Irish international pals brought wing wonder Steve Penney to Brighton

BRIGHTON & Hove Albion can thank former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Jim Platt for landing one of the most exciting players ever to play for the Seagulls.

Platt was the Teesside club’s man between the sticks for 12 years. During his call-ups on international duty with Northern Ireland, he struck up a friendship with Arsenal defender Sammy Nelson, who joined Brighton towards the end of his career.

When Platt took over as manager of Ballymena United, he quickly recognised that a talented teenage winger at his disposal – Steve Penney – could make a career for himself in England.

Platt tipped the wink to his old pal Nelson, newly-appointed as Albon’s assistant manager to Chris Cattlin at the time, and the youngster was invited for a trial.

Penney was put up in a house near the Goldstone recently vacated by the sacked Jimmy Melia. His housemate was another young triallist: Ian Wright! Penney was taken on while Wright was released. Whatever happened to him?!

Penney’s Albion story is told in fine detail by journalist Spencer Vignes who devotes 12 pages of his excellent book A Few Good Men (Breedon Books) to a player who, for the record, played 148 games (plus 14 as sub) in eight years with Brighton.

Unfortunately, that rather low figure tells its own story, a succession of injuries robbing him of probably twice as many games as you might have expected him to have played over that length of time.

“He was, in short, a breath of fresh air, a flying winger whose close control and devastating pace left opponents and spectators alike lost for words,” said Vignes.

Among former teammates who voiced their appreciation of Penney, full back Graham Pearce told Vignes: “I always thought of Steve as a bright young winger, very naturally talented, who had all the attributes you need in that position, especially pace.”

Born in Ballymena on 6 January 1964, the son of a teacher and a nurse, although he played football at primary school, he went to what he described himself as “a fairly posh grammar school” where rugby was the preferred sport for boys, and he was a scrum half.

He got the chance to play football in the Boys Brigade, where Nigel Worthington, who later managed Northern Ireland, also played.

“I had to choose between rugby and football and when I decided to join Ballymena United, the school were so furious they suspended me,” he told interviewer Dave Beckett in a matchday programme feature.

“Playing for my home town was excellent, although I had the chance to join Linfield who were one of the best teams in the country.

“I guested for them in Holland a couple of times so I knew they were interested and that’s where I expect I’d have ended up if I hadn’t moved abroad.”

Instead, Platt alerted Nelson and, bearing in mind Albion’s high profile having only recently played against Manchester United in the Cup Final, Penney didn’t take much persuading.

Beckett recounted: “Penney, at 19 years old, made his debut in a 3-1 defeat by Barnsley but was soon a hot favourite on the terraces. Even in his opening match he set up the goal goal for Alan Young, and John Vinicombe wrote in the Evening Argus: ‘The eye for an opening that Penney unquestionably has will serve Albion well. The Goldstone are going to like him’.”

It wasn’t long before he was playing to a much bigger gallery when he was part of the Albion side who toppled Liverpool in the FA Cup (for the second season running), winning 2-0 in front of a live television audience.

Penney tormented the experienced Liverpool left-back Alan Kennedy and his perfectly-flighted pass over the top of the Liverpool defence played in Terry Connor to score the decisive second goal.

His first goal came in a 3-0 win at Derby County in March 1984 and such was his impact in that first season that he was voted runner-up to Jimmy Case as player of the season.

Away from football, Penney was a decent golfer, his regular companions on the golf course being Dean Saunders, Chris Hutchings, Steve Gatting and former Albion favourite Peter O’Sullivan.

During the winter, he loved nothing more than playing snooker at a club in Hove, especially taking on Saunders and competing for a trophy awarded each week to the winner.

So, life was sweet for the young Irishman and it got even better when his form with Brighton led to full international honours.

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At the time of writing, he remains the highest-capped Albion player, all of his 17 caps for Northern Ireland being won while with the Seagulls.

After making his debut on 16 October 1984 in a 3-0 friendly win over Israel in Belfast, he was a regular for four years, playing his last game on 21 December 1988 in a 4-0 defeat to Spain in a World Cup qualifying match. He scored twice for his country, in a 1-1 draw with Israel on 18 February 1987 and in a 3-0 win over Malta on 21 May 1988.

The highlight of his international career was playing for Northern Ireland at the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

“The whole experience of going to the World Cup was something I’ll never forget,” he said three months later, in a matchday programme interview.

“Six weeks away from home is a long time, but the spirit in the squad was very good and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Steve had been in the side that qualified for that World Cup by drawing 0-0 against England at Wembley. “We only needed a draw to get to Mexico and we got it,” he said.

“(Manager) Billy Bingham had been a right winger and obviously appreciated what I could do, which was a source of great strength to me. He’d been part of the team that had played in the World Cup in Sweden in 1958, a lovely man who was very good at getting the best out of his players and encouraged me no end, something I’ll always be grateful to him for.”

Unfortunately, Steve’s World Cup came to a juddering halt after Spain’s hard man Emilio Butragueno went over the top in a tackle and did his ankle in only the second group game.

On his return to Brighton, Penney found himself sufficiently impressed by Cattlin’s successor, Alan Mullery, that he was persuaded to sign a new, three-year contract.

However, it wasn’t long afterwards that Penney started having problems with his left knee and, although he played through the pain barrier, in a game against Derby County in March 1987 a bad tackle damaged his ankle ligaments, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Barry Lloyd had succeeded Mullery and Penney was in the team at the start of the next season but, after only two games, found himself back on the treatment table after a chip of bone was found floating in a knee.

That kept him out for an agonising seven months before he was able to return to the side in March 1988 to play a crucial part in the final 11 games, scoring three times as the Seagulls earned promotion in second place behind Sunderland.

Penney told Vignes: “At that time, playing for Barry was great. The two of us were getting on even though I always thought there was something not quite right between us. To be honest, he had to play me because I strengthened the team and made a difference.”

Halfway through the 1988-89 season, Crystal Palace tried to sign Penney but weren’t prepared to meet Albion’s £175,000 asking price. And then his left knee went again.

Vignes tells the whole gory story in detail, which I won’t repeat here, but, suffice to say, the wrong treatment by one doctor had to be put right by a Harley Street expert.

Penney row Manager Lloyd and Penney also fell out, principally over Penney putting country before club. “He’d play for them, then come back injured. That didn’t please me,” said Lloyd. “It was a crying shame. He just wanted to play but was so plagued with injuries it was beyond belief.”

The split came in 1991 when Lloyd clearly thought the player’s level of fitness didn’t merit a new contract. Interest was shown in him by Heart of Midlothian, managed by Joe Jordan, and Charlton Athletic, where the joint manager was his ex-Albion teammate Alan Curbishley.

Having played a couple of trial games for Hearts, he plumped for them but suffered a groin strain early on and only played 14 games all season.

A 15^th game would have triggered the award of another one-year deal – and it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t going to happen. Freed at the end of the season, he signed for Burnley, newly-promoted from the old Fourth Division, in August 1992. Continue reading “Irish international pals brought wing wonder Steve Penney to Brighton” →

Kieran O’Regan came close to dramatic FA Cup semi-final debut

OREGAN WHEN just 19, unbeknown to thousands of expectant Brighton fans, Kieran O’Regan was on the brink of making a sensational debut for the Seagulls in the FA Cup semi-final.

The versatile Irishman, who went on to play nearly 100 games for the Albion, and more than 200 for Huddersfield Town, was nearly drafted into Brighton’s back line for that momentous occasion against Sheffield Wednesday in front of a packed house at Highbury on 16 April 1983.

Only captain Steve Foster’s bravery and sterling work by the club’s medics prevented the youngster having to step in at the last minute.

The potential drama only came to light in the post-match analysis by Evening Argus reporter, John Vinicombe, who recounted: “On the morning of the tie, (Jimmy) Melia had problems that were wisely confined only to those with a need to know.

“A crisis arose when Steve Foster’s right elbow started to swell and hurt. A streptococcal infection was diagnosed, extremely painful, and dangerous.

“To not only get him fit to play, but counter the possibility of blood poisoning, he was pumped full of antibiotics, the elbow encased in plaster and, just before kick-off, a painkilling jab administered.

“Had it been a run-of-the-mill game, Foster would not have played, but to go into a semi-final without the lynchpin was unthinkable.

“If there had been no alternative, then Kieran O’Regan, who has yet to make his debut, would have been drafted in from the sub’s bench.”

As it was, O’Regan remained on the bench throughout the game; Michael Robinson’s winner in the 2-1 victory meaning manager Melia didn’t need to introduce the youngster on such a momentous occasion.

When he eventually made his first team debut a few weeks later, it was in a less pressurised situation, although only then with special dispensation from the Football League.

Melia was down to the bare bones because of injuries and suspensions so the youngster was needed, but he had not been signed as a pro before the deadline. The way the authorities saw it was, because Albion were already relegated and Norwich were safe, it was “a game of no consequence” and O’Regan got the green light to play.

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Veteran football reporter Harry Harris interviewed the youngster and built a story (above) around the possibility that if he did well he might be in with a shout of a place in the Cup Final against Manchester United.

Ever the one for an eye to publicity, manager Melia kept those thoughts alive by saying: “Kieran is going to be a hell of a player. He only looks about 14 but he’s mature enough as a player to figure in my Wembley plans.”

KOR port In the event, forward Gerry Ryan got the nod for the one substitute’s place on the day, and rather ironically had to come on and play right-back in place of the crocked Chris Ramsey.

Melia was certainly a big fan of O’Regan. In the summer of 1982, as Albion’s chief scout, he had recommended the youngster to manager Mike Bailey after seeing him go on as a second half substitute for the Republic of Ireland youth team against Welsh Schools and score two goals.

Born in Cork on 9 November 1963, O’Regan attended a secondary school noted for its prowess at Gaelic football but he was determined to pursue a soccer career instead. He had been playing for Tramore Athletic in County Cork’s Munster League when he got his call-up to the national youth team.

Brighton invited him over to England for a trial. “I’d gone to Brighton on a one week trial; that became two, then I was asked to stay for three months. That came and went, and I never went back,” he said.

He had come close to packing it all in because he was homesick, but the presence of fellow Irishmen Gary Howlett and Ryan helped him adapt, and the silver-tongued Melia managed to talk him round.

“I didn’t feel as though I was playing very well,” he told the Mirror’s Harris. “I wasn’t fit or doing myself justice so I wanted to go home. Luckily enough, Jimmy talked me out of it.”

When Melia took over as caretaker manager, he swiftly dispensed with the services of Bailey’s pick at right-back, Don Shanks, promoted Ramsey to the first-team and then converted O’Regan from a midfield player to a right-back to become Ramsey’s understudy.

On the eve of that Norwich game, Melia told the Argus: “I must bring on the youngsters because they are the long-term future of the club.

“They are a smashing bunch of lads and I would like to play some more of them at Norwich. But with the Cup Final coming up, I can’t for obvious reasons.”

In fact, he picked young striker Chris Rodon on the bench and he got on in place of Gordon Smith, but it was the one and only time he saw first team action.

In respect of O’Regan, though, Melia stuck to his word, and the youngster filled the right-back berth from the off at the start of the new season back in the second tier, keeping his place even after his mentor’s sacking.

Melia’s successor, Chris Cattlin, also gave him some games in midfield, and, by the season’s end, he’d played 33 games plus once as sub. He also notched his first goal, in a 2-1 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday.

However, his biggest disappointment that season was when he and Howlett were both dropped for the televised FA Cup game against Liverpool at the Goldstone. He told Spencer Vignes in an interview published in a matchday programme of February 2005: “We’d thrashed Oldham at home 4-0 and played Carlisle away on an icy pitch and won 2-1, and me and Gary had played in both.

“The Liverpool game was on a Sunday so we all came in for training on the Saturday to find out what the team was. And Gary and I weren’t in it. We’d been dropped.

“Instead we were off to Highbury that afternoon to play for the reserves. That’s still probably the low point of my career. I really wanted to play. Cattlin said he was going for experience, and you can’t really fault him because the lads went out and beat Liverpool 2-0. But I was still gutted.”

Making the grade with Brighton caught the eye of the Republic of Ireland selectors and O’Regan was called up to play for his country on four occasions.

He made his debut in November 1983 in an 8-0 thrashing of Malta in Dublin, when Mark Lawrenson and future Albion manager Liam Brady each scored twice.

Against Poland, the following May, also at Dalymount Park, Dublin, O’Regan featured in a 0-0 draw, and three months later, same venue, same scoreline, against Mexico. His fourth and final cap came as a sub against Spain, in May 1985, which also ended goalless.

Meanwhile, his Albion game time in the 1984-85 season was a lot more restricted and, apart from a mid-season 10-game spell in midfield, he was on the sidelines, especially when a promising young defender called Martin Keown arrived on loan from Arsenal.

Vignes observed in that 2005 interview: “His ability to play at either right-back or midfield meant that when the likes of Chris Hutchings, Danny Wilson or Jimmy Case were unavailable, Albion always had a reliable deputy to call on.”

There was yet more benchwarming to be endured during the 1985-86 season but on Alan Mullery’s return to the manager’s chair, he found himself back in the first team on a more regular basis.

Indeed, he played under five managers in five years with Brighton, and told Vignes that Mullery was the best to work with. “He was great with everyone, but especially the young lads.”

By contrast he didn’t get on with Barry Lloyd who kept O’Regan in the dark when interest was shown in him by Swindon Town, where his former rival for the right-back spot, Ramsey, was assistant manager to Lou Macari.

In the end, in 1987, he did make the move to the County Ground having made 80 starts for the Albion, plus 19 substitute appearances.

After just a year at Swindon, he was on his way again, this time to join Huddersfield Town where the manager was Eoin Hand, who had been the Ireland manager when he won his four international caps.

O’Regan spent six seasons with Town, playing over 200 games in midfield, and it was an association which would reap its benefits after his playing days were over.

He spent two seasons at West Brom under former Spurs boss Keith Burkinshaw (and latterly Alan Buckley) but returned to West Yorkshire in 1995 as captain of Halifax Town, going on to become joint manager with George Mulhall for 18 months and then taking on the role alone in August 1998.

His tenure lasted less than a season and when the axe fell in April 1999, he turned his back on football and became warehouse manager at Brighouse Textiles, run by Halifax’s former chairman, and subsequently became a carpet salesman at a shop in Huddersfield.

O'Regan mike However, in 2001, he was offered the chance to be the expert summariser on Huddersfield games for BBC Radio Leeds, and he lined up alongside commentator Paul Ogden for the next 15 years, before hanging up the microphone in May 2016.

Pictures from the Albion matchday programme and my scrapbook.

Eire captain Tony Grealish swapped one Albion for another

1 main pic TG cover boy THE PLAYER who led out Brighton at Wembley for the 1983 FA Cup Final against Manchester United was an experienced Republic of Ireland international who went on to play for West Bromwich Albion.

Tony ‘Paddy’ Grealish, sadly no longer with us having died of cancer aged only 56 in 2013, was given his international debut against Norway in 1976 by the legendary Johnny Giles, who knew a thing or two about midfield play.

In fact it was Giles, in his second spell as WBA manager, who took Grealish to The Hawthorns in 1984 as the break-up of the Brighton cup final squad continued.

After his untimely death, Giles told the Irish Times: “I obviously knew him at that stage from the Ireland set-up and knew what to expect.

“He wasn’t the classiest of players but he was one of the most hard working and you knew exactly what you were going to get.

“He was a great lad; a social animal who liked a drink after a game but gave you absolutely everything during it.”

Born in Paddington, London, on 21 September 1956, Grealish qualified to play for the Republic through his father, Packie, who was born in Athenry, Galway, and his mother Nora’s parents, both from Limerick.

He began his career across the other side of London, at Orient, and played 171 games for the Os, one of the last being the memorable 3-3 draw against Brighton in 1979 which featured on The Big Match. One of his teammates that day was Henry Hughton, brother of subsequent Brighton manager, Chris.

The previous year Grealish had been part of the Orient side that made it through to the FA Cup semi final against Arsenal, played at Stamford Bridge, but they were beaten 3-0 (the Gunners lost 1-0 to Ipswich in the final).

In 1979, David Pleat paid £150,000 to take him for Luton Town for whom he played 78 games in two seasons.

The managerial upheaval at the Goldstone Ground in the summer of 1981 saw the arrival of Mike Bailey in place of Alan Mullery, and one of his first moves was to bring in Grealish as part of a swap for Brian Horton, the ageing, inspirational captain who led Brighton from the old Third Division to the First.

Grealish was definitely what you’d call a players’ player, someone who did the hard work in the engine room of the team to enable players with more flair to shine.

He talked about just that scenario in an interview with the Daily Mail after Brighton had beaten Sheffield Wednesday at Highbury in that 1983 cup semi-final.

Referring to an incident when he’d charged down a free kick, he told Brian Scovell: “That’s my job. I’m the bloke with the ugly mug so they get me to do it.”

It was Grealish who rolled the ball to Jimmy Case to smash home that memorable opening goal and he relished his teammate’s strike, saying: “It wasn’t just the power, it was the way the ball swerved away from the ‘keeper that did it.”

After the disappointment of missing out in 1978, reaching the cup final was extra special for Grealish and he found himself thrust centre stage as a result of usual captain Steve Foster’s suspension from the first match.

Even all this time later, people remember how Grealish wore the trademark Foster headband as he led Brighton out. “It was a small protest over Steve’s exclusion from the final,” he told the media after the game.

In the News of the World, Fred Burcombe began his report: “Tony Grealish, Brighton’s stand-in skipper, yesterday entered the Wembley arena with a gesture of defiance and left for home in a blaze of confidence.”

In fact, Grealish was involved in both Brighton’s goals in the 2-2 draw. James Mossop reported in the Sunday Express: “Brighton stayed on the attack after a corner. Tony Grealish collected the ball and his teammates began to fan out, all eager for a pass. He chose Neil Smillie on the right. Smillie gave young Gary Howlett the chance to centre – and as the ball curved in Smith met it ideally, sending his header over the ‘keeper’s outstretched forearm and into the net.”

And with the clock ticking down, United by now 2-1 up, it was Grealish who drilled the ball hard into the penalty box where Gary Stevens controlled it and fired the ball past Gary Bailey to net the equaliser.

Grealish lived in Peacehaven during his time with the Seagulls and clearly enjoyed the social life with his teammates.

“The atmosphere at Brighton is particularly good,” he told Tony Norman in a club programme feature. “There’s always plenty going on. I enjoy our Wednesday golf games. There’s often as many as 10 of the players there. That’s always a laugh.”

Following relegation to the second tier, the Seagulls squad was broken up bit by bit; Gary Stevens and Michael Robinson going first. Grealish lasted a little longer and played two thirds of the 1983-84 season before being sold to West Brom in March.

It didn’t stop him being selected alongside teammate Case in the PFA representative side that season (the centre half selection was Mick McCarthy and the forwards included Kevin Keegan and Mark Hateley).

In total, Grealish played 116 games plus five as a sub for Brighton, and his last game for the Seagulls saw him score in a 1-1 home draw with Manchester City, who he would subsequently join in 1986-87. He played 65 games for West Brom, and 11 times for City, who also had former Seagull Neil McNab in their line-up.

In August 1987, Grealish moved to Rotherham United and played 110 games for the Millers before moving to Walsall (36 appearances).

During his time at Rotherham, in 1988-89, he once again found himself in the PFA representative selection, this time for Division Four. Grealish then did the rounds of various non-league clubs in the Midlands: Bromsgove Rovers, Moor Green, Halesowen Harriers, Sutton Coldfield and Evesham United.

He returned to Bromsgrove Rovers as player-manager before calling it a day, and then worked in the scrap metal business. His career record showed he played a total of 589 league games, plus 45 for the Republic of Ireland; 17 of them as captain.

Little surprise, then, that when he died in 2013, the Football Association of Ireland paid a warm tribute. FAI president Paddy McCaul said: “He will be remembered as a great servant of Irish football who was part of the international set-up under John Giles and Eoin Hand that came so close to qualifying for major tournaments and helped change Ireland’s fortunes at that level of the game.”

FAI chief executive John Delaney added: “Tony Grealish was one of my footballing heroes when I was a child and I always remembered him as a great competitor who always gave his all for Ireland.”

It was during Alan Kelly’s brief reign in charge, in 1980, that Grealish was first made Eire skipper – against Switzerland – and he was a central figure in successor Eoin Hand’s team.

“He was a great character,” said Hand. “I don’t think I ever selected a team during my time in charge that didn’t have him in it.

“I think it’s fair to say he raised his game when he was playing international football. I’d say he was a great club player but the commitment he gave for Ireland; he just couldn’t have given that on a twice weekly basis playing club football. He gave absolutely everything.

“He contributed so much (including eight international goals), had an infectious enthusiasm for it all. If ever there was someone who showed how proud he could be to represent his country then Tony was it. He was very much part of it all; a great ambassador; very generous.”

Hand added: “He was a great example to others in the way he dealt with people; other players, supporters, kids….a really wonderful guy. I was very lucky to have him around when I was manager.”

3.TG shoot cover

Pictures from my scrapbook show Grealish on an Albion matchday programme cover, a Match magazine pic of him in WBA colours via Football Past on Twitter, on the front of the 1983 FA Cup Final preview edition of Shoot!, and, below, a montage of various headlines and images.

Twelve goals in 26 games for Scottish striker Alan Young

GARY LINEKER’S former strike partner at Leicester City had a good goals to appearances ratio for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Sadly, Scotsman Alan Young only managed 26 appearances in his one season (1983-84) with the Albion, although his 12 goals meant he finished second top goalscorer behind Terry Connor.

His brief Brighton career got off to a great start with a memorable debut goal, an overhead kick to net against Chelsea at the Goldstone. Young twice scored braces for the Seagulls but his season was injury-hit and, with manager Chris Cattlin bringing in his old pal Frank Worthington for the 1984-85 season, Young was sold to Notts County.

In more recent times, Young courted controversy as a radio pundit sharing his opinions about Leicester, and in 2014 BBC Radio Leicester dropped him from his role supporting commentator Ian Stringer.

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Back in September 2013, Young was berated online for his criticism of winger Anthony Knockaert. Foxello, on ja606.co.uk, wrote: “If there’s one thing that annoys me more than just about anything else at this football club, it is that grumpy, nasty egotist Alan Young and his never-ending agenda against certain members of the football club.”

The correspondent bemoaned: “Knocky is now the butt of every joke, and the object of every jibe Young throws out…. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want us to have skilful players who occasionally misplace a pass due to their advanced vision, and just have hoofers and cloggers like in his day.”

So let’s take a look back at ‘his day’. Born in Kirkcaldy on 26 October 1955, Young was football-daft and showed sufficient promise to earn Scottish schoolboy international honours.

His boyhood favourite team was Raith Rovers, whose star player at the time was Ian Porterfield, who famously scored the winning goal when Second Division Sunderland beat Leeds in the 1973 FA Cup Final.

Surprisingly overlooked by Scottish professional clubs, Young also experienced early disappointment in England when Nottingham Forest rejected him. “Nottingham Forert didn’t want me and I left there thinking I was no good,” he told Shoot! magazine.

Nonetheless, when he was playing as an unattached player for Scotland Schoolboys against England at Old Trafford, Oldham Athletic scout Colin McDonald, a former Burnley and England international goalkeeper, noted his promise and persuaded the young forward to head south of the border to begin his professional career.

In five years at Boundary Park he scored 30 goals in 122 games, and, to a large extent, learned his trade from old pro Andy Lochhead, a prolific goalscorer in his day for Burnley, Leicester and Aston Villa.

In the 1978-79 season, Young netted a hat-trick against Leicester which caught the eye of fellow Scot and former Rangers boss, Jock Wallace, who had taken over at Filbert Street and was building a team with his fellow countrymen at its core.

When Young joined Leicester, and played alongside his boyhood pal Martin Henderson, it began a love affair with Leicester that endures to this day.

In three years at Leicester, Young scored 26 times in 104 games, eventually forming a partnership with the emerging Lineker. TV’s favourite football frontman was generous enough to pen the foreword to Young’s 2013 autobiography, Youn9y (written in conjunction with Simon Kimber and published by the historypress.co.uk) and said of him: “He was an old-fashioned, aggressive centre forward. He possessed, though, a delicate touch and finesse that belied his big target man status – the perfect partner for a nippy little goalhanger trying to make a name for himself.”

Screenshot — *Leicester strike partner for Gary Lineker*

Young scored on his full debut for City in a league cup game v Rotherham and followed it up with two on his league debut at home to Watford.

The only time Young was sent off while playing for Leicester was, ironically, at the Goldstone Ground in 1981, at Easter, which was the second of four games at the end of the season that Albion won to stay in the top division.

Young was dismissed for two bookable offences, the first for clattering into goalkeeper Graham Moseley and the other a clash with Steve Foster, although, in his autobiography, he says Foster play-acted a knee injury, which the referee bought. Foster even teased him about it when he joined the Seagulls two years later. In that Easter 1981 fixture, Young’s teammate Kevin McDonald was also sent off, Brighton won 2-1 – and Leicester ended up being relegated together with Norwich and bottom-placed Crystal Palace.

Back in the old Second Division, Young did his cartilage in a game on QPR’s plastic pitch which he says was the beginning of the end of his career, because his knee was never the same afterwards (years later he had a knee replacement).

He also had the disappointment of losing to Spurs in the 1982 FA Cup semi final, although he maintains if a certain Chris Hughton had been sent off for two fouls on Lineker, it might all have been a different story.

Before the next season kicked off, Jock Wallace, the manager he idolised, decided to move back to Scotland to manage Motherwell and his successor at Filbert Street, Gordon Milne, swiftly chose to pair the emerging Alan Smith up front with Lineker, signalling the exit for Young.

Managerial upheaval was to become a familiar cause of Young’s departures in the years that followed, too. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Ian Porterfield, his footballing hero from yesteryear, had taken over as manager at Fourth Division Sheffield United and, although he didn’t really want to drop down the leagues, the Blades were a big club so Young moved to Bramall Lane.

A year later, though, after Brighton’s relegation from the elite in 1983, striker Michael Robinson was sold to Liverpool so there was a centre forward vacancy – and manager Jimmy Melia chose Young to fill it.

The fee was either £140,000 or £150,000 depending on which account you believe, but Young was happy because he pocketed a £20,000 signing on fee (four times what he had received only a year earlier when moving to Sheffield).

His first involvement with the squad was on a close-season tour of the Balearic Islands (with associated eye-opening tales recalled by thegoldstonewrap.com) but he also picked up an injury that was to dog his season on the south coast.

While Young had a lot of time for Melia, when Cattlin took over it was a different story and, in his book, there are plenty of colourful expletives used to describe exactly what he thought! He also castigates physio Mike Yaxley – “the most useless physio I have ever worked with” – although he says the team spirit was very good…seemingly fuelled by long post-training ‘sessions’ in Woody’s wine bar.

A young He said: “The football was very enjoyable there and never more so than when Jimmy Case and I were playing together; I loved playing with Jimmy.”

For a short time in that 1983-84 season, Albion had three Youngs in their squad, none of whom were related. Along with Young the forward, there were centre backs Eric Young and on-loan Willie Young.

When Cattlin decided to bring in his old Huddersfield teammate Worthington the following season, Young was on his way, this time to Notts County. The manager who signed him was the former Liverpool and Nottingham Forest defender Larry Lloyd, but his tenure in the managerial chair was very short so, once again, Young found himself playing for a manager who hadn’t chosen him.

In two years at Meadow Lane, Young scored 12 in 43 games for County. He moved on to Rochdale where the Leeds legend Eddie Gray was in charge, but injury took its toll and he only scored twice in 28 games in the 1986-87 season before retiring at 31. He had scored a career total of 89 goals in 349 appearances.

While there were a few non-league appearances, he eventually landed a job back at Notts County in the early days of community football schemes. He made a success of the job, obtained his coaching qualifications and eventually they combined the community scheme with the centre of excellence.

Brighton fans will be interested to know that among the young lads who emerged during Young’s time there were Will Hoskins and Leon Best. The star player, though, was Jermaine Pennant.

Young has fond memories of Neil Warnock’s time as County manager, because of his interest in the work being done at grassroots level. However, the mood changed when Sam Allardyce took over.

Allardyce initially cut Young’s salary and then showed him the door. “I can’t and I never will forgive Sam Allardyce,” he said.

Away from football, Young has had a tempestuous love life – read the book to gather the detail – and has three sons and a daughter. While he also had spells working for Chesterfield and Leeds, he dropped out of the game and then had a very dark period dominated by heavy drinking in isolation, including a time living alone in a caravan on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Eventually a return to England and his break into radio punditry brought him back from the brink.

In 2013, his autobiography Youn9y was published, the sleeve notes describing the story of “a talented, brave striker who played at the highest level of the domestic game but also experienced human misery at its lowest once his playing career was over”.

The notes add: “Youngy doesn’t just recount the good times of his playing career; he also offers valuable insight and moments of perception and understanding of some of the darkest days of his life.”

After four years as match summariser, in 2014 BBC Radio Leicester dispensed with his services and replaced him with another former Fox, Gerry Taggart.

However, Young still gives his opinions about Leicester on the community radio station Hermitage FM.

Twitter enthusiasts can follow Alan @alan9young

Pictures show a shot of Alan on Brighton seafront from an Albion matchday programme; the front cover of his autobiography; other matchday programme action shots, and in the Hermitage FM radio studio from Twitter.

Man City legend Joe Corrigan played the clown in Brighton

BRIGHTON fans often enter into a debate about the best goalkeeper ever to play for the club.

Although he was past his best when he joined the Seagulls, former England international Joe Corrigan would certainly be a contender.

Corrigan was, quite literally, at 6’4” a giant among goalkeepers and a colossus for Manchester City at the highest level before a second tier spell with Brighton towards the end of his playing career.

He subsequently became a top goalkeeping coach and amongst the ‘keepers he worked with was another former Seagulls favourite, Tomasz Kuszczak, when at West Brom.

After taking over from Harry Dowd, Corrigan was a near permanent fixture in goal for Manchester City between 1970 and 1983, winning a European Cup Winners’ Cup medal at the end of his debut season.

But for his career coinciding with Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence, he would surely have won more than the nine England caps he accumulated.

In total Corrigan made 592 appearances for City, a club record for a goalkeeper, and he was City’s Player of the Year three times.

In 1983, at the age of 34, Corrigan was sold to American club Seattle Sounders for £30,000, but he stayed in the US only a few months, and, in September that year, returned to England with Brighton.

Unfortunately for Joe it was at that turbulent time when, although Jimmy Melia was still the manager, chairman Mike Bamber had installed Chris Cattlin as first team coach behind Melia’s back.

Within a matter of weeks of the 1983-84 season starting, Melia was fired and Cattlin took over.

Corrigan was not impressed. In his 2008 autobiography (Big Joe, The Joe Corrigan Story) he declared Cattlin “the worst manager I’d ever played under” although he described his teammates as “a terrific bunch of lads” and he seemed to enjoy a decent social life on the south coast (pictured below for the matchday programme by Tony Norman, tucking into candy floss on the pier).

corrigan candy For instance, at the annual players Christmas ‘do’ – if the account in Jimmy Case’s autobiography is anything to go by.

Corrigan became big pals with Case during his time at Brighton and the Scouse midfield favourite recounts in Hard Case (John Blake Publishing), a time the players went out on their Christmas ‘bash’ in Brighton wearing fancy dress.

Corrigan wore white tights and a tutu and at one point stood in the middle of the road directing traffic while his teammates crossed – beckoning cars facing a red light to go and stopping cars that were on a green light. “I am still not sure how he survived that incident without having his collar felt,” said Case.

“Joe is a big, soft lad with a heart of gold but he has a painful way of showing it.”

One of his party pieces was to catch people off guard with a short jab in the ribs or arm. One playful punch landed on physio Mike Yaxley broke two of his ribs!

Case described Joe as “a star performer on the pitch and a bloody clown off it”.

Corrigan played 36 times for the Seagulls, including performing heroics in the famous 2-0 1984 FA Cup win over Liverpool, when goals by Terry Connor and Gerry Ryan meant the Seagulls dumped the mighty reds out of the cup two years in succession (following the 2-1 win at Anfield during the 1983 run to the cup final).

Sadly, as revealed in Big Joe, The Joe Corrigan Story, his time with Brighton ended on a sour note and when Cattlin opted for Perry Digweed as his first choice ‘keeper for the 1984-85 season, it all turned publicly ugly.

The club fined Corrigan for speaking out of turn to the press but Corrigan successfully got the fine overturned thanks to help from the PFA.

Under a heading ‘Truth’ Cattlin wrote in his matchday programme notes: “Our club made the papers this week for the wrong reasons, when a Football League tribunal upheld an appeal by Joe Corrigan against a club fine imposed upon him recently.

“Obviously I must accept the decision of the tribunal, just as I expect my players to accept a referee’s decision on the field. However, my dispute with Joe was not about his right to say anything to the press, but simply about what he said.

“At this club I don’t mind players speaking to the press in a responsible manner. I must though reiterate that I don’t want them slagging the staff, fellow players, fellow managers or the club.”

As it became clear he would never play for Brighton again, he went out on loan to Stoke City and Norwich but then back in Brighton Reserves sustained an injury to his neck that ended his career.

Corrigan retired from playing and initially helped to run a haulage business back in Manchester. But the lure of goalkeeping drew him into coaching at a number of clubs: City, Barnsley, Bradford, Tranmere and Stoke all on a part-time basis. Most notably, though, he spent 10 years at Liverpool, until the arrival of Rafa Benitez, then had spells at Celtic, Middlesbrough and West Brom.

The seeds for that part of his career were sown at Brighton, courtesy of John Jackson, the former Crystal Palace goalkeeper, who used to coach the Albion ‘keepers once a week.

Corrigan told the Manchester City matchday programme on 29 September 2018: “I got talking to him and it inspired me to look into doing something similar. So it was down to Brighton indirectly that I moved into the next phase of my career.”

When at 60 in 2009 he brought down the curtain on a 42-year career in the game, Tony Mowbray, manager of West Brom at the time, told the Birmingham Mail’s Chris Lepkowski: “Joe has been a pleasure to work with. His knowledge and experience have been a big help to me and I’ll be sorry to see him go.

“He’s a great character, a true gentleman and everyone at the club wishes him a long and happy retirement.”

Corrigan told the Mail: “Everyone says you know when the time is right to retire – and I feel this is mine.

“I’ve had just over four great years at this club and want to say a massive thank you to the Albion fans, who have always been very supportive of me and made me feel really welcome.

“The staff and players – particularly the keepers – have also been a pleasure to work with.

“Ironically, my final home game here will be against Liverpool, a club where I spent ten happy years, and we went to City two weeks ago, which obviously is always a special occasion for me.”

In the 2025 New Year’s honours list, Corrigan received an MBE for services to charitable fundraising.

2 Joe diving 3 Joe shouting 4 JC w GR SG EY

Pictures from my scrapbook show Corrigan punching clear of Chelsea’s David Webb, diving headlong to deny Chelsea’s Keith Weller, letting his teammates know his thoughts, and in an Albion squad line-up alongside Eric Young and behind Gerry Ryan and Steve Gatting.

J Cor sept 18

Joe pictured in the Man City matchday programme in September 2018.

Midfielder Alan Curbishley helped Seagulls to promotion

Screenshot

ALAN Curbishley completed a hat-trick of promotions with new clubs when he was part of Brighton’s successful third tier side in 1988.

He’d previously been promoted after switching from West Ham to Birmingham City and also when moving from Aston Villa to Charlton Athletic.

Curbishley was what you might call West Ham through and through.

Born at Forest Gate on 8 November 1957, within a mile of West Ham station, he was one of five children (elder brother Bill famously promoted and managed The Who and Led Zeppelin and was producer of the films Tommy and Quadrophenia).

Curbishley first played in Brighton at under 11 level, in a Newham Boys side against Brighton Boys at Longhill School, in May 1967. He was later capped for England Boys aged 15 and after joining the Hammers straight from school played for England Youth.

Curbishley won nine England Youth caps under Ken Burton, scoring on his debut in a 1-1 draw against Poland in Las Palmas on 21 January 1975 when England went on to win the Atlantic Cup. Among his teammates were future England captain Bryan Robson, Peter Barnes and Keith Bertschin.

He vied for a starting berth with Mark Nightingale (Palace, Bournemouth, Norwich, Peterborough), making six starts and three appearances off the bench. His last appearance was in a 1-0 win over Wales in Cardiff on 11 February 1976, playing alongside Glenn Hoddle and Gary Owen.

Almost a year earlier, on 29 March 1975, he had made his first team Hammers debut at the tender age of 17, lining up in midfield alongside Trevor Brooking and Graham Paddon in a 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea. Mervyn Day was in goal for West Ham and guarding the opposition net was John Phillips.

At the time, Curbishley was the youngest to play in the senior team although that record was subsequently eclipsed by Paul Allen.

A contemporary of Geoff Pike, Paul Brush and Alvin Martin, they were all in the West Ham youth team defeated 5-1 on aggregate by Ipswich in the 1975 FA Youth Cup Final.

In a midfield dominated by Brooking, Paddon and Pat Holland, and later Alan Devonshire and Pike, Curbishley found first team chances limited, although in 1977-78 he made 36 appearances.

After 85 matches for the Hammers, in 1979 he moved to Birmingham for £275,000. Manager Jim Smith used the proceeds of the £1m transfer of Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest to buy Curbishley, Frank Worthington, Colin Todd and Archie Gemmill. Curbishley was still only 21 when he made his debut for the Blues on 18 August 1979 in a 4-3 defeat at home to Fulham and he went on to be ever present for Birmingham in that 1979-80 season.

Curbishley earned his one and only England Under 21 cap in a 5-0 thrashing of Switzerland at Portman Road when Justin Fashanu was among the scorers. He had hopes of going to the 1982 World Cup with England, having broken into the England B squad but fractured a kneecap sliding into a tackle with Albion’s Brian Horton. “I missed the rest of the season and the start of the next, and the World Cup squad which I might have broken into otherwise,” he said. “It was the worst disappointment I’ve ever faced.”

He was on the front cover of the matchday programme for a game I went to watch at St Andrew’s on 27 March 1982 when he played for Ron Saunders’ Blues in a 1-0 win over Brighton. But financial issues meant the side was broken up and, the following year, after a total of 155 games, he committed what today seems to be viewed as a cardinal sin by signing for Villa for £100,000, ironically making his debut against Birmingham in a 1-0 win on 4 April 1983.

“I had high hopes of success there with them just having won the European Cup,” he told Dave Beckett in an Albion matchday programme article. “It was soon obvious though that Tony Barton was under pressure from the moment he took over and all the players thought it was just a matter of time before he was sacked.

“He got a raw deal. That season we finished ninth in the league, got to the semis of the League Cup and were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the last minute on the away goals rule. Villa have never been near that form since, but Tony Barton’s face didn’t fit and he was soon on his way along with all the men he signed.”

After only 36 appearances, scoring once, Curbishley returned to London, dropping back down to the 2^nd division, to begin what would be a long association with Charlton Athletic, punctuated only by his spell at Brighton.

Amazingly, although homeless at the time and playing at Selhurst Park, Charlton won promotion back to the 1^st Division. Unfortunately Curbishley sustained an achilles tendon injury and only played 10 games in the 1986-87 season.

“I knew I had an achilles injury but the operation was delayed until a week before the start of the new season and consequently I wasn’t fit again until December,” he said. “The manager bought two new midfield players, which I understood, but when I was fit again I couldn’t get back into the side.

“It became apparent that I wouldn’t get much of a chance unless something drastic happened so I’m pleased to have a fresh start.”

After 13 seasons playing in the top two divisions, he left Charlton having scored six times in 63 games and dropped down to the Third to join the Albion for £32,500.

He made his debut in a goalless draw at Chesterfield on 22 August 1987 in front of a crowd of just 2,286.

After the departure of Jimmy Case in 1985, the centre of Albion’s midfield had been crying out for someone who could put their foot on the ball and pass it, and Curbishley stepped neatly into that role, scoring six goals – mostly penalties – in 34 appearances as Brighton won promotion.

“Alan was a very level-headed guy, an excellent passer and really disciplined,” Albion boss Barry Lloyd told Spencer Vignes in a matchday programme article.

In total, over three years on the south coast, Curbishley played 127 games (plus five as sub) – making his 400th league appearance during the 1988-89 season – and scored 15 goals.

curbs pen The Albion matchday programme featured Curbishley when the Seagulls hosted the Hammers for a Barclays League Division 2 game on 16 September 1989. Describing his time with the East London club, he said: “It was a brilliant set up although I was definitely a bit headstrong in my early days.

“I didn’t really grow up until I moved to St Andrew’s and that’s where I had my best playing days.”

Lou Macari’s side in 1989 included Curbishley’s old pal Alvin Martin and future Albion manager Liam Brady but the Seagulls ran out 3-0 winners (goals from Kevin Bremner, Robert Codner and Garry Nelson).

In 1990, Curbishley began his coaching career, returning to Charlton initially as player-coach under Lennie Lawrence. When Lawrence left in 1991, Charlton made the somewhat unusual decision to appoint joint managers: Curbishley and Steve Gritt (who would later be at the helm when Albion narrowly escaped dropping out of the league).

Curbishley’s first signings for Charlton were former Albion teammates Nelson and Steve Gatting and he later plundered young winger John Robinson from the Seagulls. After four years, Curbishley took sole charge at The Valley and led Charlton to some of the most successful times in their history.

Considering their resources, Curbishley turned Charlton into a steady top flight club and model of stability, consistently securing a mid-table finish.

Sean Cole in The Bleacher Report described him as “one of the most promising managerial talents of the new millennium” and in 2006, in the wake of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure as England manager, Curbs had ‘tea and biscuits’ with then chief executive Brian Barwick – but Steve McLaren got the job instead.

In December 2006, Curbishley landed what surely would have been considered his dream job – manager of West Ham.

It was quite a reunion of old pals when Brighton visited Upton Park for one of his first games in charge, in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2007. Albion boss Dean Wilkins and coach Ian Chapman had both been teammates while physiotherapist Malcolm Stuart was still wielding the magic spray.

In front of 32,874, Hammers ran out fairly comfortable 3-0 winners with Mark Noble scoring his first senior West Ham goal and Carlos Tevez a real handful up front. These were the respective line-ups:

West Ham: Carroll, Dailly, Ferdinand (Spector 45), Gabbidon, McCartney, Benayoun, Mullins, Noble, Boa Morte (Newton 73), Cole (Bobby Zamora 68), Tevez.
Subs not used: Green, Sheringham. Goals: Noble 49, Cole 58, Mullins 90.

Brighton: Wayne Henderson, Joe O’Cearuill, Joel Lynch, Guy Butters, Kerry Mayo, Tommy Fraser (Gary Hart 51), Adam El-Abd, Dean Hammond, Alexandre Frutos (Sam Rents 67), Alex Revell (Joe Gatting 84), Jake Robinson. Subs not used: Michel Kuipers, Richard Carpenter.

Fans’ website westhamtillidie recalled: “Perhaps Curbs’ greatest legacy at the club was the £7m signing of his former Charlton protégé Scott Parker, who went on to win the Hammer of the Year prize three times and pick up a Football Writers’ Player of the Year Award during his time at the club.”

Sadly, though it was to all end in tears and Curbishley quit in protest at the then Icelandic owners’ failure to consult him over the sale of defenders Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney.

In what must have been a tough heart-v-head decision, he resorted to a legal resolution of the situation and eventually won a case for constructive dismissal, eventually receiving £2.2m in compensation. But it was the last manager’s job he had.

“It took me a year to sort out my problem at West Ham,” he told The Independent. “And then, after that, I was perhaps a little too picky. I was told by other senior managers ‘don’t be out too long’ but I was waiting for a job that I thought was the job for me.”

Job vacancies came and went, Curbishley’s name was generally on all the shortlists, but he never again made it through to the manager’s chair. There was a brief moment at Fulham when he was technical director assisting Rene Meulensteen but when Meulensteen was swiftly axed, new manager Felix Magath brought in his own people.

He rejoined the Fulham coaching staff in March 2015 and took charge of training in November 2015 when Kit Symons was relieved of his managerial duties but Stuart Gray took charge of the team before Slavisa Jokanovic was appointed.

In 2016, Curbishley brought out a book, Game Changers: Inside English Football: From the Boardroom to the Bootroom (published by HarperSport) and was a regular pundit on the Football on 5 programme covering Football League games.

Flamboyant Frank Worthington’s career included a brief Brighton stopover

3-fw-albion FRANK Worthington was one of football’s genuine entertainers and it was a privilege to witness his season at The Goldstone between 1984 and 1985.

An all-too-brief England career which saw him win eight caps in 1974 was a long way behind him by the time his former Huddersfield Town teammate Chris Cattlin secured his signature for Brighton, but what the legs could no longer do, the brain more than made up for.

He was on the scoresheet in only his second game, a bruising encounter when Notts County were beaten 2-1, even though Albion played the second half with only 10 men – centre backs Eric Young and Jeff Clarke having been hospitalised by clashes with Justin Fashanu.

Worthington went on to make 30 appearances (plus five as sub) scoring eight times in total. Two of the goals came in his penultimate match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, one being a penalty struck so hard that it broke the hand of their ‘keeper Tim Flowers.

In June 2013, in the Huddersfield Examiner, Cattlin told interviewer Doug Thomson: “He did a good job for me. Frank wasn’t only a great player, but a great bloke as well, a dedicated trainer and a great bloke to have around a club.”

Worthington reflected on his time at the club in a matchday programme interview with Spencer Vignes in 2003. “I’d known Chris since my early days at Huddersfield,” he said. “I’d liked him so when he asked whether or not I’d be prepared to come to Brighton, I didn’t really have to think too long about it. They were a good side that hadn’t long been out of the First Division, so it sounded attractive.”

He continued: “We had some good players and certainly had no problems finding the net. I felt as though I was playing OK and the fans seemed to like me. But Chris did have this thing where he would chop and change the team around quite a bit, even if we were winning. He never really seemed sure what his best side was, and I think our form began to suffer because of it.”

Worthington reckoned it led to disharmony in the dressing room, and, for his own part, while he was good friends with Jimmy Case and Hans Kraay, he couldn’t say the same for Chris Hutchings or Kieran O’Regan. Albion finished sixth in the table, three points off automatic promotion and, although he was offered a new one-year contract, he decided to move on to try his hand at management.

So Brighton was only a brief stop-off in a 20-year career which saw Worthington score 236 goals in 757 league games. Add in games he also played in the United States with Philadelphia Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies, in South Africa, Sweden and in English non-league, and the games total amounts to an amazing 828.

Halifax-born Worthington’s father was a pre-war professional and his two brothers, David and Bob, were also professionals. Unlike his brothers, the hometown club dithered over signing Frank and Huddersfield jumped in and secured his signature.

After manager Ian Greaves selected him for the opening fixture of the 1969-70 season, he clocked up 100 consecutive appearances for the Terriers.

The flamboyant Worthington famously almost joined Liverpool in 1972 but the deal was called off when he failed a medical due to a reported high blood pressure reading.

Liverpool signed John Toshack instead while Worthington went to Leicester City for £85,000.

Having made nearly a quarter of a million pounds from the sale of David Nish to Derby County, Leicester boss Jimmy Bloomfield had a useful kitty which he splashed on Worthington, Dennis Rofe, Keith Weller, Jon Sammels and Alan Birchenall.

Worthington scored on his Leicester debut at Old Trafford and in an article with Goal magazine on 21 October 1972, he said: “It’s different playing for Leicester City compared with Huddersfield. At Huddersfield the emphasis was on hard running and effort – here it is on skill, and there is a hell of a lot of skill in this side.”

In the same publication two years later, he had finished the 1973-74 season with 25 goals to his name and he was full of compliments for Bloomfield.

“Basically I am a player who relies on skill and that fits perfectly into Jim’s plans,” he said. “I always think that teams reflect the style and outlook of their managers. That’s why Leicester’s philosophy is that there is no substitute for skill.”

His time at Leicester lasted five years and spanned more than 200 appearances before he switched to Bolton Wanderers – where one audacious goal he scored against Ipswich remains a YouTube favourite – and then Birmingham City, helping both sides to promotions.

In 1982 he played for Leeds, the following season Sunderland and the next, Southampton, before pitching up at The Goldstone.

Worthington’s first go at management, while continuing to play, came with two years at Tranmere – and his first signing was Albion’s Ian Muir. He told Vignes: “Ian Muir was a fantastic forward with great touch. He did things in training you just wouldn’t believe, yet he wasn’t even making the side at Brighton under Chris.”

Muir became a hero on Wirral, scoring 141 goals as Rovers won promotion twice and won the Associate Members Cup at Wembley in 1991. By then, Worthington was long gone, having moved on to Preston, then Stockport County, and, after a succession of brief stays with various non-league clubs, ended up with hometown club Halifax Town, where he was briefly joined by Case.

Albion’s shirt sponsor during his season with the club was Phoenix Brewery. Quite apt for a player who was famously quoted as saying: “I’ve squandered fortunes on booze, birds and gambling – it’s better than wasting it!”

Tellingly, his autobiography, published in 1995, entitled One Hump or Two, was a classic tell-all romp of a colourful career on and off the pitch.

Worthington died aged 72 on 22 March 2021 and, in a statement, his wife Carol said: “Frank brought joy to so many people throughout his career and in his private life. He will be greatly missed by everyone who loved him so much.”

The great man’s lifestyle spawned many eye-catching headlines over the years and there is no shortage of stories about him to be found on the internet.

Follow the links for just three examples.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/06/frank-worthington-denies-being-diagnosed-with-alzheimers-disease

http://www.90min.com/posts/26691-england-s-wasted-talent-1-frank-worthington

http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~sph2/lufc/mag/worthing.htm

1-fw-hudd 2-fw-leic 4-fw-headline

Pictures from my scrapbook show Worthington in Goal magazine in Huddersfield and Leicester’s colours, in Albion’s Phoenix Brewery-sponsored shirt and a classic headline. Pictures also from the Albion matchday programme.

Kurt Nogan’s phenomenal goalscoring record for Brighton

Screen Shot 2023-03-06 at 08.26.32 KURT NOGAN is right up there as one of my favourite all time Brighton & Hove Albion players. The ‘No, no; No, no, no, no; No, no, no Nogan’ fans’ chant still rings around my head when I think about his goalscoring exploits in the stripes.

One of my favourite Albion memories involved Kurt scoring at Filbert Street when he rounded off one of Albion’s best ever performances to give Division 2 Albion a 2-0 League Cup victory over Premiership Leicester.

It was the autumn of 1994 and I had travelled halfway across the country to Cheltenham to meet up with my then exiled Albion-supporting friend Colin Snowball to travel up to Leicester together to watch the game.

Before the match, we parked in a side street near the university and found a tiny back-street boozer where they served a magnificent pint of Everard’s Tiger, the local ale.

In those days, League Cup games were played over two legs and Albion, with Liam Brady as manager, went into the away game leading 1-0, courtesy of another Nogan goal, which had given us optimism rather than confidence that Albion could progress.

Leicester got their Nogans in a twist in the match programme, mistakenly identifying the first leg scorer as Kurt’s older brother Lee who played for Watford at the time: they knew which one it was by the end of the game!

With one of the best away displays I have seen, Brighton took the game to their supposedly more illustrious opponents and caused a major shock when a stunning long range strike from young defender Stuart Munday (celebrating above with Nogan) sailed past Kevin Poole in Leicester’s goal.

There was a curious cameo towards the end of the game when Jimmy Case, who was hard of hearing, trotted over to take a corner and seemed to be wasting time. The ref also thought so and promptly sent him off but Case later claimed he had been waiting for the whistle but hadn’t heard it above the din of the crowd!

With Leicester pushing up for a goal to get themselves back in it, Nogan was left unmarked to seal the win and stun the majority of the crowd into silence.

None of the faithful knew at the time, of course, but it was the last goal Nogan would score for the club.

He subsequently went on a 20-game barren run and, at the end of February 1995, with Albion desperately needing funds, they persuaded Burnley to part with £250,000 for his services.

He might have finished on a downer, but Nogan’s Albion record was 60 goals in 120 games, making him one of the club’s great all-time goalscorers.

Born in Cardiff on 9 September 1970, Nogan arrived at the Goldstone having been released at the end of the 1991-92 season by David Pleat during his second spell as manager of Luton Town. At Luton, Nogan celebrated his top flight debut in 1990 with a goal in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

The young Welshman was quickly called up for his country’s under-21s for whom he also scored on his debut. However, competing for a place alongside the likes of established forwards Mick Harford and Brian Stein, he struggled to gain a starting berth in the Luton first team, mainly being used as a substitute.

He had just turned 22 when he signed for the Seagulls, and he told the matchday programme in 2020: “I’d been at Luton since I was 16 – cleaned Steve Foster‘s boots as an apprentice, so I did.”

On reflection, he realised it was a crossroads moment in his life. “You can either drop out of the professional game altogether, or something comes along and you get lucky. For me, Brighton came along and I got lucky.”

If Albion had been able to retain the services of the on-loan strike pair Steve Cotterill and Paul Moulden, who started the 1992-93 season up front, Nogan’s chances of making the breakthrough might have been limited.

But finances dictated otherwise and Nogan eventually made his debut in October 1992, taking over up from another free transfer signing, Matthew Edwards, although much of the season he played alongside Edwards, who moved out to the wing, and Andy Kennedy.

nogan salute After a slow start Nogan scored his first goal in one of those lower league meaningless cup matches and then started finding the net regularly in the league, ending the season with 22 goals in all competitions.

For part of the 1993-94 season he enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with a young Paul Dickov, the diminuitive Scottish striker on loan from Arsenal for eight matches.

Nogan ended the campaign with 26 goals to his name, and was voted player of the season, even though the team finished in a disappointing 14^th place.

Nogan continued to have a variety of strike partners – often it was Junior McDougald but twice in late 1994 he was alongside the legendary Frank Stapleton who was doing his old Arsenal teammate Brady a favour by turning out for the Seagulls.

nogan ball In fact, one of Stapleton’s two games in a Brighton shirt was away to Cardiff on 5 November 1994. In the Bluebirds line-up that day were future Seagulls Charlie Oatway and Phil Stant, the latter scoring twice in a 3-0 win.

Nogan’s career was detailed brilliantly in a profile by Tony Scholes on clarets-mad.co.uk and he noted that Burnley boss Jimmy Mullen’s gamble on Nogan wasn’t enough to prevent them being relegated. The Welshman scored just three times and got involved in an altercation with the manager after being substituted at Bristol City.

However his goal touch returned in the 1995-96 season when he racked up 26 goals, 20 of them in the league, and got on well with Mullen’s successor Adrian Heath – until halfway through the following season when he was suddenly out of favour.

A move was inevitable after Nogan aired his differences with the manager on local radio. “All of a sudden the crowd hero had become public enemy number one,” said Scholes.

That he moved to near neighbours Preston in February 1997 was somewhat galling and Burnley fans of a certain age recall the inevitability of him scoring against them for his new club.

Three years later he moved to home town club Cardiff but, after only four full games and a few substitute appearances, a ruptured hamstring ended his league career prematurely at the age of 32. He did subsequently turn out for some Welsh League clubs but he wasn’t able to return to the previous level.

It’s Kurt – not Lee!!

Nogan in 2010

Matchday programme pictures include various shots of Nogan in action and, from the Leicester programme for that cup tie, he is wrongly captioned with his brother’s name.

Villa’s European Cup winning captain at the Albion

2-mortimer-in-flight A CULTURED midfielder regarded in many circles as the best ever captain of Aston Villa was almost ever-present in one season with Brighton.

Dennis Mortimer captained Villa when they won the European Cup in 1982 under manager Tony Barton.

Mortimer joined the Seagulls three years later and shone in what was a rather disappointing Division 2 season which saw the Albion finish 11^th.

Brighton’s near-promotion form in the season before had prompted Mortimer to try to help the Seagulls to restore their elite status after he’d been released by Villa.

In a programme feature by Tony Norman in November 1985, he said: “I knew this was a good side to come into; a team that wanted to play good football and win promotion.

“They missed it so narrowly last year and I felt I would like to be part of that challenge this year. I knew there would be excitement in the season ahead, and to me that is one of the most important things in football.

“Obviously I’m coming to the end of a long career in the game. I’ve been a professional for 17 years now and I wanted one final challenge. That’s why I came to Brighton.”

In his programme notes for the opening game of the season (against Grimsby Town), manager Chris Cattlin said of his former Coventry teammate: “He is a truly outstanding professional who will give the team steadiness and experience.”

Fans had a taste of what he would bring to the team when he scored a cracker in a pre-season game against Arsenal.

Unfortunately, while Mortimer was a consistent performer in midfield and the team enjoyed a decent run in the FA Cup – losing in the quarter finals to Southampton – Cattlin’s side were beset by injuries to key players and ultimately fell short of the top spots.

Morty BHA morty writes Knowing his time on the south coast was going to be limited, Mortimer didn’t uproot his family from their Lichfield home and instead lived in the Courtlands Hotel in Hove (above) for a while and also bought a flat where his wife and children could visit during school holidays.

Despite being born in Liverpool, the bulk of Mortimer’s career was connected with West Midlands teams, beginning with Coventry City under the tutelage of Pat Saward, who later managed the Albion, and ending with West Brom where he had a spell as assistant manager after his playing days were over.

He had not been a schoolboy star but was picked up and developed through Coventry’s youth development system. As well as coach Saward, Coventry’s youngsters also benefitted from the experience of Bob Dennison, the man who, at Middlesbrough, brought together as players one of the most famous footballing partnerships in Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.

“As a lad I thought I would be an engineer and, although the whole family were Liverpool mad, and we never missed a home game, it did not enter my head that I might be a professional until I was 14,” Mortimer said in a Goal interview in 1973. Coventry offered him a trial just as he was leaving school and his career built from there.

His initial Coventry boss Noel Cantwell, the former Man Utd and West Ham full back, was sure Dennis was destined for greater things after his first England under-23 call-up. “Dennis will become a big name in football, “ he said. “When he gets in Sir Alf’s side I don’t think he will lose his place easily.”

Although he never won a full cap, in 1971 he went on an end-of-season tour to Australia in an English FA squad that also included Peter Grummitt (then of Sheffield Wednesday) and Barry Bridges (of Millwall at the time). The group played the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, drawing 1-1, before heading Down Under where they won all nine of the matches they played in various locations across a month.

Coventry general manager, Joe Mercer, who was a legendary figure in the game and had a spell as caretaker manager of England, said of Dennis: “He has this great change of pace…he can go into another gear and accelerate out of trouble like all the good ones.”

However, it was after his move to Villa in 1975 that he rose to prominence, culminating in that famous 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam, courtesy of a Peter Withe goal.

As part of a 30^th anniversary celebration of the achievement, Mortimer told the Birmingham Mail in 2012: “It was such a momentous occasion for Aston Villa Football Club and for all of us as young men that you never forget it – and I doubt the fans who witnessed it would ever forget it either.

“You only have to see how big the competition is now and how much hype it gets to realise what an amazing achievement it was for us.

“Every year when the final of the European Cup, or Champions League as it is called now, comes around, I get a glimpse of that fantastic trophy and it all comes flooding back.

“I’ll never get bored of talking about it, but I don’t get reminded about it that much any more. It’s usually me telling the younger kids that Aston Villa won the European Cup.

“Some of them don’t believe me, because it was so long ago, and before a lot of them were born, but they go away and Google it and think ‘Wow, yes, they did win it!’”

DM Villa

In 10 years at Villa, Mortimer made 403 appearances and scored 36 goals. A 1977 League Cup winner, he led Villa to the English Division One title on May 2, 1981, and then lifted the European Cup on May 26, 1982.

The Birmingham Post said in 2010: “The Liverpudlian was at the forefront of the club’s finest era of modern times; a driving force from midfield that helped bring a level of success to Villa Park that his successors can only dream of.”

Although capped by England under-23 and England B, a full cap eluded him. That seems extraordinary now, especially after scoring twice in a 3-1 win for the under-23s against the Netherlands at Highbury, when Goal magazine reported he was being “hailed as the new Bobby Charlton”.

Mortimer was subsequently picked for the senior squad but didn’t get a game. “I got as far as the bench in the home internationals when Villa won the league, but never got on,” he said in a 2010 interview. “I always felt I should have done but there were so many good midfield players around at that time.

“I just needed to get on that pitch for five minutes in that home international, but Ron Greenwood wouldn’t put me on.”

After Cattlin allowed Jimmy Case to leave Brighton (telling the board his legs had gone, even though he then had six seasons at Southampton!), the team was crying out for a seasoned cool head in midfield who could put their foot on the ball and spread the ball about.

Cattlin eventually turned to his former Coventry teammate to bring that quality to a squad that was not quite reaching the heights required to restore the elite status lost in 1983.

Sadly, Mortimer spent just the one season at The Goldstone, but his 49 league and cup appearances were the highest number in that season’s squad.

Cattlin had offered him a two-year contract with the chance to start coaching but, following the manager’s sacking close to the end of the season, and his replacement Alan Mullery not fancying the experienced midfielder, he left the club.

“Player-coach would have been great as I had plenty left in the tank,” Mortimer told journalist Spencer Vignes: “He swapped a player with plenty of experience for one with no experience (Dale Jasper) and I was let go. Four months later (it was actually eight), Alan was let go as well.”

Mortimer returned to the Midlands – making the somewhat controversial decision to join Villa’s arch rivals Birmingham.

Funnily enough at the very same time he was heading back to the Midlands, the captain who lifted the European Cup that month also went on to play for the Albion. Romanian international Stefan Iovan was the Steaua Bucharest captain when they beat Barcelona on penalties in Seville; five years later, he was stepping out at Wembley as part of the Seagulls’ line-up in the Division 2 play-off final with Notts County.

But finally back to Mortimer. Now a sports speaker, pundit and coach, he’s not afraid to speak his mind and has been known to upset a few people with his outspoken comments about Villa’s plight in recent years.

Pictures from my scrapbook show Dennis Mortimer in action for Coventry against Liverpool, from Goal magazine, and an Albion matchday programme shot of him in full flight for the Seagulls. Also pictured is Mortimer when reserve team coach at West Brom during Ossie Ardiles’ reign as manager. When Ardiles moved to Spurs, Mortimer became new boss Keith Burkinshaw’s assistant. Full grey head of hair picture from 2010.

In parallel lines

Memories from 55 years following Brighton & Hove Albion

Tag: Jimmy Case