Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands. The club competes in the Premier League, England's top division of football, plays its home games at the King Power Stadium; the club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse F. C. playing on a field near Fosse Road. They moved to Filbert Street in 1891, were elected to the Football League in 1894 and adopted the name Leicester City in 1919, they moved to the nearby Walkers Stadium in 2002, renamed the King Power Stadium in 2011. Leicester won the 2015 -- their first top-level football championship, they are one of only six clubs to have won the Premier League since its inception in 1992. A number of newspapers described Leicester's title win as the greatest sporting shock considering at the start of the season they were favourites to face relegation. Multiple bookmakers had never paid out at such long odds for any sport; as a result, the team was dubbed "The Unbelievables", a spin-off harking back to Arsenal's undefeated team "The Invincibles".
The club's previous highest finish was second place in the top flight, in 1928–29 known as Division One. Throughout Leicester's history, they have spent all but one season in the top two leagues of English football, they hold a joint-highest seven second-tier titles. The club have been FA Cup finalists four times, in 1948–49, 1960–61, 1962–63 and 1968–69; this is a tournament record for the most defeats in the final without having won the competition. Leicester have several promotions to their name, two play-off final wins, one League One title. In 1971, they won the FA Community Shield, in 2016, they were runners-up; the club have won the League Cup three times in 1964, 1997 and 2000, as well as being runners-up in 1965 and 1999. Leicester City have competed in European football, featuring in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup, 1997–98 UEFA Cup, 2000–01 UEFA Cup, most the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition in that year. Formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School as "Leicester Fosse", the club joined The Football Association in 1890.
Before moving to Filbert Street in 1891, the club played at five different grounds, including Victoria Park south-east of the city centre and the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground. The club joined the Midland League in 1891, were elected to Division Two of the Football League in 1894 after finishing second. Leicester's first Football League game was a 4–3 defeat at Grimsby Town, with a first League win the following week, against Rotherham United at Filbert Street; the same season saw the club's largest win to date, a 13–0 victory over Notts Olympic in an FA Cup qualifying game. In 1907–08 the club finished as Second Division runners-up, gaining promotion to the First Division, the highest level of English football. However, the club were relegated after a single season which included the club's record defeat, a 12–0 loss against Nottingham Forest. In 1919, when League football resumed after World War I, Leicester Fosse ceased trading due to financial difficulties of which little is known.
The club was reformed as "Leicester City Football Club" appropriate as the borough of Leicester had been given city status. Following the name change, the club enjoyed moderate success in the 1920s; however the 1930s saw a downturn in fortunes, with the club relegated in 1934–35 and, after promotion in 1936–37, another relegation in 1938–39 would see them finish the decade in Division Two. City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history in 1949, losing 3–1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers; the club, was celebrating a week when a draw on the last day of the season ensured survival in Division Two. Leicester won the Division Two championship in 1954, with the help of Arthur Rowley, one of the club's most prolific strikers. Although they were relegated from Division One the next season, under Dave Halliday they returned in 1957, with Rowley scoring a club record 44 goals in one season. Leicester remained in Division One until 1969, their longest period in the top flight. Under the management of Matt Gillies and his assistant Bert Johnson, Leicester reached the FA Cup final on another two occasions, but lost in both 1961 and 1963.
As they lost to double winners Tottenham Hotspur in 1961, they were England's representatives in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1962–63 season, the club led the First Division during the winter, thanks to a sensational run of form on icy and frozen pitches the club became nicknamed the "Ice Kings" placed fourth, the club's best post-war finish. Gillies guided Leicester to their first piece of silverware in 1964, when Leicester beat Stoke City 4–3 on aggregate to win the League Cup for the first time. Leicester reached the League Cup final the following year, but lost 3–2 on aggregate to Chelsea. Gillies and Johnson received praise for their version of the "whirl" and the "switch" system, a system, used by the Austrian and Hungarian national teams. After a bad start to the season, Matt Gillies resigned in November 1968, his successor, Frank O'Farrell was unable to prevent relegation, but the club reached the FA Cup final in 1969 for the last time to date, losing to Manchester City 1–0.
In 1971, Leicester were promoted back to Division One, won the Charity Shield for the only tim
Nick Barmby
Nicholas Jon Barmby is an English former professional footballer and first team coach at Scunthorpe United. As a player, he played as a midfielder and at his peak he earned a total of 23 caps for England between 1995 and 2001; as well as two Premier League seasons with Hull, Barmby has appeared in England's top flight for Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Leeds United having represented Nottingham Forest outside the Premier League. Barmby is one of only nine players to have scored Premier League goals for six different teams. Growing up on the west side of Hull, Barmby played for local teams Springhead and National Tigers as a boy showing talent from a early age, he ended his education at the local Kelvin Hall High School early to complete his studies at The Football Association's School of Excellence, while honing his skills for the professional game. His father, Jeff Barmby, was a player in his younger days and became his son's advisor and agent as his skills began to attract the attention of various clubs.
Barmby signed for Tottenham Hotspur, joining them on leaving school in the summer of 1990. His first game for Tottenham was against Hull City at Boothferry Park in a testimonial match for Garreth Roberts, he scored two goals. Having turned professional in April 1991 under the management of Terry Venables, he made his competitive debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 27 September 1992 in the FA Premier League, established himself as a regular player that season, when still only 18 years old. During his time at the club he became one of Ossie Ardiles' five-man attack, along with Jürgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton and Ilie Dumitrescu, he played 100 games and scored 27 goals in all competitions for Spurs, playing on the losing side in two FA Cup semi-finals, before becoming Middlesbrough's most expensive signing in a £5.25 million deal in June 1995. Barmby set up the first competitive goal at the new Riverside Stadium for Craig Hignett. Barmby stayed at Middlesbrough for 17 months, before heading to Everton, who paid a record fee of £5.75 million for him, a small profit on the price they paid for him.
In his first full season at the club and his new team found themselves in a Premier League relegation battle. However, they survived with a 15th-place finish as Barmby made 25 league appearances and scored four goals, he managed just two goals from 30 appearances the following season as Everton finished just one place above relegation. Injuries restricted him to appearing in just 24 out of 38 league appearances in 1998–99, as he scored three goals, his final season at Goodison Park saw him miss just one league game and find the net nine times, though Everton finished only in 13th place. On 26 February 2000, Barmby scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against West Ham United. After nearly four years at Everton, during which Barmby played 114 league games and scored 18 goals, he headed across Stanley Park to Liverpool for a fee of £6 million on 19 July 2000, it was the first time since striker Dave Hickson in 1959 that Everton had sold a player to Liverpool – although six players had moved in the opposite direction in the 41 years between Barmby's transfer and that of Hickson.
Manchester United expressed an interest in signing Barmby to cover for their missing players at the start of the 2000–01 season, but they were outbid. Barmby was involved in Liverpool's successful season of 2000–01 in which they won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup, he scored against his previous club Everton in the Merseyside derby, scored a penalty kick in the shootout against Birmingham City in the League Cup Final. After persistent injury and lack of form blighted his second season at the club, Barmby was sold to Leeds United in August 2002 for a fee of £2.75 million, where he linked up with Terry Venables, his first manager at Tottenham. Barmby scored eight goals in his time at Liverpool, all of which came in the 2000–01 season: four in the UEFA Cup, two in the League, one each in the FA Cup and the League Cup. On 8 August 2002, Barmby signed for Leeds for £2.75 million. Despite scoring on his debut, Barmby made little impact at a Leeds side sliding down the Premier League table, missed much of the action during his two seasons with them in the Premier League.
He spent a loan spell at Nottingham Forest during the 2003–04 season, scoring once against Gillingham, before moving to his hometown club, Hull City. In 2004, Barmby returned to his hometown team Hull City on a free transfer following Leeds's relegation from the top flight. Barmby helped City to promotion from League One in his first season at the club, he scored nine goals, including the fastest goal in City's history, after seven seconds in a match against Walsall on 6 November 2004. He played for Hull in the 2007–08 Football League Championship campaign, which ended in promotion through the Championship play-offs to the Premier League. 2008–09 was the first season in which Hull City played top division football. He scored his first goal of Hull's first Premier League season against Sunderland on 20 December 2008, making him one of only five players to have scored for six different teams in the Premier League. On 29 June 2010, it was announced by the incoming Hull City manager, Nigel Pearson, that Barmby would take his first steps into coaching, by being taken onto Pearson's staff at Hull City for the 2010–11 Championship campaign, combining the role of coach with his playing duties.
Barmby earned his first cap for England on 29 March 1995, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute i
Leeds United F.C.
Leeds United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1919 following the disbanding of Leeds City F. C. by the Football League and took over their Elland Road stadium. They play in the second tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won three English league titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Charity/Community Shields and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups; the club reached the 1975 European Cup Final. Leeds reached the semi-finals of the tournament's successor, the Champions League in 2001; the club were runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1973. The majority of the honours were won under the management of Don Revie in the 1970s. Leeds play in all-white kits at home matches; the club's badge features the White Rose of York together with the monogram'LUFC'. The club's anthem is'Marching on Together'. Leeds share rivalries with Manchester United and Millwall, as well as with local teams such as Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Leeds United's predecessor team, Leeds City, was formed in 1904 and elected to League membership in 1905. At first they found it hard to draw big crowds to Elland Road but their fortunes improved following Herbert Chapman's arrival. In 1914 Chapman declared. In 1919, Leeds United was formed and they received an invitation to enter the Midland League, being voted into it on 31 October, taking the place vacated by Leeds City Reserves. Following Leeds City's disbanding, Yorkshire Amateurs bought their stadium Elland Road. Yorkshire Amateurs offered to make way for the new team under the management of former player Dick Ray; the chairman of Huddersfield Town, Hilton Crowther loaned Leeds United £35,000, to be repaid when Leeds United won promotion to Division One. He brought in Barnsley's manager Arthur Fairclough and on 26 February 1920, Dick Ray stepped down to become Fairclough's assistant. On 31 May 1920, Leeds United were elected to the Football League. Over the following few years, they consolidated their position in the Second Division and in 1924 won the title and with it promotion to the First Division.
They failed to establish themselves and were relegated in 1926–27. After their relegation, Fairclough resigned. In the years up until the start of World War II Leeds were twice relegated. On 5 March 1935, Ray resigned and was replaced by Billy Hampson, who remained in charge for 12 years. In the 1946–47 season after the war, Leeds were relegated again, with the worst league record in their history. After this season, Hampson was replaced in April 1947 by Willis Edwards. In 1948, Sam Bolton replaced Ernest Pullan as the chairman of Leeds United. Edwards was moved to assistant manager in April 1948 after just one year as manager, he was replaced by Major Frank Buckley. Leeds remained in the Second Division until 1955–56, when they once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by John Charles. Charles was hungry for success at the highest level, manager Raich Carter was unable to convince him that Leeds could satisfy his ambitions. Charles was sold to Juventus for a world record of £65,000.
The loss of Charles resulted in Leeds being relegated to the Second Division in the 1959–60 season. In March 1961, the club appointed former player Don Revie as manager, following the resignation of Jack Taylor, his stewardship began in adverse circumstances. Revie implemented a youth policy and a change of kit colour to an all-white strip in the style of Real Madrid, Leeds soon won promotion to the First Division in 1963–64. In his 13 years in charge, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield, he guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. The team finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers and academics by Total Sport magazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.
Following the 1973 -- 74 season, Revie left Elland Road to manage the England national team. Brian Clough was appointed as Revie's successor; this was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics. Clough's tenure as manager started badly, with defeat in the Charity Shield Match against Liverpool in which Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan were sent off for fighting. Under Clough, the team performed poorly, after only 44 days he was dismissed. Clough was replaced by former England captain Jimmy Armfield. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the final of the 1974–75 European Cup, in which they were defeated by Bayern Munich under controversial circumstances. Assisted by coach Don Howe, Armfield rebuilt Revie's team, though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. However, the board became impatient for succe
John Aldridge
John William "Aldo" Aldridge is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager. He was a prolific record-breaking striker best known for his time with Liverpool in the late 1980s, his tally of 330 league goals is the 6th highest in the history of English football. Aldridge took a long time to reach the top of the game, he began his career in the mid-1970s at non-league South Liverpool, before getting his break in the professional game when, aged 20, he signed for Newport County on 2 May 1979 for £3,500. When at Somerton Park, "Aldo", as he came to be known, played 198 times scoring 87 goals, a goal every 2¼ games, including a respectable 7 goals in just 12 FA Cup matches, he partnered Tommy Tynan and Dave Gwyther for four years at Somerton Park, helping Newport to promotion from the Fourth Division and into the European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals. His first season with County, 1979–80, had been promising with 14 goals from 38 games as his side won the Welsh Cup and gained promotion to the Third Division.
A year he featured in the side that achieved the famous European run, though in the league he was less impressive with seven goals from 27 league games. 1981–82 was a bit better as he scored 11 times in 36 games, but in 1982–83 he did better still with 17 goals from 41 games as County narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. In 1983–84, with Tynan departed, Aldridge had scored 26 times by the end of February and County were by a competent Third Division side, he joined, for £78,000, Oxford United on 21 March 1984 when the club were in the pre-1992 Third Division. He made his debut on 7 April 1984 coming on as a substitute in the 1–0 win over Walsall at Fellows Park, his first goal was in the 5–0 home win against Bolton Wanderers on 20 April 1984. He was used sparingly in the run-in to the Third Division title but the following season forged a great partnership with Billy Hamilton and became the first Second Division player for 19 years to score as many as 30 goals, his 34 goals in 1983–84 broke the club's goalscoring record for a single season, as the Us gained promotion to the old First Division.
In Division One he was the third-highest League scorer and netted six goals in United's League Cup-winning run in 1986, which culminated in a 3–0 victory over QPR in the final at Wembley. This is Oxford's only major trophy, he was impressive in the league, as his 23 goals from 39 games were crucial in Oxford avoiding relegation. Aldridge is fondly remembered by Oxford fans for his role in Oxford United's unprecedented years of success between 1984 and 1986, he ended up playing 141 times for the Us, scoring 90 goals – a goal every 1½ games – including 14 League Cup goals in just 17 ties. He scored four goals against Gillingham in the League Cup on 24 September 1986 and three hat-tricks, the first in the 5–2 beating of Leeds United on 24 November 1984, he scored one of the two Oxford goals that defeated Manchester United in Alex Ferguson's first game as manager on 8 November 1986. Liverpool were losing their chief striker Ian Rush to Juventus at the end of the 1986–87 season and needed a proven and experienced replacement.
The Liverpool-born Aldridge was now recognised as one of the First Division's most competent scorers, bore a physical resemblance to Rush. He signed for Kenny Dalglish's side on 27 January 1987 for £750,000 and cut his teeth with the club as a partner for Rush. Dalglish had been interested in signing a number of other strikers including Chelsea's David Speedie and Arsenal's Charlie Nicholas for a number of months before settling on Aldridge. Liverpool ended the season trophyless, including a Wembley defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup final, for which Aldridge was ineligible. By the time of his transfer to Liverpool in that 1986–87 league campaign, Aldridge had scored 15 goals for Oxford in the space of 25 games. Aldridge made his debut for the Reds on 21 February 1987, when he came on as a 46th-minute substitute for Craig Johnston in the 2–2 league draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park, his first goal for his new club came a week on 28 February, in the 60th minute, the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat Southampton 1–0 in a league match at Anfield.
Aldridge demonstrated he could cope with the pressure of replacing Rush. After Rush left, Aldridge scored 26 goals in what turned out to be a magnificent season for Liverpool, including a strike in each of the first nine games, forming a 10-match scoring run as he had scored in his final league appearance of the previous season, he linked up with new signings Peter Beardsley and John Barnes to form one of the most exciting attacking lines in the club's history as Liverpool lost just twice in the League championship season and went unbeaten for the first 29 matches. Liverpool won the 1988 league title with a nine-point margin over their nearest rivals Manchester United, although the gap between Liverpool and their nearest contenders was wider for most of the season, he was assigned with the number 8 shirt for the 1987–88 season, as manager Kenny Dalglish felt that giving Aldridge the number 9 would put the pressure on him, the number 9 shirt went to winger Ray Houghton who had followed Aldridge to Anfield from Oxford in 1987.
Aldridge scored both goals in the club's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, including a memorable volley from an outstanding team move. He was an efficient penalty-taker, but a predictable one too, which led to his season and that of Liverpool ending in heartbreak. With W
FC Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. known as FC Bayern München, FCB, Bayern Munich, or FC Bayern, is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, is the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 28 national titles and 18 national cups. FC Bayern was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John. Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga at its inception in 1963; the club had its period of greatest success in the middle of the 1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, it won the European Cup three times in a row. Overall, Bayern has reached ten European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals, most winning their fifth title in 2013 as part of a continental treble. Bayern has won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally and the only German club to have won both international titles.
Since the formation of the Bundesliga, Bayern has been the dominant club in German football, winning 27 titles, including six consecutively since 2013. They have traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg, as well as with Borussia Dortmund since the mid-1990s. Since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena; the team had played at Munich's Olympiastadion for 33 years. The team colours are red and white, the team crest shows the white and blue flag of Bavaria. In terms of revenue, Bayern Munich is the biggest sports club in Germany and the fourth highest-earning football club in the world, generating €587.8 million in 2017. For the 2017–18 season, Bayern reported a revenue of €657.4 million and an operating profit of €136.5 million. This was Bayern's 26th year in a row with a profit. In November 2018, Bayern had 291,000 official members and there are 4,433 registered fan clubs with over 390,000 members; the club has other departments for chess, basketball, bowling, table tennis and senior football with more than 1,100 active members.
As of January 2019, FC Bayern is ranked joint second in the current UEFA club coefficient rankings. FC Bayern Munich was founded by members of a Munich gymnastics club; when a congregation of members of MTV 1879 decided on 27 February 1900 that the footballers of the club would not be allowed to join the German Football Association, 11 members of the football division left the congregation and on the same evening founded Fußball-Club Bayern München. Within a few months, Bayern achieved high-scoring victories against all local rivals, including a 15–0 win against FC Nordstern, reached the semi-finals of the 1900–01 South German championship. In the following years, the club won some local trophies and in 1910–11 Bayern joined the newly founded "Kreisliga", the first regional Bavarian league; the club won this league in its first year, but did not win it again until the beginning of World War I in 1914, which halted all football activities in Germany. By the end of its first decade of founding, FC Bayern had attracted its first German national team player, Max Gaberl Gablonsky.
By 1920, it had over 700 members, making it the largest football club in Munich. In the years after the war, Bayern won several regional competitions before winning its first South German championship in 1926, an achievement repeated two years later, its first national title was gained in 1932, when coach Richard "Little Dombi" Kohn led the team to the German championship by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 in the final. The advent of Nazism put an abrupt end to Bayern's development. Club president Kurt Landauer and the coach, both of whom were Jewish, left the country. Many others in the club were purged. Bayern was taunted as the "Jew's club", while local rival 1860 Munich gained much support. Josef Sauter, inaugurated 1943, was the only NSDAP member as president; as some Bayern players greeted Landauer, watching a friendly in Switzerland lead to continued discrimination. Bayern was affected by the ruling that football players had to be full amateurs again. In the following years, Bayern could not sustain its role of contender for the national title, achieving mid-table results in its regional league instead.
After the war, Bayern became a member of the Oberliga Süd, the southern conference of the German first division, split five ways at that time. Bayern struggled and firing 13 coaches between 1945 and 1963. Landauer returned from exile in 1947 and was once again appointed club president, the tenure lasted until 1951, he remains as the club's president with the longest accumulated tenure. Landauer has been deemed as inventor of Bayern as a professional club and his memory is being upheld by the Bayern ultras Schickeria. In 1955, the club was relegated but returned to the Oberliga in the following season and won the DFB-Pokal for the first time, beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 1–0 in the final; the club struggled financially though, verging on bankruptcy at the end of the 1950s. Manufacturer Roland Endler provided the necessary funds and was rewarded with four years at the helm of the club. In 1963, the Oberligas in Germany were consolidated into one national league, the Bundesliga. Five teams from the Oberliga South were admitted.
Bayern finished third in that year's southern division, but another Munich team, 1860 Munich, had won the championship. As the DFB preferred not to include two teams from one city, Bayern was not chosen for the Bundesliga, they ga
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team play in the third tier in the English football league system; the club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F. C. and Walsall Swifts F. C; the club was one of the founder members of the Second Division in 1892, but have spent their entire existence outside English football's top division. Their first match at Wembley Stadium was the 2015 Football League Trophy Final, which they lost to Bristol City. Walsall moved into their Bescot Stadium in 1990, having played at nearby Fellows Park for a century; the team play in a red and white kit and their club crest features a swift. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflects Walsall's status as a traditional centre for saddle manufacture. Walsall were formed as Walsall Town Swifts in 1888 when Walsall Town F. C. and Walsall Swifts F. C. amalgamated. Walsall Town had been founded in 1877 and Walsall Swifts in 1879.
Both clubs had played at the Chuckery, the new club remained at the same ground. Walsall Town Swifts' first match was a draw against Aston Villa. Two players from this early era received international caps. In 1882, Alf Jones won the first two of his three caps while with Walsall Swifts, in 1889 Albert Aldridge received the second of his two caps while playing for Walsall Town Swifts; the club were first admitted to the Football League in 1892, as founder members of the new Second Division. They moved to the West Bromwich Road ground in 1893. After finishing 14th out of 16 teams in 1894–95 the club failed to be re-elected to the Football League. At the start of the 1895 season the club moved to Hilary Street renamed Fellows Park. In 1896 they changed their name to Walsall F. C. and joined the Midland League. A year they returned to the Second Division, three teams having failed re-election in 1896; the team finished in sixth place in 1898–99, but once again failed re-election two years dropping back into the Midland League.
A move to the Birmingham League followed in 1903, in 1910, the club were elected to the Southern League. With the expansion of the Football League after World War I, Walsall became a founding member of the Third Division North in 1921. Walsall's highest "home" attendance was set in 1930, when they played in of front of 74,646 fans against Aston Villa in the FA Cup Fourth Round Although a home match for Walsall, the tie was played at their opponents' Villa Park ground, it remains the highest attendance that Walsall have played in front of. In 1933, Walsall won 2–0 in the FA Cup against Arsenal at Fellows Park. Arsenal went on to win the First Division that season, the cup defeat to Third Division North side Walsall is still regarded as one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history. In 1958, following a reorganisation of the Football League, Walsall became founder members of the Fourth Division. Under the management of Bill Moore, the club achieved successive promotions, scoring 102 goals on their way to winning Division Four in 1959–60 and finishing as Division Three runners-up in 1960–61 to reach the second tier of English football for the first time since the early 1900s.
Players such as Bill'Chopper' Guttridge, Tony Richards and Colin Taylor were intrinsically important to the success of the side. After just two seasons in the Second Division, the club were relegated back to Division Three in 1962–63, remained there until a further demotion to the Fourth Division, in 1978–79; the club has always had a rich history of producing players. Allan Clarke went on to win the League Championship under Don Revie at Leeds United after beginning life at Fellows Park. Bert Williams and Phil Parkes both became England goalkeepers in the years after they progressed from their roots in Walsall. David Kelly had a long career at the top level after leaving Walsall in 1988, representing the Republic of Ireland at the highest level of international football. More Michael Ricketts represented England after blossoming at Bolton Wanderers. In recent years, Matty Fryatt and Ishmel Demontagnac have both represented England age-groups; the 1980s were a period of considerable activity for Walsall.
In 1983–84 they defeated First Division club Arsenal in the League Cup at Highbury, advanced to the semi-final, where an estimated 10,000 Saddlers saw a 2–2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield, however a second leg 2–0 defeat in front of 19,591 at Fellows Park saw Walsall lose the tie 4–2 on aggregate. This cup run saw Walsall famously only 90 minutes away from playing in Europe, once the name of a Fanzine no longer running. Walsall narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division in the same season. In 1986 plans were announced to move Walsall to Birmingham; the town rallied behind Barrie Blower. Walsall were subsequently bought by millionaire entrepreneur and racehorse owner Terry Ramsden and with his money came high-profile signings and the attention of the national media. In 1986–87, under new manager Tommy Coakley, Walsall narrowly missed the play-offs, but made considerable progress in the FA Cup as they defeated First Division Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City and took Watford to two replays in the fifth round.
Walsall earned promotion through the old Division Three play-offs in 1988, beating Bristol City in a replayed final at Fellows Park, 13,007 where there to see it. 1988–89 saw the club relegated from Division Two and Ramsden's business empire collapsed alongside the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Walsall were minutes from being taken over by Jap
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan Carragher is an English retired footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vice-captain for 10 years, is the club's second-longest serving player, making his 737th appearance for Liverpool in all competitions on 19 May 2013. Carragher holds the record for the most appearances in European competition for Liverpool with 150. Carragher grew up as an Everton football fan before deciding to play for Liverpool, starting his footballing career at the Liverpool Academy, making his professional debut in the 1996–97 season, becoming a first team regular the following season. Having played as a full-back, the arrival of manager Rafael Benítez in 2004 saw Carragher move to become a centre-back, where he found his best form, his honours with Liverpool total two FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, two Super Cups. Internationally, Carragher held the national record for most caps at under-21 level and earned his senior debut in 1999.
He represented England at the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, before announcing his retirement from international football in 2007. He did, temporarily come out of retirement in order to represent England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, before retiring again with 38 senior England caps. Following his retirement in 2013, Carragher joined Sky Sports where he appears as a pundit alongside Graeme Souness, Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp. Born in Bootle, Carragher attended the FA's school of excellence in Lilleshall in his youth. Although a childhood Everton supporter, he joined Merseyside rivals Liverpool in 1988, turned up at Liverpool's School of Excellence wearing a Graeme Sharp Everton kit. Carragher's father was an Everton supporter, his two middle names are a tribute to Gordon Lee and Duncan McKenzie – manager Lee dropped McKenzie on the day of Carragher's birth, he spent a year at the Everton School of Excellence at the age of 11, but returned to Liverpool due to the club's superior coaching set-up under Steve Heighway.
He failed to impress in his first appearances to the Liverpool A and B teams due to his then-small stature, but after being moved from up front to a midfield role he was able to establish himself in the reserve team. He played his first game for the reserves in the 1994–95 season, was named man of the match against Blackburn Rovers at Haig Avenue, he helped Liverpool to win the 1996 FA Youth Cup with a 4–1 aggregate victory over a West Ham United side that included Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard. Carragher was tried out in defence for the first time during the tournament, admitted that Liverpool were not the most technically gifted side in the competition, but instead relied on team spirit and the outstanding talents of Michael Owen, he made his first team début for the "Reds" under Roy Evans in a League Cup quarter-final against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on 8 January 1997, coming on as a substitute for Rob Jones 75 minutes into a 2–1 defeat. Three days he made his Premier League debut as a substitute at Anfield, playing the entire second half of a 0–0 draw with West Ham United.
On 18 January, he was scheduled to play as a centre-half against Aston Villa, only to be replaced in the starting line-up by Bjørn Tore Kvarme. He played well alongside Jamie Redknapp, scored his first goal with a header in front of the Kop in a 3–0 win. Despite this auspicious start, it proved to be his last contribution to the 1996–97 campaign. Carragher broke into the first team in the 1997–98 season as the team struggled to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester United despite having talented players such as Owen, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Paul Ince. Throughout his early playing career, he was used as a utility player that spent time as a centre-half, full-back and defensive midfielder in a squad, negatively labelled the "Spice Boys". Carragher learned to shun the spotlight and focus on football instead as new manager Gérard Houllier used him in a new continental side focused on discipline. In his autobiography, Carragher admitted that "I always felt close to Gérard", was full of praise for the French manager during the early part of his reign.
He went on to make 44 appearances in the 1998–99 season, was named as the club's Player of the Year. Carragher was restricted to the right-back position after scoring two own goals in a 3–2 home defeat to Manchester United early in the 1999–2000 season. Houllier never again played him at centre-back, as Sami Hyypiä and Stéphane Henchoz formed solid partnership; the 2000–01 season saw Carragher switch to the left-back position and win his first senior honours, as Liverpool went on to win the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup, Community Shield and Super Cup in the space of just a few months. During a January 2002 FA Cup tie against Arsenal, he threw a coin back into the stands, tossed at him and received a red card, he escaped an FA misconduct charge after publicly apologising, but he did receive a formal police warning about the incident. From 2002–04, Carragher was hit by two serious injuries, missing the 2002 FIFA World Cup for an operation on his knee, receiving a broken leg after a tackle by Blackburn Rovers' Lucas Neill at Ewood Park in September 2003.
During this period, his place in the team was threatened by signings of Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise. Despite this, he was able to win a second League Cup in 2003 with Liverpool, shortly afterwards was named the club's vice-captain; the 2004–05 season proved to
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