JOHN NAPIER is still coaching youngsters in America at the age of 75. NICK TURRELL’s In Parallel Lines blog caught up with him for a trip down memory lane. Here, in the third of five articles, we look at how it all began.
This cracking Bolton News picture shows Napier leading out Bolton’s under 18 side at Bromwich Street in January 1963, during the big freeze of that winter.
JOHN NAPIER was born in Lurgan, 18 miles south west of Belfast, on 23 September 1946.
Napier was football daft from a young age and he said: “Looking back at my childhood, I always wanted it from a young age. It was my dream. I had two uncles that played at pro level in Northern Ireland and they worked with me at a young age.
“I would say they toughened me up. I was never afraid to try new things. I left home at 15 to pursue my dreams, and it worked out. It was not easy – it never is – but you must keep at it. Failure was not an option in those times.”
In another interview, Napier said he adopted Spurs as his favourite side when he was 10 or 12. He had three uncles living in north London who were all avid Tottenham supporters and they would send him programmes, pictures and pennants that the youngster put up on his bedroom wall.
Napier was good enough to represent his country at every level. He played for the schoolboy side at under 15 and under 16 level, and was the youngest Irish player, at 17, in the youth side that reached the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Championshiptournament in April 1963.
In front of a crowd of 34,582 at Wembley, he had the misfortune to score an own goal with his head after only five minutes and England went on to beat the Irish 4-0 (Ray Whittaker, Jon Sammels and John Sissons scoring the other goals).
Remarkably, Northern Ireland’s greatest ever player, George Best, only played in two youth internationals for his country.
Napier was in the same side as Best when the Irish drew 1-1 with England at Boundary Park, Oldham, on 11 May 1963.
A week later they were selected together again and Best scored his country’s goal as they drew 1-1 with Wales in Aberystwyth.
After winning his only full cap against West Germany in 1966 (see previous article), Napier won two Under-23 caps, also both against Wales. He was in the side that beat Wales 2-1 at Windsor Park, Belfast on 22 February 1967, although the game was abandoned on 72 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch and Welsh and Irish sources differ as to whether the result stood.
Napier had moved to the Albion by the time he made his second appearance; this time the game took place at Ninian Park, Cardiff, on 20 March 1968 and the Irish included the likes of Pat Rice, Tommy Jackson, Dave Clements, Bryan Hamilton and Sammy Todd, who all became established full internationals. But the game was the last of Napier’s international career, at the age of 21.
As Napier said above, he was only 15 when he joined Bolton, choosing them over Everton and Sunderland, who had also shown an interest.
“I really enjoyed my early experience at Bolton,” he told thefootballnetwork.net. “George Taylor and George Hunt, my first coaches at Bolton, and also Nat Lofthouse had a lot to do with my early development. I used to talk to Nat a lot about my game.”
Napier training with Francis Lee and Brian Bromley
Napier rose through the youth ranks alongside the likes of Brian Bromley, Dave Hatton and future England and Manchester City star Francis Lee.
The boots of longstanding centre half Bryan Edwards were big ones to fill but Bolton boss Bill Ridding gave Napier the opportunity to stake his claim. He made his first appearances in the senior side in the final two games of the 1964-1965 season.
Napier helped the side keep clean sheets against Leyton Orient and Cardiff City as the Trotters just missed out on promotion, finishing third, as Newcastle went up as champions along with runners up Northampton Town.
As well as Lee and Bromley, Bolton at that time had a side that included Welsh international striker Wyn Davies (often Napier’s roommate for away matches), England international goalkeeper Eddie Hopkinson and Gordon Taylor, who went on to become chairman of the PFA.
For the following 18 months, Napier was a regular at the heart of the Bolton defence, missing just three games in his first full season and playing a part in the game against Charlton Athletic which saw the Addicks’ Keith Peacock become the first substitute used in English football when replacing goalkeeper Mike Rose in a game at Burnden Park on 21st August 1965.
The Ulsterman himself was involved in the first ever Bolton substitution when, following injury, he was replaced in the 3-2 defeat at home to Southampton by Gordon Taylor.
• In the next instalment of this five-part series of articles, Napier describes the camaraderie that existed amongst the Brighton players during his time at the club, and his approach to the opponents he faced.
FIFTY years ago, Brighton spent the summer preparing for life in the old Second Division having won promotion in front of 30,000+ crowds at the Goldstone Ground.For one player, though, his five years at the heart of the Albion’s defence – many as the club captain – were drawing to a close.
Seven years later, John Napier moved permanently to the United States to embark on a new life. Today, at the age of 75, he is still coaching. NICK TURRELL’s In Parallel Lines blog caught up with him for a trip back down memory lane.
Here, in the first of five articles, John reflects on the highlight of his career, how he came to join the Albion, and his appointment as club captain.
A BRIGHTON captain in the making faced Uwe Seeler, Franz Beckenbauer and Co in a warm-up game for the 1966 World Cup tournament in England.
It was the one and only time John Napier appeared as a full international for Northern Ireland, but that day on 7 May 1966 has lived with him into his old age.
Napier at 75 still treasures his Irish international shirt
“Walking out at Windsor Park, Belfast, against West Germany was probably the biggest highlight of my soccer career,” he said. “All my family were there watching and afterwards we had a large dinner and I was sat directly across from Uwe Seeler and Franz Beckenbauer. It was some night I will never forget.”
A crowd of 22,000 at Windsor Park saw the country who’d two months later take England into extra time at the World Cup final secure a 2-0 win courtesy of goals by Seeler and Fredy Heiß.
The call-up was reward for Napier’s form with second tier Bolton Wanderers, where he had just been named Player of the Season.
Against the Germans, Napier, aged just 19, played alongside Terry Neill and in front of the great Pat Jennings. One of the full-backs that day, Jimmy Magill, who was coming to the end of his international career, had already moved from Arsenal to Brighton by then. Magill came from the same town, Lurgan, as Napier.
Napier did get selected to play for his country again, after he’d joined the Albion. He was due to play in a friendly against Israel in Tel Aviv in 1968.
But as Napier recalled: “Before we were due to fly out from Heathrow, we were told that there had been an uprising in the Middle East, and it would not be safe to play the game under those circumstances.
“I was looking forward to that game as Terry Neill had an injury and it was a chance for me to get back in the national side again, so it was disappointing.”
By the time the fixture was rearranged (in September the same year), Napier was out of the picture. For the record, Northern Ireland won 3-2; Napier’s future Albion teammate Willie Irvine scored twice with Derek Dougan netting the other.
“Although I loved my time at Brighton, I felt the international chances did not come back as I would have liked,” Napier reflected. “I did get selected a few times but I also got injured and missed a chance to play against England. There was also a Scotland game at Hampden which clashed with a Brighton League Cup game where I was not released. Being behind Terry Neill (the Arsenal skipper) did not help either because he never missed many games.”
At £25,000, 20-year-old Napier was a record signing by the Albion when Archie Macaulay persuaded him to leave Burnden Park and head for the south coast at the start of the 1967-68 season.
“£25,000 was a lot back then,” Napier recalled. “Brighton had come in with a £20,000 first offer which Bolton refused. I don’t think at the time that Bolton wanted to let me go, so I was told, so they kept refusing offers from Brighton. There were a couple of other clubs in at the time, so that is why the fee went to £25,000.”
The Irishman continued: “It was a difficult decision because I was still young and ambitious. But, at the same time, I felt I needed to break from Bolton for a fresh start and Brighton came in with a very good offer that Bolton accepted.
“I had gone through a sticky patch the last few months at Bolton, being in and out of the first team. I had made my debut at Bolton before my 19th birthday and was an ever present in the first team for a long time. I was voted Bolton Player of the Year in 1966 so I was well liked in the town and never felt like I would be anywhere else.”
Nevertheless, he admitted that he asked for a transfer because he was not getting on with the Bolton management. “I was strong willed and I went to talk to Nat Lofthouse (the club’s legendary former centre forward who was part of the second team training staff).
“I always admired him as a person and a player,” said Napier. “He did not say go but he did say I was still very young and had my whole career in front of me. So, it was a big decision, but it was also a large financial decision, because I did make a good amount through signing-on fees, wages and also a bonus from Bolton because I had been there since I was 15. So, financially, I was so much better off at Brighton.”
He continued: “When you are young like I was, things change fast, and they sure did for me. I left many of the players I had grown up with in the Bolton youth teams and many great players I was playing with: Francis Lee, big Wyn Davies, Freddie Hill, Eddie Hopkinson – all internationals.”
At Brighton, Napier quickly established a formidable partnership with Norman Gall at the back, so what was the secret of their success?
Napier and Gall at the heart of the team picture – as well as defence
“I loved playing at the back alongside Norman,” Napier explained. “We had a good understanding of what was needed in the middle at the back.
“We hit it off straight away and played many times together, and so consistently. We were tough and could read and feed of each other.
“I was good in the air and was able to master tall number 9s, as we had a lot back then. Norman was quicker than me and could handle speedy players alongside the big guys, so it was a good combination.
“I was more sit back in the pocket, and Norman would venture forward more, but we were defenders in the old tradition.”
It turns out one of Napier’s biggest fans was the renowned comedian, actor and musician Norman Wisdom, who was an Albion director in the ‘60s. “He was always at our games and brought a laugh into the dressing room even if we lost,” said Napier. “A great character. I was thrilled in later years when I read that I had been his favourite player at Brighton. I hope he wasn’t joking!”
How the matchday programme reported a first Albion goal for the Irish defender
The Irishman received Albion’s first-ever Player of the Season award (below centre, as featured in Seagulls! The Story of Brighton & Hove Albion FC by Tim Carder and Roger Harris) for his consistent performances at the heart of Albion’s defence in the 1968-69 season. He played in all 52 Albion matches that season.
“I was very proud of getting that award especially as it came from the fans at the Goldstone Ground,” he said. “It was a surprise to me at the time, I loved playing there and I think the crowd did appreciate the work we put in.
“I had a good rapport with the fans; I felt that they respected the way I played, always giving my best output. I also did a lot of work in the community at the time, as did most of the players. We were always out somewhere. I remember coaching a local team in the evenings.”
He added: “Brighton was a good club; it was a club that players wanted to come to, and the club took care of us well. We travelled like a First Division outfit and we stayed at the best hotels at the time. Sometimes on trains travelling north we would be in close quarters with Arsenal or Tottenham players, and I would be meeting up with old teammates like Pat Jennings, Pat Rice, Terry Neill, on the same trains. Brighton had a reputation for bringing in big name players through the years.”
Typical of Napier’s contribution to the Albion at that time was this high praise from John Vinicombe, the reporter who covered the club for the Evening Argus. After a 3-0 win at Reading on 21 April 1971, he wrote: “This was a magnificent display by John Napier. He was absolutely commanding and this rated as his best performance of the campaign. Nothing beat him and this mastery inspired confidence in all around.”
Remarkably the Napier-Gall partnership straddled the reigns of three managers: Macaulay, Freddie Goodwin and Pat Saward.
“Macaulay was a no-nonsense type of manager,” said Napier. “I enjoyed playing for him. He had success with most of his clubs, he knew how he wanted his line up and would go after players for specific positions. Most of the daily training work was done by coaches; I think Joe and Glen Wilson were involved at the time.”
And Goodwin? “For me he was the best man manager I had the pleasure to play for. He brought different ideas to the club, he had been a good player and also had coached in the USA. He was a coach that would be able to lift you as an individual, both as a person and as a player.
“I remember my individual conversations with him. He was so positive in those areas that I felt I wanted to take that onto the field and strive. I think he was the same with most of the players. We had a good group that felt very comfortable with his playing style. As professionals, we are all different in how we respond to management, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
“It is a tough role and obviously not easy to get players on the same page. He managed to do it most of the time before he left to go to Birmingham City.
“I remember him introducing us to a new powder he brought from America called Gatorade we used to dilute in water and drink for energy. That was the first time Gatorade was seen in the UK; now look at it today!”
Napier continued: “Also, he would bring in fancy-coloured boots from companies for us to try out instead of the old black and white ones. That was so funny: we would wear bright blue boots in training but I don’t think anyone wanted to wear them in a game in case the crowd got on to them. How times have changed!
“I loved them; they were softer and very comfortable, but I’m not sure who the manufacturer was.”
Goodwin appointed Napier club captain and the former defender pointed out: “I wanted to be that person, to be a leader and to continue to try to bring success to the club. I always felt that Brighton was a sleeping giant back then.”
He continued: “I personally as a player had some of my best spells under Freddie. We had a good group. It is never easy getting results in the lower divisions. I really can’t remember any of the big games, but we were close, and I think everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Brighton went forward.
“When Freddie left to take the Birmingham job it was disappointing for the players. We knew it was because he was doing such a great job with us, but it was still hard to swallow.”
Napier and the 1969-70 Albion squad
• In the next instalment, Napier reveals how his amazing Albion appearance record came to a shuddering halt.
In parallel lines 