Gordon West

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Gordon West
Personnel
Surname Gordon West
birthday April 24, 1943
place of birth Darfield ,  England
date of death June 10, 2012
Place of death England
position goalkeeper
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1960–1962 Blackpool FC 31 (0)
1962-1973 Everton FC 335 (0)
1976-1979 Tranmere Rovers 17 (0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1961-1965 England U-23 3 (0)
1968-1969 England 3 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

Gordon West (born April 24, 1943 in Darfield , † June 10, 2012 ) was an English football goalkeeper . As a long-time regular goalkeeper of Everton FC in the 1960s, he won two English championships in 1963 and 1970 and the FA Cup in 1966 .

Athletic career

Club career

The son of a miner was born near Barnsley in Darfield. He made the footballing first steps in school sports, first as a field player on the position of the middle runner , but he acted as a teammate on trial to Blackpool, he convinced abruptly by his skills as a goalkeeper. The coaches at FC Blackpool were impressed and, at the age of just 17, West made his first appearances in the top English league from January 1961. In the end, he completed 33 competitive games for the "Tangerines" and his teammates included the young Alan Ball and Stanley Matthews in his forties . In addition, he had pushed the future national goalkeeper Tony Waiters on the bench before he moved to Everton FC in March 1962 for £ 27,500. The transfer fee was a world record for a goalkeeper at the time.

West was the first signing of Everton's new coach Harry Catterick and, still in his teens, the newcomer immediately ousted previous goalkeeper Albert Dunlop . In a total of eleven years as "number 1 toffees", he mostly defended himself against the competition in the person of Andy Rankin and Geoff Barnett , although he "shared" the position with Rankin for almost two years in the mid-1960s. He won two English championships in 1963 and 1970, which only succeeded his teammates Brian Labone and Johnny Morrissey . In addition, the FA Cup came in 1966 with a 3-2 final win over Sheffield Wednesday - after a 2-0 deficit. His goalkeeping game was characterized by a certain extravagance and his strengths included speed, good technique and a courageous duel. The exceptionally long and precise throws for his teammates also attracted a lot of attention, also due to the fact that he did not know how to tee off because of a stubborn thigh injury. An additional problem for him was his nervousness, which he suffered from throughout his career; in addition, "Big Westy", as he was called, often had difficulty maintaining his weight. He had a special relationship with the supporters of local rivals Liverpool FC , who had mocked him for years because of his handbag and dubbed him as “ Mae West ” - on one occasion a fan of the “Reds” presented him with a woman's handbag. West not infrequently reacted to the provocations, for example by throwing hand kisses in the air in front of the opposing audience.

The transfer of England U-23 goalkeeper David Lawson to Everton FC for another record £ 80,000 in 1972 marked the end of West's era. He promptly resigned as an active player after the end of the 1972/73 season. The decision was seen as premature by many, especially since West was only 30 years old. His disappointment had a not insignificant part in this, however, as he had been withheld from him by coach Catterick a customary farewell game ("testimonial match") with the succinct words "You cost us 27,500 pounds". For Everton the departure was ultimately a great loss and it was not until 1981 that he was adequately replaced with Neville Southall in the eyes of his own supporters. In 1976 West made a comeback with the Tranmere Rovers . There he was mostly "second goalkeeper" behind Dickie Johnson and after just 17 league games in the late 1970s, he finally retired from football.

English national team

In the English senior team West came between December 1968 and June 1969 only three internationals, which was mainly due to the fact that Gordon Banks was the undisputed goalkeeper of the "Three Lions". When England finished third at the European Championship in 1968 , he was at least the official “number 2” behind Banks. Two years later he was supposed to be traveling to Mexico for the World Cup , but he canceled on the grounds that he would rather spend the free time after the championship season 1969/70 with his family - West was also often homesick.

After football

After his active career, West worked in security at the Royal Air Force base in Woodvale, near Southport . The withdrawal from the football business was not easy for West and he stayed away from Everton for a long time. In addition to financial difficulties, this was also due to the fact that he was ashamed of his high weight, which was now well over 150 kilograms. The organization of the former Everton players ("Everton Former Players' Foundation") ultimately ensured that he was paid for an urgent knee operation and that he was henceforth involved in club activities again. In June 2012, West ultimately died of complications from cancer.

Title / Awards

literature

  • Ivan Ponting: Everton Player by Player . Hamlyn, London 1998, ISBN 0-600-59581-1 , pp. 58 .
  • Hayes, Dean P .: England! England! The Complete Who's Who of Players since 1946 . Sutton Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-7509-3234-1 , pp. 200 f .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "England - U-23 International Results- Details" (RSSSF)
personal data
SURNAME West, Gordon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Darfield
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 2012