Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: Lifelong supporter on November 14, 2016, 02:02:33 am
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This brought back memories and just about reflects what I thought of the great man at the time.
Although, in fairness, you probably had to see him to believe it wasn't just hype.
A few good anecdotes in there as well.
http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/sport/football/doncaster-rovers/the-catt-chronicles-part-one-king-alick-and-the-doncaster-rovers-cup-thrillers-1-8235065
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Alick Jeffrey will never IMO be in danger of being caught as "The Greatest Player Ever" to have played for Donny. Not even the current "cult hero" Copps could be in the same discussion as being great.
The irony of it was that despite an absence of 8 years from the game due to two broken legs. Trying to make a comeback at "Skegness Town AFC" Singing in pubs to get some money which then obviously had it's pitfalls of an increased waistline and then a spell in Australia, WEll all this probably saved his life because he would have been a "Busby Babe" and would in all probability been on the plane that should never have taken off in Germany but did so on the direct orders of the F.A. and they acted all caring and concerned.
I was at Alick's return game and all through his time at Donny would never accept any criticism of the great man. He was approachable and would spend time talking to fans, and at the end of the day and after the terrible accident when another "Great" John Nicholson was killed he still went on the pitch for his corn and to entertain the crowds. He became a regular in the stands.
Irony in Deed . Sheer Brilliance . For those who did not see him play "Boy did you miss the man. He scored many brilliant goals and the one that nobody else would have dared. was a header from outside the penalty area on a muddy day in the FA Cup game at Halifax's Shay it hit the back of the net.. Sadly we still lost.
This is of course only my "Very Biased" opinion
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I too had the privilege of seeing 'the king' both before and after his broken legs. Words cannot describe his talents and I just wish another diamond like Alick could be unearthed by Rovers. He could do everything - create, score (with his head and both feet), tackle, pass from one end of the field to another, dribble etc. To say he was without equals is wrong as he would have been spoken of in the same breath as Pele, Eusabio and Best. He was that good. Of course, as well as Rovers loss he was a loss to England where he would have been a fixture for years and, along with the lost generation of Busby Babe talent killed at Munich, would have helped England win numerous world cups. He was simply awesome.
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I was there as well Bally for Alick's first return game. Its a period in Donny's history I will never forget. He is of course "MY HERO" That partnership with Sheffield and the promotion season fight with Bradford with Kevin Hector, memories, great memories.
On a visit back to the village my father said he would take me out for a pint, nothing special in that! He took me to the Fox PH and to my surprise Alick was the landlord. Now to those who don't know the Fox lets say it wasn't the best pub in Yorkshire. It was very sad to see the great man serving beer there with his 3 England caps proudly showing above the bar. I am sorry to say I never had a word with him on that occasion.
My personal memory of Alick was back in 1965/66 when my school team played in two area finals. We lost both to Hatfield but the consolation was Alick gave me my runners up medal. It meant the world to me.
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I never saw before he broke his leg,my grandad was taking me to my first match for my 5th birthday , and Alick broke his leg the week before.
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I was listening to to an interview on the radio with Jimmy Armfield just as Rooney was being touted as a boy wonder for England.
He was asked if he had seen any other player as good at such a young age,he replied that he had unfortunatly played in an U23s game when a bad injury had finished the career of Alick.
He went on to say he had everything the young Rooney had and how the rest of the squad were in awe of his ability in training,and what a loss he was to English football together with a fullback called Geoff Hall who died of polio, and Brian Clough with a broken leg, plus the Busby Babes.
It was a cursed generation which could have seen us be a top top nation from 1958 to the mid 70s.
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Some older fans may remember another great striker for the Rovers called Colin Booth,if my memory is correct I think he came on as substitute for Alick at Bristol.
Jimmy Murphy assistant manager to Matt Busby at Man U.wrote in his biography that if Alick had not broken his leg Bobby Charlton would have never worn the number 9 shirt for them.
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Colin Booth was a good player no doubt but not in Alick's league. But Boothy could certainly score many good goals too
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Peter Kitchen was good but not has good as alick
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Alick seemed to ping the ball as opposed to kicking it, with very little movement of his leg (either). What appeared to be a tap at goal was often a net buster.
After returning from injury once he had a run out in the reserves and won the game virtually on his own, scoring a hat trick at a canter. He was the most influential player I have ever seen.
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You're right about the little movement of his leg Bentley B. Alick is the only player I have ever seen take a penalty stood directly over the ball, draw his leg back and whack the back of the net with such force. None of this 5+ yards run up to the ball that most players do these days. He was awesome and an absolute delight to watch.
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many fond memories of Alick, to see him and Laurie Sheffield playing together was a joy
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The Jeffrey/Sheffield partnership was sublime.
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I can only reiterate what has been said above, the lad was a genius. I have been going to see Rovers since 1953 but cannot remember exactly when he arrived on the scene but remember him playing alongside the likes of Booth,Williams ,Broadbent, Sheffield etc. I am glad that he played when he did because i think if he had been born say in the 1990s he would have had all his natural skills coached out of him by the modern coaching guru's, he was a natural and made the game look so easy.Him and his mate Charlie Williams loved nothing more than getting up on the stage in the Two Palfreys in Cantley(now Shut) on a saturday night and giving us all a song.
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http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-u23-intres-det.html
If you scroll down to the France game in 1956, you'll see Stan Anderson was also in the team, and a few other well known names.
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He was unbelievable, unfortunately I only saw him after his horrific injuries. My first glimpse of the King was against Preston North End in the league cup, he hit the post from around 20 yards I'm sure the post bent twelve inches. I maybe wrong but I believe he scored the only goal in front of a 16,000 plus crowd. We must however never forget the hammer that paved the way for him on so many occasions that being the great Laurie Sheffield, a great centre forward and a great bloke off the field. My Dad would say "if you think Alick is the King Laurie Sheffield must be the Prince" he thought Laurie was as good. Two fantastic players who made my teenage years that bit more special.
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I used to chat to ex Hungary international Johnny Haas a few years ago. He was in the squad that beat England 6-3 in 1953. He was more impressed with Sheffield than Jeffrey. He told me that Laurie Sheffield was a fantastic player, and was a nightmare to play against because he was 'very strong'.
Haas became a Workington Town legend later on in his career.
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Did we get Sheffield from Newport County (off top of my head) ? I also saw him go for a ball at Notts County one Saturday, the keeper jumped to catch the ball and Laurie put him and ball in the net. Decision ....Goal
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Yes he came from Newport.
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I seem to remember an incident against Barnsley (I think) at Belle Vue when A Dingles player fouled Jeffrey, and Sheffield laid him out while Jeffrey was receiving all the attention on the floor.
Jeffrey was a bit of an enigma. He was a gentleman on the pitch, but apparently loved a scrap off it!
When he retired he took over what was well known as one of the roughest pubs in Doncaster, the Fox at Stainforth, and later the Black Bull in Doncaster town market place, another rough house in those days.
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I used to chat to ex Hungary international Johnny Haas a few years ago. He was in the squad that beat England 6-3 in 1953. He was more impressed with Sheffield than Jeffrey. He told me that Laurie Sheffield was a fantastic player, and was a nightmare to play against because he was 'very strong'.
Haas became a Workington Town legend later on in his career.
I used to play footy in Westfield park Balby with Johnny as he lived on Carr Hill and worked for Carr Hill Tyres. Used to see him round town in the late sixties, Masquerade or Penny Farthing. A good lad.
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Yes, that's him idler. I used to chat to him in the British Ropes club on Carr Hill, now sadly demolished.
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I lived on St. Catherine's Ave and worked at Paragon Plastics on Cross Bank then so used to go in the Ropes club sometimes for a pint and game of darts. Happy days, and cheap, about 10p a pint.😢
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Unfortunately I'm too young to have seen alick play! However I have been lucky enough to play against Kevin Hector - God he could play!
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Unfortunately I'm too young to have seen alick play! However I have been lucky enough to play against Kevin Hector - God he could play!
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I only saw Alick after he came back. But I've still ended up with several anecdotes showing just how good he was.
1) That Friday night 1-1 draw away at Swansea City when we won the 4th Div 10 years or so back, I was accosted by an old Swansea supporter before the match. He wanted to talk about Alick Jeffrey. Best player he'd ever seen he said.
2) Charlie Williams, in his autobio I think, went on about this cheeky 16 year old trainee saying to Charlie that he'd never catch him - and then proving the point while pinging 40 yard guided missiles into the stride of the wingers.
3) And the first of my three unique memories: a benefit match at the Plant Works ground sometime in the 70's Alick, fat as a pig and slow as a snail, standing in the middle of the park demanding the ball be played to him by Stan Anderson, Peter Kitchen, Brendan and co. And then pointing, imperiously, where he wanted the whole lot of them while he dictated the whole damn game without moving more than 10 yards in any direction.
4) I've described this one before. It still mystifies me. Alick, tanking down the Main Stand side towards the Town End. Being caught by a guy running up from behind and a guy cutting in ahead of him from his left. Nearest Rovers player inside Alick but behind another opponent who was behind and left of Alick. Alick running into a blind alley and nowhere to go. Only it wasn't. Somehow, and please don't ask me how, Alick continued running full pelt towards the Town End whilst the ball shot upwards, backwards and inside to Alick's left to land at the feet of the Rovers player behind that opponent. How can a ball go backwards, upwards over an opponent and left when the player kicking it is running flat out straight ahead? I've got no idea. But it did. I saw it do it.
5) I was at Alick's testimonial at BV. All sorts of superstars played that night. One incident that stands out for me was Bobby Charlton, clean through on goal, about on the 6 yard line, easy peasy to score, but he stopped, looked around and waited, seeing if Alick could get up in time for him to break the net. He couldn't, so Bobby slammed it in instead. But a lovely gesture and, maybe, an acknowledgement of just how awesomely good that guy was.
And last, I have had a number of pints served me by Alick in his Black Bull days. He had his caps on display behind the bar. Him and his lad got hauled up in court once for roughing up some bloke there....
Bob
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Whilst I agree that Alick was untouchable as a player he was also a character on the pitch. How many times just before a penalty would he walk up to our goalie and "tell him" where the opponent was going to place the spot kick. For some reason it made the penalty taker very nervous, and several spot kicks were missed.
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Did we get Sheffield from Newport County (off top of my head) ? I also saw him go for a ball at Notts County one Saturday, the keeper jumped to catch the ball and Laurie put him and ball in the net. Decision ....Goal
That happened to Kim Book at Sincil Bank once Bally. I was incensed at the time :) It was the start of a bad day. I think we lost 3-0 in the end. Fryatt? Froggatt? Might have been the name of the bloke who barged Kim into the net? Modern goalies wouldn't know what had hit them would they?!
BobG
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I was there Bob, and it was Dixie Macneill you are thinking of. Him and Percy Freeman were a double act at the time, and played football the old "Nat Lofthouse" way.
Laurie Sheffield was a top player at timing his jump to meet the ball in the air. Not the tallest by any means, but strong and won a high percentage of his headers.
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only the other day i was flying back from Malaga , and was sat next to an old lad from Redcar ,we were talking football and he brought up Alicks name remembering him from his young days.not only Doncaster people who remember King Alick he is still remembered around the country.
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He must be in the running for the most famous person from Doncaster. I was in a shop in Ibiza about twenty years ago and the Spanish shopkeeper asked me where I was from. When I said, Doncaster, he said "Alick Jeffrey"!
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He was unbelievable, unfortunately I only saw him after his horrific injuries. My first glimpse of the King was against Preston North End in the league cup, he hit the post from around 20 yards I'm sure the post bent twelve inches. I maybe wrong but I believe he scored the only goal in front of a 16,000 plus crowd. We must however never forget the hammer that paved the way for him on so many occasions that being the great Laurie Sheffield, a great centre forward and a great bloke off the field. My Dad would say "if you think Alick is the King Laurie Sheffield must be the Prince" he thought Laurie was as good. Two fantastic players who made my teenage years that bit more special.
He did score the only goal and instead of a net buster it was a delicate flick which left the keeper stranded and just rolled over the line
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.....not only Doncaster people who remember King Alick he is still remembered around the country....
Some years back on hols, my lad was wearing the sacred hoops and we got chatting to an old boy from Swansea who noticed them. He made a point of saying John Charles and young Alick were in a class of their own, and he had seen most of the top British players in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
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I think I started watching football at the wrong time! My first season was 1964/65. The next season DRFC were promoted from Div 4, England won the World Cup and Alick Jeffrey was plying his trade . Football in those days was easy, and nothing but success with tremendously talented footballers.
I was set up for a lifetime of disappointment. Once Alick disappeared the Rovers went on a very long barren run, England have never threatened another World Cup and I doubt I'll ever experience both club and country jointly succeeding in the years to come.
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Worse for me, SM. I started in 1969-70 and it took me over 10 years to see my first promotion. We didn't win a Divisional title till 2003-04, by which time I was in my 40s.
My only memories of Alick as a player were in a couple of Testimonial games. You could see he was someone who could play (as with Billy Bremner) but I would have loved to have seen him in his pomp.
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I was there Bob, and it was Dixie Macneill you are thinking of. Him and Percy Freeman were a double act at the time, and played football the old "Nat Lofthouse" way.
Laurie Sheffield was a top player at timing his jump to meet the ball in the air. Not the tallest by any means, but strong and won a high percentage of his headers.
Albie!!!
Brilliant! Yes. It was him. I remember the name now you've told me. I had an idea last night when I wrote that post that Lincoln had got a couple of good forwards that season. They scored a fair few didn't they? Hardly surprising!
Bob
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Is there a bit of exaggeration in just how good he was with time passing?. Somebody compared him to Pele, another that he almost bent a post in half. I wasn't there i'm not denigrating his memory because you guys saw him i didn't.
Somebody else compared him to Rooney who in most peoples minds isn't anywhere near being seen as an all time great. Somebody else rated Sheffield as better the comparisons are very wide apart.
Busby wanted him i know that from reading it but would he have been a back up if they had signed him?. David Pegg was supposed to have been a fine player but he wasn't a certainty for his place.
Just how good was he?, was he a Pele or was he as good as Rooney?. I think a lot liked him as a man and maybe that adds to how good they think he was. Nothing wrong with admiring somebody but is it based on fact or childhood memories that aren't quite fact?
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Jimmy Armfield Compared Rooney to Jeffrey, in terms of style and potential, when Rooney was a youngster.
Jimmy Murphy, the ex-Manchester United Assistant Manager, called Jeffrey the "English Pele". claiming he was one of the most exciting players of the 50s.
It is claimed that Bobby Charlton wouldn't have become such a household name had it not been for Jeffrey's injury because Charlton took the inside forward position that was penciled in for Jeffrey.
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Alick is remembered in lots of places, I worked with a guy in 76 that played amateur football and lived in Auburn, Sydney, and had met the great man, can't remember if he had ever played with him, but I do remember the praise he heaped on him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alick_Jeffrey
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Alas I never got to see the man play, but, I remember watching an interview with Jimmy Greaves. He was asked what was the best thing that ever happened to him in his career. He just looked straight at the man interviewing him and said Alick Jeffrey broke his leg. Interviewer asked who was Alick Jeffrey, he smiled and said the greatest footballer England never had. If he hadn't of broken his leg, I'd of never played for England and Bobby Charlton would of never played for Man United. The man asked him how good was he, he paused for a moment then said You know how everyone is going on about this young kid from Argentina ( Maradona ) well Jeffrey was the same, only younger, and had two feet.
That to me says it all.
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how good was Alick Jeffrey, IMO The best player to ever wear a Rovers shirt , to dout Alicks ability only comes from someone who never saw him , to everyone who saw him he is the king.
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Is there a bit of exaggeration in just how good he was with time passing?. Somebody compared him to Pele, another that he almost bent a post in half. I wasn't there i'm not denigrating his memory because you guys saw him i didn't.
Somebody else compared him to Rooney who in most peoples minds isn't anywhere near being seen as an all time great. Somebody else rated Sheffield as better the comparisons are very wide apart.
Busby wanted him i know that from reading it but would he have been a back up if they had signed him?. David Pegg was supposed to have been a fine player but he wasn't a certainty for his place.
Just how good was he?, was he a Pele or was he as good as Rooney?. I think a lot liked him as a man and maybe that adds to how good they think he was. Nothing wrong with admiring somebody but is it based on fact or childhood memories that aren't quite fact?
Had you seen him Sammy you would not be asking the question.
I only saw him after he broke his leg and he was magnificent then. He was pinging balls exactly where he wanted and any distance. He had a great shot with either foot and read a game brilliantly. Look at the praise heaped on him by his peers. That should answer your question plus he is still being talked about 50 years after he broke his leg.
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When we played Liverpool at Anfield in 1970 Alick was slow and overweight yet he was still the best player on the pitch.
I wish there was a film of that match. Emlyn Hughes was trying to mark him. Alick made him look silly and he was an England regular.
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SCWK asked If there's a bit of exaggeration in just how good King Alick was with time passing.
I suppose it's a valid question considering some football fans have a mentality to select certain players who can do no wrong, and others who can do no right. That was still the case back then during King Alick's playing days.
We've all on here seen Billy Sharp hit a shot so wide off the mark that it went out for a throw -in, followed by a crowd reaction of "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! #Billy. Billy Sha-arp, Billy, Billy Sharp#"!
We've all on here also seen Lewis Guy hit a shot just wide of a post and the crowd going "F*ck*ng us*less tw*t, WARRRRRAA MISS"!
Similar did happen back in the 60's. Graham 'Willie' Watson was often called 'Mary Watson', for the slightest of mistakes, whereas Albert Broadbent was applauded for booting the ball into the racecourse paddock.
The thing is, honest to God, Alick never seemed to make mistakes!
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I started watching Rovers before Alice broke his leg and I had not realised that he must've been just a teenager until reading this topic. He bossed the play even then, strutting about totally dominating the game and making those around him look like boys! He was such a skilful player and gifted with such strength and power. He was very impressive I can asssure you.
Good luck!
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When we played Liverpool at Anfield in 1970 Alick was slow and overweight yet he was still the best player on the pitch.
I wish there was a film of that match. Emlyn Hughes was trying to mark him. Alick made him look silly and he was an England regular.
Or of Hughes making a headed clearance off the line and his knees buckling after a shot/free kick from AJ.
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Sammy, just to paint a picture. If you can imagine Rooney playing in our team right now, he'd be head and shoulders above the rest wouldn't he? Well that's how Alick stood out and I saw him from 66/67 when he was ageing, of sturdy build and less mobile.
Now it's hard to imagine how good he was as a youngster but when you hear to testimony from those who saw him then, then you can understand he could have had a similar impact on the game as Rooney did when he burst on to the scene.
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It sounds like those who did see him were blessed. I have watched us since 1989 off and on and haven't seen anybody in that category.
Is there any footage of him playing either when he was young or older?. I know back then things were not televised but is there some unearthed footage somewhere?.
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There is some fleeting footage on Pathe News website. Search Doncaster Rovers and there's an FA Cup tie with Bristol Rovers. Charlie Williams features as well. Alick is aged 17 in that match.
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Sammy I recall the highlights of Bradford PA v Rovers being televised the following Sunday afternoon on Yorkshire TV. Sadly Rovers lost and the worse thing was that it was one of Bradford's very few victories.
I do believe they finished bottom and again I think it was Rovers promotion season 68/69, Alick did play in this match and you do get a glimpse of him.
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When he was young and making headlines I remember a piece on Sportsview with Peter Dimmock about Alick.
I don't think that it was very long but showed him walking down a street near where he lived and might have talked to him.
The problem is tv matches were either FA cup finals or internationals. The only other ones were Pathetic News at the cinema. It wasn't like the carpet coverage that you get today. If you drew a big club in a cup match that might be the only chance to see their big players in those days.
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The King did play in a 'Sunday soccer' televised YTV match at Bradford Park Avenue in 1972. I've searched for it but can't find it on the internet. Perhaps someone else will have better luck.
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The King did play in a 'Sunday soccer' televised YTV match at Bradford Park Avenue in 1972. I've searched for it but can't find it on the internet. Perhaps someone else will have better luck.
It was in 1968. Alick had retired by 1972.
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You are correct TRB. I did apply a bit of conjecture to the date.
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I started watching the Rovers in 1962 so had the privilege of seeing Alick in his mid sixties comeback.
He was streets better than everyone else in those days.
I suppose if he had gone to Man Utd as was expected he would have been revered in the same way as Duncan Edwards if he had been killed at Munich or Bobby Charlton if he had survived.
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I started watching Rovers before Alice broke his leg and I had not realised that he must've been just a teenager until reading this topic. He bossed the play even then, strutting about totally dominating the game and making those around him look like boys! He was such a skilful player and gifted with such strength and power. He was very impressive I can asssure you.
Good luck!
If I am not mistaken I believe Alick was 15 when he first played for Rovers in the old 2nd division which now equates to the Championship, and we pinched him from under the noses of our rivals Rotherham as he came from Rawmarsh. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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King Alick's return to football coincided with my induction into the life changing compulsion of being RTID. I vaguely remember watching a TV report announcing his return to Doncaster colours and there being some argument about him being allowed to play professional football having previously received compensation for his injuries. I think it was settled by some sort of claw back payment but am not sure of that.
Most knowledgeable football types of a certain age eulogise about Alec Jeffrey, I once worked with someone who was at the match in Bristol when he broke his leg, he said you could hear the noise of the bone snapping and that the whole stadium fell into stunned silence.
I only saw him play a few times but in my view he was possessed of natural talent that can be compared with the very best there has been. If only things had been different.
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I started watching Rovers before Alice broke his leg and I had not realised that he must've been just a teenager until reading this topic. He bossed the play even then, strutting about totally dominating the game and making those around him look like boys! He was such a skilful player and gifted with such strength and power. He was very impressive I can asssure you.
Good luck!
If I am not mistaken I believe Alick was 15 when he first played for Rovers in the old 2nd division which now equates to the Championship, and we pinched him from under the noses of our rivals Rotherham as he came from Rawmarsh. Please correct me if I am wrong.
If you click on the link of the original post niteowler it tells you all about him and you're right he did make his debut in the old Second Division at the age of fifteen!
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King Alick's return to football coincided with my induction into the life changing compulsion of being RTID. I vaguely remember watching a TV report announcing his return to Doncaster colours and there being some argument about him being allowed to play professional football having previously received compensation for his injuries. I think it was settled by some sort of claw back payment but am not sure of that.
Most knowledgeable football types of a certain age eulogise about Alec Jeffrey, I once worked with someone who was at the match in Bristol when he broke his leg, he said you could hear the noise of the bone snapping and that the whole stadium fell into stunned silence.
I only saw him play a few times but in my view he was possessed of natural talent that can be compared with the very best there has been. If only things had been different.
Alec(?) Jeffrey
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I started watching Rovers before Alice broke his leg and I had not realised that he must've been just a teenager until reading this topic. He bossed the play even then, strutting about totally dominating the game and making those around him look like boys! He was such a skilful player and gifted with such strength and power. He was very impressive I can asssure you.
Good luck!
If I am not mistaken I believe Alick was 15 when he first played for Rovers in the old 2nd division which now equates to the Championship, and we pinched him from under the noses of our rivals Rotherham as he came from Rawmarsh. Please correct me if I am wrong.
If you click on the link of the original post niteowler it tells you all about him and you're right he did make his debut in the old Second Division at the age of fifteen!
Apologies Lifelong,missed that one, good read though.
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I wish i had seen him play. Some people can play the game so well it goes beyond just football. Diego Maradona, Ryan Giggs, Gascoigne, Cantona, Zidane all players who had this ability.
Did anybody ever chat with him about the injury? was he bitter about it?. Or was he relieved in a way because it would almost certainly have led to his death at Munich?.
How good was his lad i remember seeing he had a time as a junior with Rovers?. A lot of players from that era there just isn't much coverage is there?. Even the massive players like Puskas there will be plenty of games but nowhere near half of the games he played.
What was his style did he glide over the pitch? or was he a busy bustling type?. How quick was he i did hear he had the strength of a bloke at fifteen.
John Ryan seems to idolise him when you read the many times he has mentioned him. I would love to think somebody somwhere has unseen footage of him playing.
That's something i meant to ask ages ago. Am i remembering right that at some time a lot of our historical items facts etc went missing?. I seem to remember somebody mentioning it.
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http://streaming.britishpathe.com/hls-vod/flash/00000000/00031000/00031408.mp4.m3u8
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The first match he played when he came back in the mid 60's was a reserve game down at BV. I wasn't there - but my Dad was. I can't remember the exact figures, but the attendance that day was several thousand. The usual attendance for a reserve match was a couple of hundred.
If he had played today he'd be at Barcelona.
And no. He wasn't bitter. He was very relaxed actually about what happened. His lad was a far better player than I ever was - but that didn't make him into a good player!
How many other players from 60 years ago, Sammy, who never played a full international match, who never played in the first division, are still talked about the length and breadth of this country? The evidence is all here - in this thread. I got accosted by a bloke in Swansea. Someone got accosted somewhere in Spain. People haven't forgotten Alick. He was going to be the very, very best. It's not a joke when people say Bobby Charlton would never have got into United's team. He wouldn't. He was the reserve for Alick. Alick, btw, hit the ball as hard as Bobby did too. And Bobby was famous for really smacking the thing. You can look him up on youtube. There's film of him doing it. Alick was as good. Only he could do it with both feet.
BobG
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Charlton could do it with both feet too.
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The first match he played when he came back in the mid 60's was a reserve game down at BV. I wasn't there - but my Dad was. I can't remember the exact figures, but the attendance that day was several thousand. The usual attendance for a reserve match was a couple of hundred.
If he had played today he'd be at Barcelona.
And no. He wasn't bitter. He was very relaxed actually about what happened. His lad was a far better player than I ever was - but that didn't make him into a good player!
How many other players from 60 years ago, Sammy, who never played a full international match, who never played in the first division, are still talked about the length and breadth of this country? The evidence is all here - in this thread. I got accosted by a bloke in Swansea. Someone got accosted somewhere in Spain. People haven't forgotten Alick. He was going to be the very, very best. It's not a joke when people say Bobby Charlton would never have got into United's team. He wouldn't. He was the reserve for Alick. Alick, btw, hit the ball as hard as Bobby did too. And Bobby was famous for really smacking the thing. You can look him up on youtube. There's film of him doing it. Alick was as good. Only he could do it with both feet.
BobG
I was there and I think it was v Crewe (though Crewe may well have been the first League opponents)
There were hundreds outside the Players entrance before the game hoping for a glimpse or Autograph. Suddenly the door opened and out stepped King Alick. Nobody moved because I don't think they recognised him. Then I got in and got an autograph and the rest mobbed him having realised he was there
Big big attendance that day
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My Father in Law used to talk about AJ the 1st time round. He always talked about how hard he could shoot, referring to a time when AJ let fly it was just outside the post and hit the advertising behind the goal with such a crash and rebounded before the keeper had started his dive. Memories eh?
I only saw the 2nd coming of AJ and all I can say is what a player!