in that regard.”

A fast winger with the knack of scoring stunning goals, Walker netted 17 in 1981-1982 and the next season, with Chelsea looking set to be relegated to Division Three, fans still remember how he scored the winner at Bolton Wanderers to maintain their status.

Details of many of his memorable moments at Chelsea are highlighted by the Sporting Heroes website.

And a Chelsea fans’ blog, Game of the People emphasised the impact he had at Stamford Bridge, pointing out: “He was left-footed, as quick as a sprinter and awkward to knock off the ball. And he could shoot! Those that liked wingers were excited by his willingness to run between players and take a pot shot at goal. Put simply, he was exciting to watch.”

In what is an otherwise interesting and informative piece about Walker in 2014, they unfortunately failed to mention his successful stint with the Seagulls.

Although he began the 1983-84 season well, he sustained a broken jaw which put him out for several weeks and, during his absence, another nippy winger – Pat Nevin – seized the opportunity to claim a first-team spot and Walker’s Stamford Bridge days were numbered.

3-2 N v Sun CWalker

Come the end of the season, he was allowed to join Sunderland (above in action v Newcastle) for a fee of £70,000. “He returned to torment Chelsea in the Football League Cup semi-final second leg, scoring twice in what was a dreadful night for the club,” Game of the People observed. “Walker was abused from the stands, too, which was especially heartbreaking for those that appreciated his efforts at the Bridge.”

After two years in the north-east, Walker returned to London in September 1985, initially via a £75,000 move to Jim Smith’s First Division (Premier League equivalent) QPR, where he played 28 games in the 1986-87 season, alongside the likes of David Seaman, Michael Robinson and John Byrne. Just 20 months later, he left on a free transfer to Third Division Fulham for whom he made 127 appearances in three years, scoring 32 goals.

His debut was certainly memorable as he scored twice in a 3-1 home win over York City. Writer Ian McCulloch remembered the occasion in an article on fulhamfc.com.

“Fulham were in the doldrums, on the brink of extinction, owned by property developers, and going nowhere fast. And then, in the midst of all the doom and gloom, appeared one of football’s all-time, genuine crowd-pleasing entertainers. Walker ran the show that night, scored twice, and generally lifted both the fans and the team.”

Walker recalled: “That game really does stand out. And in the pouring rain as well! To score two goals on your debut is very special, and I just look back at it as a fabulous memory. Very, very enjoyable.”

Walker explained that it was Ray Lewington who took him to Craven Cottage, adding: “I had a great rapport with him – of course we were both apprentices at Chelsea – and we’re still good friends today. But then other managers came in, and you couldn’t escape the feeling that the club was going backwards and that was very, very sad because I had a lovely time at Fulham and I’ve got some very fond memories of those years. I loved playing at the Cottage and on the Cottage pitch.”

Walker picked up Fulham’s 1989-90 Player of the Year award before former Fulham captain Barry Lloyd went back to his old club to secure Walker’s services for the Seagulls in the summer of 1990. Even though he was the wrong side of 30, he pulled on the no.11 shirt on his debut away to Barnsley (in a side containing his old Chelsea teammate Gary Chivers in defence) and missed only one game all season as Albion nearly made it back to the elite level.

After that Wembley disappointment and only three games into the new season, Walker suffered another blow when he sustained a serious knee ligament injury away to Barnsley which sidelined him for several weeks.

With the previous season’s goalscoring duo Mike Small and John Byrne having been sold for big money, the side struggled, and eventually ended up being relegated.

Emerging young winger John Robinson had slotted into Walker’s place in the side during his absence although it was Barham who was the odd man out when Walker was fit to return to the line-up.

Back in the third tier the following season, although the return of Steve Foster in defence was a plus point, off the field the rumblings of financial meltdown grew louder and louder. Young Robinson was sold to Charlton Athletic and only the proceeds of the sale of goalkeeper Mark Beeney to Leeds United kept the taxman at bay when there was a winding-up order threat hanging over the club.

Three cup games against Manchester United were rare highlights in that precarious season and one of my favourite Walker moments came at Old Trafford in a League Cup replay on 7 October 1992.

Having managed a 1-1 draw against United in the first game, Albion gave United quite a scare in the replay, largely through Walker giving England full-back Paul Parker a torrid time. I watched the game sat amongst United supporters and they were full of praise for the veteran winger, albeit that United edged it 1-0.

Walker’s final appearance in an Albion shirt came on 24 April 1993 when he came on as a substitute for Matthew Edwards in a 2-1 home defeat to Rotherham United. Alas, as he recounted in an interview with Spencer Vignes for the matchday programme, his time with the Albion came to a sour end.

Together with Chivers and Perry Digweed he was let go by Lloyd apparently because he said as the highest earners the club could no longer afford them. He was unceremoniously ushered out of the door with his boots in a bin bag. “That was the thank-you we got from Brighton,” he said.

When most players would be considering hanging up their boots, at the age of 36, Walker left Brighton and moved into non-league with Woking where he scored 91 goals in 210 games.

A poster called NewAdventuresinWiFi, on Sunderland’s readytogo.net fans website, recalled watching Walker play for Woking, and said: “Walker was an absolute class act when he fancied it. He was instrumental in the cup run of 96-97 when Millwall and Cambridge were dispatched and Premiership Coventry given an almighty fright.

“Also remember a Conference game against Altrincham when we put seven past them and Walker was unplayable that day…to the point the opposition full back ended up getting a straight red for a frustrated desperate two footed ‘challenge’ he attempted on Clive after yet another glorious attacking run.”

Another poster, JumpingAnaconda, remembered: “I saw him playing for Woking in a minor cup final at Vicarage Road, in the season where he won a few big games for them in their FA Cup run. He was 40 years old and he was absolutely quality, up and down the line all night. That season there was some talk of Premiership sides looking at him to come in to do a job for them. His level of fitness was incredible. He ran around like a 20-year-old. He was probably the closest we would get to another Stanley Matthews in the Premiership era in terms of a winger that kept his pace, creativity, ability to beat a man and make crosses into his 40s.”

From Woking, he had a spell as the assistant manager at Brentford under Eddie May but then went back to playing, at Cheltenham Town. Finally, after winning the FA Trophy and the League, he retired at the grand old age of 43, although he continued to turn out for Chelsea Veterans teams.
He had a brief excursion into management with Molesey but a career in the media took off and he became a regular and well-known voice with BBC London, and for Sky TV’s coverage of Conference football.

CW on Chels TVWalker has also worked for Talksport and appears regularly with former Chelsea and Spurs player Jason Cundy on Chelsea TV and radio (as above).

Pictures from a variety of sources but mainly the Albion matchday programme.

‘Have boots, will travel’ striker Steve Claridge mixed it with Lions, Wolves, Foxes – and Seagulls

VETERAN striker Steve Claridge, who saw service with 22 professional and semi-professional clubs, helped Brighton to one of the most amazing smash-and-grab raid wins I’ve ever seen as an Albion fan.

The former Millwall forward answered a plea from his old Lions boss Mark McGhee in November 2004 which paid off big time when the Seagulls snatched a 1-0 win away to West Ham United.

It was the first of only five games Claridge played for second-tier Brighton after McGhee turned to a player who had delivered for him during his spell in charge of Millwall.

Albion went into the game at the Boleyn Ground on 13 November 2004 on the back of three defeats and McGhee was desperate to stem a tide which had seen eight goals conceded and no points on the board.

A trip to West Ham (who ended up being promoted via the play-offs that season) was a daunting prospect if the bad run was to be halted.

However, as McGhee pointed out: “We approached the game differently. Whereas before we thought we could win, today we did not, and played to make sure we didn’t get beaten.

“We kept the ball up front more which is important. Steve Claridge was key to that.

“He is one of the fittest players I’ve worked with and I had no doubt that after 18 months away from this level he would be able to perform.”

Claridge in action at Upton Park

Centre back Guy Butters headed the only goal of the game on 68 minutes from Richard Carpenter’s pinpoint pass and the Seagulls held out for an unlikely three points. Hammers boss Alan Pardew had to admit: “Technically they were perfect and obviously came here to play deep and try and nick it on a set piece, which is what they did.”

Claridge’s professional career looked to have run its course after he left Millwall in 2003 and became player-manager of Southern League side Weymouth.

But the disappointment of missing out on promotion had seen him and chairman Ian Ridley leave the club and Claridge, at the age of 38, was keen to give league football another go.

McGhee knew the qualities Claridge could bring to his ailing side having been a popular figure as Millwall came close to promotion from the second tier.

The West Ham success didn’t spark a great revival in Albion’s fortunes, however, and there was only one more win (1-0 at home to Rotherham) during Claridge’s month with the club.

In one of those strange footballing quirks of fate, his fifth and final game for the Seagulls came away to Millwall (see Argus picture at top of article) on 11 December 2004, when Albion lost 2-0.

Claridge said all the right things in a programme feature about him that day, included likening the circumstances of both clubs. “The club has no money and it is tough just to survive, but everyone is in it together,” he said. “At Millwall we had a great team spirit and togetherness, and that is very much the case here.”

Unfortunately, it seemed money was the obstacle that precluded Claridge’s stay at Albion being extended and, after his deal was over, rather than it being one last hurrah, he went on to continue his league playing days at Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Gillingham, Bradford City and Walsall.

Then, at the age of 40, and with him needing just one more game to fulfil the landmark of 1,000 professional games, his old club Bournemouth gave him a match against Port Vale on 9 December 2006. No fairy tale, though, as they lost 4-0.

Born in Portsmouth on 10 April 1966, there aren’t many clubs in Hampshire and Dorset that Claridge has not had some kind of association with! Having been brought up in Titchfield, he started out with nearby Fareham Town in 1983. AFC Bournemouth took him on and gave him his debut in 1984 but he only played seven games before moving to Weymouth for three years.

Crystal Palace offered him a route back to the full professional game in 1988 but he didn’t make their league side, instead moving on to fourth tier Aldershot Town.

In two spells with Cambridge United, he scored 46 goals in 132 games. A falling out with manager John Beck saw him sold to Luton Town, and then bought back after Beck’s departure!

Nearly two years later, Birmingham City paid £350,000 to take Claridge to St Andrews and he became one of the club’s most prolific goalscorers, netting 35 in 88 games.

Such form eventually saw him switch to Leicester City and Claridge wrote himself into Foxes’ folklore, scoring winning goals in a play-off final to earn promotion to the elite level, and in the 1997 League Cup Final over Middlesbrough, the last time the competition staged a final replay. That, though, came after an ignominious beginning with Leicester.

McGhee’s successor as manager, Martin O’Neill, signed him for £1.2m in March 1996 and his early form was dreadful. Astonishingly, it seemed his poor start might well have been related to the wrong medication he had been taking for a heart defect for EIGHTEEN years, according to this official Leicester City website report.

In 1998, Leicester sent Claridge on loan to his hometown club, Portsmouth, but, in March 1998, McGhee, then boss at Wolves and seemingly at odds with more established strikers at the club, took Claridge to Molineux for a £350,000 fee. Only five months later he was sold to Portsmouth for £250,000.

Writer Dan Levelle said on an amusing Wolves’ fan website: “He was that amazing food blender you saw at your mate’s house, but you can’t get it to work at all for love nor money.”

claridge Wolves1

Claridge’s time at Molineux was clearly not appreciated by the Molineux faithful, as Levelle revealed in this 2012 piece.

Even more galling for Wolves followers was that no sooner had Claridge made the switch to Portsmouth, he was scoring a hat-trick against them in a 3-1 win at Fratton Park!

The goals and games came thick and fast for Claridge back on home turf – 34 in 104 – but his reign as player-manager at Fratton Park in 2000 was curtailed after just 25 games.

Remembering the player he’d seen only briefly a couple of years earlier, McGhee, by now in charge at Millwall, offered the striker a lifeline with the Lions, initially on loan and then as a permanent signing.

He joined on a temporary basis to cover a period when current boss Neil Harris was banned following a sending off, but, after he hit the ground running, was then tied to a permanent deal, as this Millwall blog post described in 2016.

Writer Mark Litchfield summed him up brilliantly when he said: “His style was unconventional, to say the least: shirt untucked, one sock down and no shin pads, any naïve defender probably thought they could eat him for breakfast. But hard work was a pre-requisite for Claridge – he wouldn’t give any opposition player a moment’s rest and would more often than not always get the better of them, too.”

Few could doubt Claridge’s enthusiasm for the game, as he told the Bradford Telegraph & Argus during his time in Yorkshire.

Even after achieving the 1,000-game landmark courtesy of Bournemouth, Claridge couldn’t resist the lure of another game, turning out for Worthing, Harrow Borough, Weymouth, Gosport Borough and Salisbury.

Many younger readers will know Claridge as a pundit who worked extensively for the BBC on TV and radio and he now coaches youngsters in Salisbury and Warsash through his own scheme, the Steve Claridge Football Foundation.

Claridge

Peter Taylor disciple Junior Lewis helped Seagulls to promotion

JunLewJUNIOR LEWIS was a loyal disciple of Peter Taylor, linking up with him as a player or a coach at EIGHT different clubs.

Although he didn’t win the support of too many Leicester City fans during his time with the Foxes, his arrival for the final third of Brighton’s 2001-02 season helped them to claim the third tier crown.

One particular game stands out in the memory, and it came on a rain-soaked night against league leaders Reading at the Withdean Stadium.

I recollect watching the action from the front row of the covered east side of the ground – the roof affording no protection whatsoever as the rain swept in.

Reading hadn’t lost in 12 games but with Bobby Zamora in sparkling form, Albion beat the Royals 3-1.

Lewis marked his debut with a simple tap-in after Zamora had set him up. The striker with the golden touch had scored his 26th goal of the season to give Albion the lead on 59 minutes and then provided the assist for an unstoppable strike by Steve Melton.

Five days later, Lewis scored the only goal of the game at home to Huddersfield  and, as promotion came properly into view, boss Taylor talked to the Argus about the difference he had made to the side.

Brighton went on to overtake Reading to claim the title, rounding off the season with a 1-0 win away to Port Vale. Lewis finished with three goals in 15 appearances as the side Taylor inherited from Adams lifted the championship trophy.

lewis applaudsBorn in Wembley on 9 October 1973, Lewis was on Fulham’s books as a youngster and made it through to the first team, his debut coming as a substitute in a league game against Burnley in October 1992.

But he played only six games at first team level before dropping into non-league and playing for three years with Dover Athletic – where he was first managed by Taylor.

He went on to play for Hayes and Hendon before getting back into league football under Taylor at Gillingham.

In a season and a half with the Gills, he played 59 games before Taylor, by now manager of Premiership Leicester City, took him there initially on loan and then as a permanent signing in 2001.

Although he was a Leicester player for three years, he managed only 30 appearances for the Foxes because Taylor’s successors as manager sent him out on loan.

After the temporary move to Brighton, Lewis had two spells on loan at Swindon Town the following year, then, in 2004, he was reunited with Taylor at Hull City, initially on loan and then on a permanent basis.

After 52 appearances for Hull, he had fleeting spells with Brentford, Milton Keynes Dons, Edgware Town and Stevenage Borough.

He joined Taylor’s backroom staff as a coach at Wycombe Wanderers and then moved in a similar capacity when Taylor was appointed as boss at Bradford City, the eighth club where they’d worked together.

“I’ve worked with him at every level from the Conference right up to the Premier League and been lucky enough to get promotion at a lot of those clubs,” Lewis told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. “I know how the manager works and how he likes things done from playing for him and working under him as a coach.”

In a FourFourTwo magazine article by Nick Moore on 19 February 2016, Lewis reckoned Taylor always sought him out because he reminded him of his younger self.

“We were both two-footed, but mainly left-footed, and we relied on a similar trick – feinting to cross but chopping back onto your right foot,” Lewis explained. “I watched a video of him play once and I thought: ‘I do that’.

“He trusted me to keep things ticking over. I fitted his philosophy, and he brought the best out in me. But I didn’t assume that when he moved, I’d automatically follow. When he took over Leicester in the Premier League I did really hope I’d join, but I didn’t hear from him for ages.”

Lewis also reckoned operating in a difficult position was a way to become a favourite. “I was always a two-footed holding midfielder. There aren’t a lot of us around, compared to more attacking players, probably because you don’t get as much glory.

“So, having me in that role meant Peter always knew he had one position sorted.”

Before joining Taylor at Bradford, Lewis had continued playing at Welwyn Garden City and after leaving Bradford pulled on the boots once more as player-coach back at Hendon in 2014.

To the astonishment of many, Lewis was named first team coach of Leeds United in June 2014, when the relatively unknown Dave Hockaday was appointed their manager, but the role lasted only a couple of months as the pair were sacked by controversial owner Massimo Cellino after a poor start which included a 2-0 defeat at home to Brighton on 19 August.

In 2015-16 Lewis was coaching Canvey Island before moving on to become first team coach at Barnet, when former Seagull Darren Currie took over as boss from the veteran John Still.  Lewis and Currie were relieved of their duties at Barnet in August 2020 when the club had to restructure after missing out on promotion back to the League.