Bobby Graham (soccer player)

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Bobby Graham
Personnel
Surname Robert Graham
birthday November 22, 1944
place of birth Motherwell ,  Scotland
position striker
Juniors
Years station
until 1960 Motherwell Bridge Works
1960-1961 Liverpool FC
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1961-1972 Liverpool FC 103 (31)
1972-1973 Coventry City 19 ( 03)
1973 →  Tranmere Rovers  (loan) 10 ( 03)
1973-1977 Motherwell FC 132 (37)
1977-1981 Hamilton Academical 118 (42)
from 1981 Shotts Bon Accord
1 Only league games are given.

Robert "Bobby" Graham (born November 22, 1944 in Motherwell ) is a former Scottish football player . The striker was part of the extended Liverpool squad in the 1960s , but was mostly overshadowed by players like Roger Hunt and Ian St. John . After moving to Coventry City , he finally came to his home in Scotland at Motherwell FC and Hamilton Academical on a more regular basis.

Athletic career

Graham joined Liverpool in 1960. At the "Reds" he was initially in the youth department and in November 1961 the club provided him with a professional contract. In the senior division he was then active in the reserve team for three years and in the 1963/64 season the young striker scored 16 goals in 40 games there. He made his debut in the first team on September 14, 1964 in the European Cup in the preliminary round against KR Reykjavík and scored one of the goals for the 6-1 victory. Twelve days later he made his debut in the English premier league and this was extremely promising with his hat-trick in the 5-1 win against Aston Villa . He also scored on his next appearance against Sheffield United .

From then on, Graham could not preserve his achievements. His form curve was down and in the following three years he only managed a total of twelve missions. Only when his seemingly insurmountable rivals Roger Hunt and Ian St. John were getting on in years or left the club, he won a regular place in the 1969/70 season and played all 54 competitive games. After an equally successful start to the new 1970/71 season, he broke his leg at home against Chelsea in early October 1970 and only a few weeks later the club announced the addition of John Toshack from Cardiff . The following spring, Kevin Keegan from Scunthorpe United also came , so Graham's days in Liverpool were numbered.

Graham moved to first division competitor Coventry City in March 1972 . He stayed there for 18 months and during that time he only played 19 league games. In addition, Liverpool loaned him to the Tranmere Rovers for a short time in the third division . He then returned to his home country for Motherwell FC , where his ex-teammate Ian St. John also took over as coach. In Motherwell he had good sporting times and in four years he scored 37 goals in 132 league games. Then there was another four years on the road for neighbors Hamilton Academical , who were even willing to pay the club's record fee of 15,000 pounds. After 42 goals in 115 league games, Graham ended his active career at the lower class club Shotts Bon Accord from 1981 .

Web links

Individual references / footnotes

  1. ↑ Information according to the single game listing on the LFCHistory.net website. Alternative sources show only 101 uses.
  2. ↑ Player Profile: Bobby Graham (LFCHistory.net)
personal data
SURNAME Graham, Bobby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Graham, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Motherwell