LUFCTALK

Paul ITFC wrote:

Leicester White wrote:
What was it with Ipswich and short keepers? How tall was Paul Cooper? Used to play in goal for my junior school team because I was the tallest (hated it as wanted to be more regularly involved in play) ... distinctly remember a long feature on Paul Cooper on Football Focus and how he saved so many penalties.

Paul Cooper was 5 foot 11 so certainly not tall for a keeper-he actually made his debut for us at Elland Road in your last home game of the 1973/74 title winning season.

He did get a reputation for saving penalties.

Reading this takes me back to, as a young boy, a conversation I had with my Grandfather, must have been in late 1950's or early 60's.
He told me about the great goalkeeper, England international Sam Hardy, who played from around 1910 t0 1925. played for Liverpool, Villa and Forest.
My Grandfather saw him play many times when these teams were visiting Huddersfield, Bradford City, and Bradford Park Avenue during this period, except for the war years when football was organized differently, that was when when Leeds City got kicked out of the league.
Sam Hardy only 5ft 9ins. played the game years ahead of his time. Read the game well and came off his line so often he didn't have to make last ditch saves. If he did he was so quick, didn't have to haul all those extra lbs around to get down to the ball.
What is it about the Chesterfield area? Some great goalkeepers from there, Hardy, Banks, and Shilton come to mind, must be others out there, must be in the water.

Saxon wrote:

Paul ITFC wrote:

Leicester White wrote:
What was it with Ipswich and short keepers? How tall was Paul Cooper? Used to play in goal for my junior school team because I was the tallest (hated it as wanted to be more regularly involved in play) ... distinctly remember a long feature on Paul Cooper on Football Focus and how he saved so many penalties.

Paul Cooper was 5 foot 11 so certainly not tall for a keeper-he actually made his debut for us at Elland Road in your last home game of the 1973/74 title winning season.

He did get a reputation for saving penalties.

Reading this takes me back to, as a young boy, a conversation I had with my Grandfather, must have been in late 1950's or early 60's.
He told me about the great goalkeeper, England international Sam Hardy, who played from around 1910 t0 1925. played for Liverpool, Villa and Forest.
My Grandfather saw him play many times when these teams were visiting Huddersfield, Bradford City, and Bradford Park Avenue during this period, except for the war years when football was organized differently, that was when when Leeds City got kicked out of the league.
Sam Hardy only 5ft 9ins. played the game years ahead of his time. Read the game well and came off his line so often he didn't have to make last ditch saves. If he did he was so quick, didn't have to haul all those extra lbs around to get down to the ball.
What is it about the Chesterfield area? Some great goalkeepers from there, Hardy, Banks, and Shilton come to mind, must be others out there, must be in the water.

Sam Hardy must have been born in the 1880s so it's not like being a 5'9" goalkeeper nowadays.

Leeds, by the way, had a goalkeeper on their books who was only about that size back un the 1980s. He never broke through into the first team for us but had a pretty good career in the lower divisions, played a lot of games for Stockport and Rochdale.

How tall was David Harvey anyway? He always stuck me as a fairly small keeper. But there were plenty of keepers under 6 foot back in the 1970s and 80s. I'm thinking about the likes of Chelsea's Peter Bonetti, Les Green at Derby and John Burridge who played for loads of clubs including Crystal Palace Newcastle, Wolves and QPR.

Gordon Banks, by the way, was from Sheffield, although his first club was Chesterfield. Peter Shilton is from Leicester.

The goalkeeper who made me to be a keeper Ron Springett of Sheffield Weds wasn’t tall neither was his brother Peter both played or Sheffield Weds, at one time Sheffield had two of the smallest keepers in the 1st Div, Ron at Sheffield Weds and Alan Hodglinson at Sheffield Utd

Stephen O’Brien of Longford Town was the smallest goalkeeper in the League of Ireland when Carmarthen Town from Wales beat Longford 5-1 in the UEFA Cup in 2005. Longford played Bohs in their next League of Ireland game, and the Bohs fans chanted at Stephen O’Brien: “Five one… You’d love to be five one…”

Clarke One Nil wrote:Stephen O’Brien of Longford Town was the smallest goalkeeper in the League of Ireland when Carmarthen Town from Wales beat Longford 5-1 in the UEFA Cup in 2005. Longford played Bohs in their next League of Ireland game, and the Bohs fans chanted at Stephen O’Brien: “Five one… You’d love to be five one…”

Love it

white viz wrote:The goalkeeper who made me to be a keeper Ron Springett of Sheffield Weds wasn’t tall neither was his brother Peter both played or Sheffield Weds, at one time Sheffield had two of the smallest keepers in the 1st Div, Ron at Sheffield Weds and Alan Hodglinson at Sheffield Utd

Eddie Hopkinson at Bolton was another 'not tall' keeper at that time.
In the 1961/62 ITFC title winning season I remember Ray Crawford shoulder charging him over the goal line for a goal, perfectly legal back then if the keeper had the ball and had both feet on the ground.

white viz wrote:The goalkeeper who made me to be a keeper Ron Springett of Sheffield Weds wasn’t tall neither was his brother Peter both played or Sheffield Weds, at one time Sheffield had two of the smallest keepers in the 1st Div, Ron at Sheffield Weds and Alan Hodglinson at Sheffield Utd

Ron Springett was the 3rd choice keeper in the 66 World Cup squad behind Banks & Bonetti.
Bonetti himself was under 6 foot.

Reading had a keeper back in the 80’s Steve Death ? He was the shortest keeper I’ve ever seen. Just checked & he was 5’ 7”.