Frank Worthington- the loss of another legend

[monty999]

Yet another sad loss of a football legend, proper entertainer from an era when entertainment came first !!

Edited by monty999 on Tuesday 23 March 09:29

[nicanary]

Totally this. Before all the modern crap in the match build-up the players used to just warm up on the pitch and Frank would usually do some fancy skills stuff like keepy-uppies and getting the ball up onto his back. It was all just for his own amusement and he knew he was playing to the crowd.

This was all in the days when Man U fans would climb up on the stand roofs and rip it up to hurl down on opposing fans.How we all laughed.

[The jiffle king]

Frank was a bit of a hero of mine. He played at Southampton in the twilight of his career and then went on to manage a local club to me, Hinckley Town (Before they became Hinckley United). He played in 1987 for Hinckley in a match against Real Sociedad managed by John Toshack at that time bringing a couple of his mates with him David Rocastle and John Lukic. Frank signed my program that night and spent a couple of minutes with a youngster telling him how to juggle the ball.

I know he had a reputation for partying and that was true as I knew one of the Hinckley lads when he was manager and lets just say that after the game was messy on more than one occasion.

He was a showman and a character and will be sadly missed

[monty999]

I was fortunate enough to play against him when he was player/manager at Tranmere in the mid 80's. It was so funny to see him just stand in the middle of the pitch while all the young kids ran around at 90 mile an hour just to get the ball and give it to Frank from where he would just control the game, no one got near him as he did things so quickly yet never seemed hurried. He then took a free-kick on the edge of the area and put it straight in the top bin taking paint off both the bar and post !! I stood behind him as he took it and remember just smiling in awe of his grace on the pitch, he was one of my all-time hero's.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

nicanary said:

This was all in the days when Man U fans would climb up on the stand roofs and rip it up to hurl down on opposing fans.How we all laughed.

Ha, I had some hairy times as an away fan in the Scoreboard Paddock at Old Trafford back in the 70s and 80s. Coins and stuff raining down on us.

Frank Worthington was one of those players, like Rodney Marsh, who the fans loved and England managers hated. There was no way players like them were going to prosper under the likes or Alf Ramsey and Don Revie.

Marsh tells the story of Sir Alf saying to him "If you don't do what I say in the first half, I'll pull you off at half time" and Marsh replied "wow, pull me off, all we get at QPR is a slice of orange!"

He never played for England again.

[SaintsPaul]

Only with the Saints for a season but what a footballer. Made the game look so easy. RIP Frank

[CeramicMX5ND2]

R.I.P Frank - Scorer of one of the best goals ever....!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0z_arXZ8nM

[Pieman68]

Was at Leeds later in his career but I remember seeing him play

He was a class apart in a struggling Leeds team in the early 80s.

RIP Frank

[Speed 3]

CeramicMX5ND2 said:

R.I.P Frank - Scorer of one of the best goals ever....!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0z_arXZ8nM

I was there for that game and met him a couple of times socially after he retired. Absolute legend. Thanks for the memories Frank, superstar and gent.

[gazza285]

He lived opposite the ale house down the road from ours, and Ray Wilson lived round the corner. Both had Alzheimer’s disease, same as many footballers from their era.

[Blue62]

I read that he signed for Liverpool under Shankly but failed the medical, never knew that. They said he could nutmeg a mermaid, one of those payers like Marsh, McKenzie and Currie that lit up the game.

[Flip Martian]

Blue62 said:

I read that he signed for Liverpool under Shankly but failed the medical, never knew that. They said he could nutmeg a mermaid, one of those payers like Marsh, McKenzie and Currie that lit up the game.

Variations on the story but apparently Shanks was very keen to sign him and a deal was done. He came for the medical and it showed high blood pressure apparently, so he was told to come back tomorrow and take it easy in the meantime. He went out to celebrate "signing" and failed it again the next day. Deal off. A one off. Used to enjoy watching him on TV as a boy.