77 years ago today and Bradford Park Avenue win 8-2 at Manchester City
Unplayable Shack
Manchester City 2 Bradford Park Avenue 8
Frank Swift is one of the greatest English goalkeepers of
all time. A First and Second Division, FA Cup and Charity Shield winner with
Manchester City, his only League club, he represented his country on 33
occasions between 1941 and 1949. Only once did Swift, who tragically died in
the Munich air crash, concede eight goals when a Shackleton inspired
Avenue overturned a first leg FA cup deficit by winning 8-2 at Maine Road in
January 1946.
The following is taken from Mark Metcalf’s newly published
biography on Swift. Mark is a Sunderland fan based in Halifax who watches
eight to ten Avenue matches a season.
Following the end of the war, and with League competition
yet to return, it was agreed that the 1945-46 FA Cup would be played over two
legs. Having squeezed past Port Vale 3-2 on aggregate, Avenue was drawn against
Manchester City, who only weeks earlier they had lost 6-0 to.
Playing away in the first leg, and before a crowd of 25,014,
City, with two late goals, won handsomely 3-1. Swift had a decent match, using
his long legs to prevent Bert Knott opening the scoring and then diverting the
centre-forward’s splendid shot over for a corner. With the game tied at 1-1 and
only seconds of the first period remaining ‘Swift saved City with a save which
only he could have made – a magnificent backward leap to turn a header from Shackleton
over the bar, when a goal looked a certainty.’ (Manchester Evening News)
The second leg was sure to be a formality. Avenue, though, had
in their side a number of good players and during the war had beaten sides
rated their superiors. On his day Len Shackleton – the Clown Prince of Soccer –
could be almost unplayable and the match at Maine Road on 30 January 1946 was
to be one of those days.
Writing in his autobiography the future West Ham and England
manager Ron Greenwood, signed from Chelsea at the end of the war, recalled ‘Our
cause seemed hopeless and to rub things in our coach ran into a blizzard right
on top of the Pennines on our way to Maine Road for the second leg. The wind
howled, the snow swirled and our coach struggled. Len Shackleton said ‘let’s
turn back…..we don’t stand a chance anyway.’ That seemed a fair assessment, but
we pushed on and eventually got to the ground with less than 20 minutes to
spare. Our trouble proved worthwhile, even though the pitch was covered by
pools of water and a gale blew across the pitch.’
It was City, though, who were blown away, beaten
8-2, with Jackie Gibbons, the former Spurs amateur centre-forward, scoring four
times. It was to be a famous day for the West Yorkshire side.
Ron Greenwood: ‘The sight of the great Frank Swift picking
the ball out of the net eight times is something I shall never forget.
Everything went right for us. It was one of those days.’
Returning home Len Shackleton’s dad consoled him when he
reported the score as 8-2. He didn’t believe his son when he said Avenue had
won and it needed the sight of the score in the newspaper the following morning
to convince him. City fan Geoff Ireland had seen the first match, and he too
couldn’t believe the score even after seeing the result in the paper!
Earlier in Swift’s career City had on their staff a
youngster, Jackie, who had aspired to be a keeper. Drawing on his experience
the City keeper told him that ‘after every match in which a goal has been
scored against me, I make a practice of sitting down and drawing diagrams to
see where I was at fault.’
Leaving Maine Road after Avenue’s success Swift bumped into
the same youngster, who was, by now, a very smart sergeant major and after a
small chat the pair parted with Jackie informing the beaten keeper that he ‘had
plenty of homework to do this evening!’ (Football from the Goalmouth)
To a lesser man such humour might not have been as well
received, but Swift had already seen the funny side of being beaten so heavily.
With the papers suggesting he was shortly to be transferred to Anfield, Walter
Allison recalls some in the crowd shouting out ‘When are you off to Liverpool
then?’ ‘Read it in the papers’ was the reply, accompanied by a broad smile.
Then after Gibbons – who had a record of doing well against
City – had fired in the seventh Swift had been reduced to laughter. Lying
prostrate in the mud the keeper heard team-mate, the newly married Bert
Sproston, telling the scorer to ‘go away, Sonny Boy, there’s plenty of room to
play at the other end.’
Allison also recalls, ‘at the end of the game Swift
went out of his way to congratulate the Avenue players, to shake their hands.
He wasn’t sour or bitter, and this was always a part of his game, he was a
genuine sportsman was Frank Swift and that made him a decent man also in my
view.’
Still a youngster, Allison should have been at school. When
his mother discovered he had bunked off a word with his father saw him reported
to Hardwick Central School Headmaster Mr Peake, who was ‘an awesome
immaculately well dressed man who caned me and my brother Tom. It was worth it
as Shackleton that day was a genius. Totally unplayable.’
Taken from Frank Swift: Manchester City and England Legend
by myself. Published in 2013.
Friday, 5 December 2014
Wolves
'keeper Malcolm Finlayson on his own favourite keeper - Frank Swift
Malcolm Finlayson died recently. The Wolves keeper was a big
help to me when I was writing many of my football books including
a biography on Frank Swift. Here are Malcolm's words from that book.
Future Wolves star picks up some tips at the Scotland
-England wartime international at Hampden Park on Saturday 17 April 1943.
Amongst the massive 105,000 crowd was a 12-year-old
up-and-coming ‘keeper, Malcolm Finlayson from Alexandria, Dumbarton. He had
already seen Swift play in the Scottish war-time League for Hamilton Academical
in a 2-2 draw against Dumbarton and had become a big fan.
‘I was that impressed that whenever he was playing locally,
and I could afford to go and watch the game, I made it my business to do so. In
those days most Scottish grounds had a semi-circular terrace directly behind
the goal so that you could get close to the action and the players. Wanting to
improve as keeper I watched everything he did and more or less tried to base my
game on his,’ says Malcolm.
It clearly didn’t do him any harm, as after a short spell in
Junior football with Renfrew, he was asked to go on trial with Second Division
Millwall in February 1948.
He did so well ‘the Lions’ immediately signed him up as a
professional and sixteen days later he made his debut in a 1-1 draw against
West Bromwich Albion. It was the start of a fabulous 16-year career in which
during his time with Wolves, between 1956 and 1964, he won 2 League
Championship and one FA Cup winners’ medal. In one famous game for Millwall
against Walsall he was rushed to hospital from the Den with his team losing
3-1, only to return patched up during the second half and play on to help the
side win 6-5.
‘What I liked about Frank Swift was how he commanded the
area. Of course ‘keepers are the only players who can see all of the action and
I followed his attitude, which was that if I am coming for the ball then
defenders should get out of the way – or else! He wasn’t a shouter, but at corners
and free-kicks he would let players know where he wanted them. He also punched
the ball well, and when he chose to catch the ball he usually did so,’ says the
man who on his retirement from playing football became a successful
businessman.
On this particular day Frank Swift didn’t have a great deal
to do. What Finlayson particularly remembers is a high ball into the box with
both Swift and Wallace, noted for charging down everything, seeking to get to
first. When the keeper did so ‘he then stepped to one-side and ruffled the
Scots centre-forward’s hair as he flashed past.’
Wallace was later involved in a moment of controversy in
this game when at a free-kick he grabbed Cullis where it hurts. Cullis
collapsed and required treatment and Wallace never played for England again.
Finlayson, who even now regrets not having the courage to
approach Swift to ask for his autograph when he later saw him get off the train
in Dumbarton, has still kept the cutting from a local south London newspaper
that, soon after making his Millwall debut, called him ‘the second Frank
Swift.’ ‘I wasn’t, as he was the best keeper I ever saw play, but I was still
delighted.’
Comments
Post a Comment