Tag: Kazenga LuaLua

Oh brother: Seagulls spell revives van La Parra

ON-LOAN Dutchman Rajiv van La Parra scored twice in six games for Brighton, spurring parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers to recall him.

Georginio Wijnaldum’s half-brother was only on the winning side once during his time with the Seagulls, but Wolves boss Kenny Jackett was happy to give him another chance at Molyneux after he’d mysteriously been frozen out.

But the thaw didn’t last long. While Albion had moved on by signing Anthony Knockaert on a three-year deal from Standard Liege, van La Parra was soon on the move again, this time to Huddersfield.

It was in November 2015 that Chris Hughton seized on an opportunity to shake up Albion’s attacking options in the last few hours of the loan transfer window by offering the unsettled van La Parra a chance to replicate the form he’d shown the previous season for Wolves.

“Rajiv will give us pace and creativity in the forward areas, and supplements our existing wide options,” Hughton said. “He is something different to the players we already have here, and I am delighted to have him on board.

“With Sam Baldock currently injured and Kazenga LuaLua having missed the amount of games he has, we have been very keen to bring in offensive options.

“In Rajiv we have a player who regularly featured in Wolves’ promotion chase last season.”

Albion were top of the table at the time and, having watched from the bench as Albion saw off Birmingham 2-1 at the Amex, van La Parra went on in the 27th minute of the away game at Derby County after Solly March was clattered by a challenge that ultimately ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The substitute certainly made a positive impact, edging Albion 2-1 ahead with a goal in the 75th minute before Chris Martin equalised for County with a last-ditch penalty after Gordon Greer was harshly adjudged to have fouled Johnny Russell.

Van La Parra was also on target at Loftus Road on 15 December when he beat former England goalkeeper Rob Green with a 30-yard shot in the 55th minute to put Albion 2-0 up. QPR hit back with two Charlie Austin goals to share the points.

It emerged when he signed that van La Parra had been a Brighton target for some while, with the Wolverhampton Express and Star reporting he’d spoken to the club about a possible permanent move before that August’s transfer deadline day.

Leeds United were also keen, and he might later have ended up at rock bottom Bolton Wanderers, but he stayed on at Molyneux, where he found James Henry and Nathan Byrne ahead of him in the pecking order.

Ironically, his one and only league goal for Wolves was scored against the Seagulls at the Amex in a 1-1 draw the previous season.

The winger admitted in an interview with Andy Naylor for The Argus that he was baffled why he’d fallen out of favour at the Black Country club.

“It’s a mystery,” he said. “I didn’t understand what happened but sometimes these things happen in football.

“The manager maybe wanted to try some different players but I cannot explain what happened. It’s unreal. I played last season and I then went onto the bench not playing as many games.

“I’m the type of person who goes to the manager and asked for an explanation why I wasn’t playing. He (Jackett) couldn’t really give a reason but he motivated me by saying that I was close to the team and training well.

“That was keeping me positive about the manager and his opinion of me. At the end of the day, they were just words and not actions and I can just focus on playing now.”

His arrival at the Amex was somewhat overshadowed by the signing at the same time of striker James Wilson on loan from Manchester United but he discovered a couple of familiar faces in the Albion dressing room: Elvis Manu – a fellow product of Feyenoord – and Danny Holla.

“It’s nice to have them,” he said. “They can help me. I know Manu very well because we played at Feyenoord. He was in a younger team than me. I’ve played against Danny a few times and we’ve had a number of conversations.”

Although van La Parra made a mark with the Seagulls, it was apparent in December that a permanent move to the south coast looked unlikely. Wolves boss Jackett had noted his form and said: “He’s been keen to get the opportunity and so far at Brighton he’s taken it. He’s still a Wolves player and we’ll assess the situation. He’s got a couple of goals and assists which is very good.”

Van La Parra hoped an impressive performance in his last game on loan might persuade Hughton to view him as a long term prospect but Albion went down 1-0 at home to Ipswich Town, their fifth winless game on the trot, and he returned to Molineux.

Born in Rotterdam on 4 June 1991, of parents from Suriname, he was named by his mum after Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, the former Indian prime minister who was assassinated in 1984.

Van La Parra went through the youth ranks at Dutch giants Feyenoord between 1999 and 2008 and earned selection for the national side’s under 17s and under 19s.

It was only while playing in Dutch youth football that former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, then playing for Sparta Rotterdam, met his half-brother van la Parra.

“I knew I had another brother, but I never saw him until that moment,” Gini explained. “I never saw pictures because at that time you didn’t have the internet or social media. There was no Instagram or Facebook or anything.

“I went to play a game, but I found my brother.”

Wijnaldum eventually moved to Feyenoord, and van La Parra said: “When he came to play for Feyenoord, we saw each other more often and we were closer.”

In 2008, van La Parra had moved to French Ligue 1 club Caen where he thought he stood a better chance of first team football. He was there for three years and, although he managed 16 outings in their first team, he mainly played for the B side.

At the end of his contract, he returned to the Netherlands and joined Eredivisie outfit SC Heerenveen where in three years he scored 16 goals in 94 appearances and got to play Europa League football. In the 2012-13 season, he also played six times for the Dutch under 21s, when he got the chance to play alongside Wijnaldum.

“I played on the wing and Gini in midfield. He didn’t give me the ball. He always passed to the other side,” joked van La Parra. 

In the summer of 2014, the winger moved to then Championship side Wolves and quickly established himself as a regular.

La Parra’s form for Brighton only revived his Wolves career temporarily, Jackett recalling him to their side in an FA Cup tie against West Ham and a 3-2 win over Fulham, in which he provided an assist and combined well with Michal Zyro.

Jackett said: “I felt that we’ve lost some pace along our front line and Rajiv has that and it’s a reason for bringing him back in to the group.

“He did well at Brighton, and I knew that against Fulham, tactically, I could play either system – 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 – with Rajiv on the pitch and be able to switch from one to the other. That was the advantage.

“He showed how much he wanted to play for Wolves. And the crowd responded to him, and if he keeps showing that work rate and desire, everyone will follow up on him.”

However, two months later he joined fellow Championship side Huddersfield on loan until the end of the season, and the move was made permanent that summer. He was a regular in the Town side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2017.

He made 38 appearances during the 2017-18 season amongst the elite, but incurred Sean Dyche’s wrath when he went to ground rather too easily in the penalty area during a Premier League game against Burnley. The referee didn’t buy it and the player was booked and subsequently fined by his own manager, David Wagner. “It’s unacceptable in my book. I can’t abide it,” said Dyche.

The following season, van La Parra struggled for game time and went on loan to Middlesbrough.

He eventually left the Terriers in 2020 having made a total of 102 appearances and signed for Serbian club Red Star Belgrade. He only played 11 games for them and then moved to Spanish second division club Logroñés for the 2020-21 season but, after only four appearances for them, he was released from his contract in January.

He then switched to Germany and signed for Bundesliga second division club Würzburger Kickers but, after they were relegated, he was on the move again.

Next stop was in Greece, for Apollon Smyrnis, but footballleagueworld.co.uk reported in November 2021: “It’s been a tough start for the player, who is featuring regularly, as he has failed to score or register an assist as his new side are third from bottom.”

Jesse Lingard took steps to stardom at Brighton

MANCHESTER United youngster Jesse Lingard scored four goals in 17 appearances for Brighton in their 2013-14 Championship season.

As well as helping the Seagulls to reach the play-offs, the move proved a useful development step for Lingard, who later become a regular at United and played for England at the 2018 World Cup.

Former United boss Jose Mourinho spoke about the value of the experience in an interview with manutd.com ahead of a Brighton v Man Utd Premier League game in May 2018.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson involved him in the first team squad a couple of times in the 2011-12 season, his real senior football education began during a three-month loan to Leicester City (he was sent with Michael Keane) in November 2012.

And, although Lingard went on United’s pre-season tour Down Under in the summer of 2013, he joined Birmingham City on loan in September 2013.

He scored a total of six goals in 13 games for the Blues, including a debut four goals at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Birmingham hoped to keep Lingard

They’d been hoping to re-sign him for the rest of the season but Albion nipped in at the end of February 2014 and he headed south to join Oscar Garcia’s promotion-chasing side until the end of the season.

Garcia told the club website: “We are delighted we have finally secured Jesse until the end of the season. He is one of the most exciting young English players and has already created a lot of interest following his successful loan spell at Birmingham.

“We worked hard to secure a talent who has already shown that he can play at Championship level, and I am very pleased to have added Jesse to our striking options.

“He has an excellent pedigree, having come through the academy at Old Trafford, and there is no doubt that he has a lot of talent and ability. I am really looking forward to working with him.”

Lingard got on the scoresheet in the 4-1 away win at already-crowned champions Leicester City, and four days later also found the net in a 3-0 win over Charlton.

In the third minute of added on time at home to Yeovil Town, Lingard added to Kazenga LuaLua’s opener to secure a 2-0 win in the last home league fixture.

He then scored Albion’s goal in the play-off first leg at home to Derby, but, with Albion losing the game 2-1, they were always on the back foot going into the second leg when County ran riot against the injury-ravaged Seagulls to win 4-1.

Lingard went back to United and got his first competitive first team start under Louis van Gaal in the season-opener against Swansea at Old Trafford, but the occasion was marred by him having to go off with a knee injury after only 24 minutes – and United lost 2-1.

The injury set his career back six months and, on his recovery, Lingard was sent out on loan again in February 2015 when former United assistant manager Steve McLaren took him to Derby County.

Back at Old Trafford the following season, he got his first United goal in November 2015 when United beat West Brom 2-0, and he began to establish himself, making a total of 40 appearances by the season’s end.

In fact, that season ended on a particularly high note for Lingard when he came off the bench to score the winning goal for United in the 2016 FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace.

The 2017-18 season saw him involved even more, when he made 48 appearances, and, even through managerial upheaval, he continued to be a regular member of the United first-team squad.

Born in Warrington on 15 December 1992, Lingard went to the town’s William Beaumont Community High School and was on United’s books from the age of seven.

He progressed through the different age groups but, as a slow developer physically, was still playing at under 16s level when he was 18.

Nevertheless, as a youth player at Manchester United, he helped them to win the FA Youth Cup in 2010-11.

An extended feature on Lingard’s development appeared in the matchday programme for Albion’s game at Old Trafford in November 2017.

One of the coaches involved in his development, academy advisor Tony Whelan, said: “Jesse has had to be patient throughout his career. As a younger player, he was physically under-developed so he had to play a younger age group. That wasn’t easy, but he had the patience, intelligence and trust in the coaching staff to know that those decisions were made in his best interests, that we knew at some point he was going to grow. At some point, all that ability would be able to come out.

“He’s got a wonderful mindset, so his ability to come on and make an impact on the game is down to the fact he’s resilient, he has a wonderful mentality, and he is a great observer of the game. That comes out all the time in the way he deals with things. And on top of that, he has his excellent technical ability.”

Whelan added: “He’s only of slight build, so he’s developed great technical ability, good passing, dribbling, he’s a really good mover – very fluid, a wonderful mover – and he’s athletic without looking that athletic.”

The coach said: “You don’t get in our first-team squad without being a very accomplished player. He’s also playing for the national team fairly regularly. That’s testimony to Jesse’s abilities as an all-round footballer now.”

Lingard was 23 when he made his full England debut, at Wembley against Malta, on 8 October 2016, and he went on to become part of the England squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.

He scored his first England goal in a 1-0 win away to the Netherlands in March 2018, and has since scored three more times in 24 matches; against Panama at the World Cup, against the USA at Wembley in November 2018 and three days later also at home against Croatia.

He’d already appeared on the international stage earlier in his career, playing three times for England under 17s in 2008 and scoring twice in 11 games for the under 21s between 2013 and 2015.

Coach Whelan summed up Lingard thus: “From the day he first walked into this football club at seven years of age, he always had a smile on his face. He’s always loved playing, always loved the game, always had wonderful enthusiasm, and in some ways he’s inspired the coaches with his love of the game and love of the ball.

“You never had to ask him to work hard, he was always running around, always energetic, always mischievous, and those are the qualities he brought.”

In an interview with the Albion matchday programme for Brighton’s home game with United in 2017-18, Lingard reflected on his loan spell with the Seagulls and said: “I wanted to go to the club because I knew they were a good club with a great stadium and great fans – it was the perfect club to go on loan to.”

He added: “The stadium, the staff, the fans, you could see the ambition of the club. I always knew that the club would make it into the Premier League. It was heading in that direction for a couple of seasons.”

The 2019-20 season saw a marked decline in Lingard’s fortunes with his starts for United under double figures, and most of his involvement coming off the bench. He also lost his place in the England squad.

It was revealed a business venture had performed badly and, sadly, trying to cope with personal issues involving his family impacted Lingard’s form and demeanour.

After United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer challenged him publicly over his declining performances, he decided to talk about the problems publicly.

After the curtain came down on the season, Lingard told his 6.6 million Instagram followers: “This season has been difficult for so many reasons. I lost who I was as a player and person, but I never wanted to give up.

“I knew who I really was on and off the pitch and knew that having been there before I could get there again.”

“This meant working harder than I’d ever done before and trusting in those around me that they knew how to best help me achieve that.

“I know the fans have been frustrated but in all this time my love for this club and everyone connected to it has never left me.”

“This team, this club is my family and I will continue to keep working harder than ever to help this team achieve its goals.”

However, with several new faces arriving at Old Trafford prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, football’s rumour mill was busy suggesting Solskaer was looking to offload Lingard.

In January 2021, Lingard joined West Ham on a half-season loan and the change of scene seemed to give his career a boost. He scored twice on his debut in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa and finished the season with nine goals in 16 appearances for the Hammers.

He returned to Man Utd for the 2021-22 season, playing in 22 league and cup games but only scoring twice.

When his contract wasn’t renewed at Old Trafford, in the summer of 2022, Lingard signed a one-year deal with newly promoted Nottingham Forest on a reported £200,000 a week.

Kit Napier top scorer for Brighton in five of six seasons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

irvine napier saward

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

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

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

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

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

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

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