A special Argyle moment (Eric Doughty)

[Cornishman]

The Argyle team that played in 1955 (edited), when Leicester won 1-0, were:
Shortt, Wyatt, Jones, Robertson, Langman P, Whetton, Davies, Crawford, Langman N, Rowley J and Stenner

I do remember Robertson playing for Falmouth Town in the early 60's, when I was a young boy.

 

[Piper 54]

The Argyle team that played in 1957, when Leicester won 1-0, were:
Shortt, Wyatt, Jones, Robertson, Langman P, Whetton, Davies, Crawford, Langman N, Rowley J and Stenner

I do remember Robertson playing for Falmouth Town in the early 60's, when I was a young boy.

... and Neil Langman as well?

 

[kernow19]

The Argyle team that played in 1957, when Leicester won 1-0, were:
Shortt, Wyatt, Jones, Robertson, Langman P, Whetton, Davies, Crawford, Langman N, Rowley J and Stenner

I do remember Robertson playing for Falmouth Town in the early 60's, when I was a young boy.

I'd have thought Bill Shortt had retired by '57. I can remember both him and Reg Wyatt playing for Wadebridge in the SW League after their pro days ended.

 

[Bovey Green lady]

I'd have thought Bill Shortt had retired by '57. I can remember both him and Reg Wyatt playing for Wadebridge in the SW League after their pro days ended.

I think Bill Shortt retired at the end of the 1955/1956 season. MM will probably be along to correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[kernow19]

I think Bill Shortt retired at the end of the 1955/1956 season. MM will probably be along to correct me if I'm wrong!

My first games were in the 56/7 season and my memories are of Les Major and/or Peter Dyer being in goal then.

 

[memory man]

I'd have thought Bill Shortt had retired by '57. I can remember both him and Reg Wyatt playing for Wadebridge in the SW League after their pro days ended.

You are correct. The game took place on 24 September 1955. Arthur Rowley, our player-manager's brother scored their goal. Their centre half was the 20 years old Gordon Fincham.

 

[memory man]

I think Bill Shortt retired at the end of the 1955/1956 season. MM will probably be along to correct me if I'm wrong!

Exactly right. His final game was on 02 April 1956 at home to Bristol Rovers.His poor performance at Ashton Gate on Boxing Day led to him playing just two more games of the 1955/56 season. The Rovers one and two days earlier against a West Ham side with Malcolm Allison at centre half.

 

[Bovey Green lady]

My first games were in the 56/7 season and my memories are of Les Major and/or Peter Dyer being in goal then.

Exactly the same as mine!

 

[memory man]

My first games were in the 56/7 season and my memories are of Les Major and/or Peter Dyer being in goal then.

Les Major did not play that season, leaving the young keepers at the club exposed. It was at that time, Argyle's worst ever season. Dyer played the first three but after a 6-0 home drubbing v Reading he was taken out of the fiting line. Jimmy Gee came in for his only game, a 3-0 defeat at Loftus Road. It was clear Argyle needed an experienced keeper but they had next to no money. But it would appear that QPR, where future England keeper Ron Springett was first choice, offered Argyle Harry Brown, 32, who had experience with Notts Co Derby and QPR. He cost £650 and played 40 of the remaining 41 games.

 

[memory man]

Les Major did not play that season, leaving the young keepers at the club exposed. It was at that time, Argyle's worst ever season. Dyer played the first three but after a 6-0 home drubbing v Reading he was taken out of the fiting line. Jimmy Gee came in for his only game, a 3-0 defeat at Loftus Road. It was clear Argyle needed an experienced keeper but they had next to no money. But it would appear that QPR, where future England keeper Ron Springett was first choice, offered Argyle Harry Brown, 32, who had experience with Notts Co Derby and QPR. He cost £650 and played 40 of the remaining 41 games.

There is a footnote to this. It has been troubling me all day at work! I knew that Peter Dyer had played in goal for the first three games and I knew that Gee then came in for his only game. So that makes 4 games. Dyer was recalled for a single game v Northampton 5 or 6 games into Harry Brown's tenure. So that makes 4 games for Dyer and 1 for Gee, plus Harry Brown's 40 comes to 45. The answer turns out to be that a chap called Reg Howell came in for one game on 13 October v Shrewsbury. He never played again and he was released at the end of the season. Apparently he was noticed playing for the Army. In both cases, the recall of Dyer and the one game for Howell, there is a manuscript change in the programme where someone has crossed out Brown on both occasions.

 

[Barrie Davis]

The idea of the houses was linked to the days of the maximum wage. Clubs would charge a small rent thereby making the players wages go further.

I'm sure you are correct although Chelsea were doing this 14 years after the abolition of the maximum wage. I took charge of building society branch in South London in 1975 and I discovered a whole bunch of mortgage files relating to Chelsea FC owned houses. The mortgages involved were paid off shortly afterwards as the club was forced to review it holdings under the threat of bankruptcy and sold the houses off. They were relegated that year and had invested millions on a new stand which they didn't recover from until Ken Bates sold to Abramovic

 

[Quintrell Green]

I'd have thought Bill Shortt had retired by '57. I can remember both him and Reg Wyatt playing for Wadebridge in the SW League after their pro days ended.

I also recall Bill Short playing in goal for The Bridgers. I remember Wadebridge playing against Bradford City in a pre-season friendly. The local club had an old Bradford player called Bill Murphy and he was the catalyst for the game being arranged. I was standing almost behind a goal when a strong shot came in which missed a post and as a kid in short trousers quite remarkably I cleanly caught the ball above my head. Bill short came around to collect the ball for a goal kick and asked if I wanted his job. The little things you remember.

 

[Quintrell Green]

I'm sure you are correct although Chelsea were doing this 14 years after the abolition of the maximum wage. I took charge of building society branch in South London in 1975 and I discovered a whole bunch of mortgage files relating to Chelsea FC owned houses. The mortgages involved were paid off shortly afterwards as the club was forced to review it holdings under the threat of bankruptcy and sold the houses off. They were relegated that year and had invested millions on a new stand which they didn't recover from until Ken Bates sold to Abramovic

I did not realise that the mortgagee for the much vaunted new stand had to wait quite so long until the Abramovich [?] era at the club. From my knowledge, I think it was Barclays who had put up the money for the stand. Hopefully the bank was able to collect the accruing interest during this period, which would have included the infamous Black Wednesday days when Norman Lamont was Chancellor and Base Rate for a while hit 14%. It certainly would have made Ken Bates' eyes water I am sure.

 

[memory man]

I'm sure you are correct although Chelsea were doing this 14 years after the abolition of the maximum wage. I took charge of building society branch in South London in 1975 and I discovered a whole bunch of mortgage files relating to Chelsea FC owned houses. The mortgages involved were paid off shortly afterwards as the club was forced to review it holdings under the threat of bankruptcy and sold the houses off. They were relegated that year and had invested millions on a new stand which they didn't recover from until Ken Bates sold to Abramovic

Argyle started selling their housing stock about 1964. I know that players Fulton and Newman bought their's. In 1958 we signed aChelsea player called Len Casey. He told me he had a club apartment in Chiswick.

 

[Barrie Davis]

I did not realise that the mortgagee for the much vaunted new stand had to wait quite so long until the Abramovich [?] era at the club. From my knowledge, I think it was Barclays who had put up the money for the stand. Hopefully the bank was able to collect the accruing interest during this period, which would have included the infamous Black Wednesday days when Norman Lamont was Chancellor and Base Rate for a while hit 14%. It certainly would have made Ken Bates' eyes water I am sure.

Chelsea’s woes are well documented and their existence as a club today is very much due to Ken Bates’ and his controversial chairmanship of the club. He took over in 1984 when he bought the club for £1 due to the enormous debts the club had acquired. They were struggling in the second division and had a ground that was falling to pieces. Marler Estates, a property developer, owned a lot of the ground and wanted to demolish it to build a housing estate. Bates deflected this by selling the pitch in bits to a group of supporters. He constantly battled with Matthew Harding, a major benefactor and vice chairman until he died in 1996. Stamford Bridge is a difficult site to redevelop, with major roads and rail lines, and Bates tried, not very successfully, to diversify into hotels and leisure at the site. In the early 1990s, there were plans to build some executive houses along Kings Road to raise money and the positioning of the last stand to be built was dependent on these plans. Glenn Hoddle became manager in 1993 and said that he wanted to play with wingers and wanted a pitch 6 feet wider than the current one. This meant that the stand had to be set back further than planned and this spoiled the development which was cancelled. This was estimated to have cost Chelsea about £100 million. A few weeks after the footings were laid for the stand, Hoddle left to manage England! The club were improving on the field at the end of the 1990s due to the acquisition of Ruud Gullit, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli and Marcel Desailly but they were a very expensive luxury. However, their success resulted in involvement, for the first time, in European competition allowing Bates to sell to Abramovic for £140 million in 2003.