Welcome to my weekly blog “The Igor Bišćan Hall of Fame”
every week I’ll be adding two new additions, one will be a Liverpool Legend or
fans favourite, the other a Player, Manager or Club who have contributed to the
world game we all love (Gary Neville need not worry). Please comment below who
you’d like to see make the IBHoF, here are this weeks entries. YNWA
JOEY JONES
1975/76 - 1977/78
Who ate the Frogs' legs, made the Swiss roll and topped the
lot by munching Gladbach? Why, none other than Joey Jones, of course, that
tattooed tiger of a left-back taken to the hearts of Kopites like few of their
heroes before or since. Joey, as proud to wear the red of Liverpool as that of
his beloved Wales, enjoyed an affectionate rapport with the fans who loved his
zealous approach, and they coined the colourful catchphrase to immortalise his
spirited displays against the French, Swiss and West German champions on the
way to lifting the 1977 European Cup.
Joey moved to Anfield from Wrexham for £110,000 in July 1975
to replace out-of-form Alec Lindsay, but early displays indicated too many
rough edges for the top flight. Phil Neal switched to left-back, Tommy Smith
came in on the right and Joey was out. That disappointment, however, was merely
a prelude to his finest season; 1976/77 saw him claim a regular place in the
side which took Europe's top prize, retained the Championship and narrowly lost
the FA Cup Final to Manchester United.
Throughout that glorious campaign Joey played as though his
life depended on it. Possessed with boundless enthusiasm, he was strong in the
air and formidable in the tackle, though there was occasionally a tendency to
commit himself to reckless challenges. But there were more serious weaknesses;
his distribution was often wayward and offered a sorry comparison to the silky
skills of Lindsay, and his reading of the game was at times rudimentary. Thus
it was no real surprise when Joey lost his place during the following term as
Bob Paisley shuffled the Reds' defence to accommodate the increasingly
impressive Alan Hansen.
In September 1978 Jones returned to Wrexham for a paltry
£20,000 but his days in the big time were not yet over. John Neal, his former
boss at the Racecourse Ground, took him to Chelsea where he was doted on by the
Shed as he had once been adored by the Kop, and Joey helped the Londoners win
promotion to the First Division.
Next came a brief spell at Huddersfield, during which he
overhauled Ivor Allchurch to become his country's most-capped player, an honour
he retained for. several years until his total of 72 was overtaken in turn by
Peter Nicholas. Finally, and fittingly, Joey put in a third stint with his first
club; this time the doughty Welsh warrior was home for good.
BORN: Llandudno, Wales. 4.3.55. GAMES: 97. GOALS: 3.
CLUBS: Wrexham 72/3-74/5 (98, 2) and 78/9-82/3 (146, 6);
Chelsea 82/3-84/5 (78, 2); Huddersfield Town 85/6-86/7 (68, 3); Wrexham 87/8-91/2
(132, 11).
HONOURS: European Cup 76/7. League Championship 75/6, 76/7.
INERNATIONAL CAREER: 72 Wales caps (76-86).
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TOM FINNEY
In the 1950s you were either a Finney man or a Matthews man.
There wasn't room for both, at least not in the eyes of the FA selection
committee who met to pick the England teams. Both were players of outstanding
ability but unfortunately they were often vying for the same wing position. The
debate as to who was the better player divided the nation. However, on caps
alone, Finney emerged the winner, not least because he was more adaptable and
able to play not only on either wing but just about anywhere along the forward
line.
Tom Finney was a throwback to the days when players turned
out for a pittance and remained loyal to one club throughout their career. In
Finney's case, the lucky beneficiaries were Preston North End. Raised a stone's
throw from their Deepdale ground, he yearned to play for the local team but his
father insisted that he learn a trade and so he became an apprentice plumber -
an occupation that he kept even when he was an established international. It
earned him his nickname of 'The Preston Plumber'.
He signed for North End in 1938 at the age of sixteen but
because of the war did not make his first League appearance for another eight
years. In 1947 he made his international debut against Wales but thereafter
found himself in almost constant competition with Matthews. The latter was
undoubtedly the greater showman, teasing full-backs before jinking to the
byline and delivering a telling cross, but the feeling was that Finney was the
better team player. As well as being blessed with pace and trickery, he had two
good feet and could either go outside his full-back to deliver a cross or cut
inside for a shot on goal. Matthews may have been a superb provider but Finney
was a far more lethal marksman, averaging thirteen League goals a season at
Preston and doubling that tally in 1957-58. Unfortunately, Preston were one of
the 'nearly teams' of the fifties, twice finishing runners-up in the League and
losing out to West Bromwich Albion in the 1954 Cup Final. As a result, the only
domestic honour Finney had to show for such a glorious career was a Second
Division Championship medal. Compensation of a sort was the accolade of being
the first person to be named Footballer of the Year twice.
He was offered the chance of a move - and untold wealth - at
the age of 30 when Italian club Palermo put in a bid for him. They were willing
to pay a £10,000 signing on fee, £130 a month wages, bonuses of up to £100 a
game, a Mediterranean villa, a luxury car and free travel to and from Italy for
his family. They also offered Preston £30,000 by way of a transfer fee. Finney
turned it down. It would have meant giving up his plumbing business.
Dogged by injury in his later years, Finney retired in 1960,
having scored 187 League goals in 433 appearances for Preston. Without him
North End were relegated from the First Division within a year and haven't been
back since. The perfect gentleman on and off the pitch and a wonderful
ambassador for the game, he received the OBE in 1961 and was later elected
president of Preston North End. Then in 1998 he received a long overdue
knighthood.
So who was better, Finney or Matthews? That shrewd judge
Bill Shankly had no doubt. 'Tommy Finney was grizzly strong. Tommy could run
for a week. I'd have played him in his overcoat... When I told people in
Scotland that England were coming up with a winger who was better than Stanley
Matthews, they laughed at me. But they weren't laughing when big Georgie Young
was running all over Hampden Park looking for Tommy Finney!'
BORN: Preston, England. 5.4.22.
CLUBS: Preston North End 1946–1960, 433 (187)
INERNATIONAL CAREER: England 1946-1958, Caps 76, Goals 30.
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