JOHN NAPIER is still coaching youngsters in America as he approaches his 76th birthday. NICK TURRELL’s In Parallel Lines blog caught up with him for a trip down memory lane. Here, in the fourth of five articles, he recalls his Albion teammates and some memorable opponents.
AS A YOUNG lad starting out watching Brighton in the late ‘60s, I assumed two players sharing the same not-particularly-common surname must have been brothers.
But defender John Napier and striker Kit Napier spoke with different accents.
“I think back then most people thought we were brothers, but we had to explain he was from Scotland and I was from Northern Ireland,” he said.
“But I was a great friend of Kit’s. Our families spent a lot of time together. I even went up one summer with Kit to Dunblane in Scotland where he was from, and we had a great time.
“Kit was a really good player. He knew how to finish in the box, a real goal shark. He was quick over short distances and scored some great goals over his time at Brighton.
“You would not see him for a while and then, like all good goalscorers, he would jump in with a half chance, and you would think ‘Where did he come from’?”
Napier was sorry to hear of Kit’s death in 2019. “His son did keep in touch with me from South Africa and kept me up to date with what was happening,” he said.
“I know he will always be remembered fondly in Brighton.”
The towering centre-half spoke warmly about the team spirit he experienced during his time with the Albion.
In that 1971-72 promotion squad, Napier was one of three Northern Irish internationals, and I wondered whether their nationality gave them a special bond.
“We were all good friends and spent family times together,” he said. “The great thing about Brighton back then was how all the players jelled together.
“There were no cliques in the group. We all liked being together, it did not matter which part of the country we were from. When we went out, it was always as a group with families.
“Willie Irvine was another known for his goalscoring ability, much like Kit Napier; sharp around the box and tried to get on the end of every cross in the box.
“I remember Willie scoring a great goal for us against Aston Villa in our promotion year.”
And Bertie Lutton? “Bertie was also a good player. He had some flair about his movement with the ball. I remember his long flowing head locks back then also.
“Both were well received by the Goldstone crowds. We had several Irish players through the years.”
Sadly, having been based in America for a good many years, Napier has not managed to stay in touch with his former teammates, although, via this article, he issued an open invitation to any of them to get in touch with him.
“I did talk to George Ley, who lived in Dallas, a couple of times, and Kit Napier’s family in South Africa,” he said.
“I did see Peter O’Sullivan when Brighton were over in America on a tour in the 80s, but nothing else. I wish I had.
“I knew that Dave Turner was coaching in Canada, Stewart Henderson was at Southampton coaching for a long-time.
“But I was also at Bradford many years before I came to America in 1979, so I completely lost touch.
“The years have gone by so fast.”
In my previous article, I referred to Pat Saward’s praise for Napier’s handling of marksman Ted MacDougall, so I wondered who were the toughest opponents he faced.
“That’s a good question: back then the old Third Division was a tough league, it didn’t matter who you played against,” he said. “You were in for a physical battle in every game. It was never easy.”
The big man continued: “I did not really pay attention to who I was marking. I always went out with the mindset to get my job done for the club.
“We would talk about individuals sometimes, and what their strengths were, but very rarely worried too much about players.
“MacDougall was at Bournemouth at the time: he was a handful. Andy Lochhead at Aston Villa was another. I am sure there were many more, but I did not lose sleep thinking about how I was going to stop players.
“There were good days and bad days, which we all had. But if we were on the winning side, it was always a good day!”
Napier added: “I met up with Ted MacDougall a few years ago when we were both in a US coaching class in Los Angeles.
“He was based in Atlanta at the time. We talked about old times and battles we had through the years. It is amazing how many former UK players are living over here in the States, working in various coaching positions.”
• In the final part of this series of articles, the blog looks at how Napier got into coaching, the influences he sought, and what he’s doing now.
He 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!
In parallel lines 