RIP Frank Worthington

[stephec]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56495453

As a Bolton fan he's a footballing legend to me, even if his driver nearly ran me over in a gold Jag outside Huddersfield's new ground about 20 years ago.

 

[raleighnut]

Sad news

 

[bluenotebob]

Yes - he was a legend .. up there (in my mind) with the likes of Franny Lee and Peter Reid.

And who could forget that goal against Ipswich at Burnden ?

A sad day indeed

 

[stephec]

Yes - he was a legend .. up there (in my mind) with the likes of Franny Lee and Peter Reid.

And who could forget that goal against Ipswich at Burnden ?

A sad day indeed

Trivia time, the ball boy behind the goal that day was Julian Darby, who went on to play for Bolton in the nineties.

 

[Donger]

Sad. One of my favourite Birmingham City players of all time. I was once stood in the perfect place at St. Andrews to see the curl he put on a couple of worldies he scored past Peter Shilton. The best pair of goals I've ever seen. The man had swagger and flair, and stroked the ball around beautifully, but would also put his head in where it hurts. I imagine most Bolton, Huddersfield, Leicester and Birmingham fans will regard him as a club legend. R.I.P.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I always imagined Frank to be one of those players who liked a pint and would spend hours chatting to fellow drinkers and fans in club bars after matches. Nowadays most players are straight on the team coach after games,wearing headphones and ignoring the fans.

 

[Donger]

I always imagined Frank to be one of those players who liked a pint and would spend hours chatting to fellow drinkers and fans in club bars after matches. Nowadays most players are straight on the team coach after games,wearing headphones and ignoring the fans.

Spot on. In about 1980 or 1981 a mate of mine borrowed his dad's campervan and we followed Birmingham's pre-season tour of Sweden. Met Frank a few times and, among the bunch we saw the most of (Colin Todd, Alan Ainscow, Keith Bertschin, Kevin Dillon etc) he and the legendary Jim Smith were the most approachable and relaxed. Every time we saw him after a game he seemed to have a couple of attractive young Swedish ladies in tow. A bit of a cool dude.

After one game against Gothenburg had already been postponed and we turned up in absolutely torrential rain for another, Jim Smith and Frank asked us if we wanted them to play the game or not. We were being nice about it and not wanting to put them through hell, so we dithered. Frank jumped in and insisted that as a dozen of us had come all that way, of course they would play it. Blues lost 3-2 to a third division side (IF Hallby) in the most atrocious monsoon conditions I've ever seen a game played in. After the game, Frank was the only player who didn't disappear straight to the showers as he came over for a chat and a laugh with us. Great guy.

 

[Beebo]

I always imagined Frank to be one of those players who liked a pint and would spend hours chatting to fellow drinkers and fans in club bars after matches. Nowadays most players are straight on the team coach after games,wearing headphones and ignoring the fans.
View attachment 580142

Yes. But players weren’t earning huge wages, they were just any other working man.
Money makes people think they are more special than they are.
We lived next door to Jimmy Conway the Ireland international who played for Fulham and Man City in the 70s.
His house was a basic 3 bed suburban home, nothing special. The same as ours and my parents were policeman and nurse.
Someone of an equivalent skill level today would be earning at least a couple of million a year now. And wouldn’t be living in a 3 bed house next to us.

 

[Domus]

My one regret of the Worthington era at Burnden was missing the game at Old Trafford. Any Bolton player who scores the winner there becomes an instant legend. His goal against Ipswich, his goal at Blackburn that took us up and his Golden Boot that kept us there made him a firm favourite at Bolton, only two years but many great memories. A workmate of mine was a Bluenose and we both went along to an after dinner speech by Frank and he was kind enough to chat to us both about his memories of both clubs. One of the best.

 

[Accy cyclist]

his goal at Blackburn that took us up

I'm glad you mentioned that. I've been trying to find online if he played in that Wednesday night match in April 1978,when Bolton fans took over Ewood Park,winning promotion. I was there that night as a Rovers fan. My memories of that night apart from the game was me painting the Thwaites Brewery stables as an apprentice painter and decorator at the time and walking down Bolton Road after work, on the way to Ewood and seeing all the pubs along the road packed out with Bolton fans (sadly out of about 8 pubs none are left now). I can't find any you tube or similar videos of that night as as we know football wasn't recorded so much then like it is now.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/new...-blackburn-rovers-0-wanderers-1-division-two/
Seeing as you come from Radcliffe,do you watch Radcliffe Borough as well as Bolton? I ask because former Accy Stanley captain Paul Mullen played for Radcliffe before joining Stanley.

 

[Brummie53]

As others have said Frank was a great footballer, and a maverick who lived life to the full. As a Birmingham City fan what I wouldn’t give to have him in our ranks again. RIP Frank and thanks for the memories

 

[Domus]

Born and bred in Bolton just happen to live in Radcliffe.
I don’t watch football of any sort anymore. Fell out of love with football about 15 years ago, the money, diving, cheating, Sky monopoly. I just walked away.

 

[Broughtonblue]

Got all of his England caps whilst playing for us. Class player