Ian Lawson (soccer player, 1939)

Ian Lawson
Personnel
Surname	Frederick Ian Allison Lawson
birthday	March 24, 1939
place of birth	Ouston ,  England
position	striker
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1956-1952	Burnley FC	23 0(7)
1962-1965	Leeds United	44 (17)
1965-1966	Crystal Palace	17 0(6)
1966-1967	Port Vale	8 0(0)
1967	Barnsley FC	0 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

Frederick Ian Allison Lawson (born March 24, 1939 in Ouston ) is a former English football player . As a striker , he was part of the extended circle of Burnley FC , which won the English championship in the 1959/60 season .

Athletic career

Lawson grew up in County Durham and shortly after graduating from Pelton School , he joined the first division club Burnley FC in March 1956 . He was one of a number of talented young footballers from Northeast England who was a particular focus of Burnley's Scouts - Jimmy Robson had been spotted with him , who played a school cup final at Lawson's side. At the beginning of the following year 1957 Burnley then opened up a problem in the center-forward position, since Peter McKay was on the way back to Scotland and Les Shannon was only a stopgap there. Lawson's debut was spectacular on January 5, 1957 in the FA Cup and he contributed four goals to the 7-0 win against Chesterfield FC . In the next round against AFC New Brighton three more hits followed and a total of eleven games in the outgoing 1956/57 season, in which he met a total of ten times. He recommended himself for the English youth national team and there he was also used at the side of his teammate John Angus against Spain in Birmingham.

Lawson's development stalled noticeably in the following two years, however, because he was completely absent from games in the first team and he also had no regular place in the reserve team. He only returned in the 1959/60 championship season and eight of his nine competitive games that year were in the league. He mostly acted on the right half-forward position as a substitute for Jimmy McIlroy and although he did not reach the minimum stake for an official championship medal, he scored three goals, including the winning goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford . There followed ten more games in the 1960/61 season, but no more in the following year, so that Lawson asked his club in March 1962 for clearance for a change.

For £ 20,000 he found his way to Leeds United , who were fighting to stay in the second division. Coach there was Don Revie , who also played his last game as an active player in Lawson's debut against Huddersfield Town (1: 2). The threatened relegation could ultimately be averted, although the newcomer had only met once in eleven league games. Obviously, Lawson, with his rather thin legs and limited technical capabilities, did not introduce himself as a top striker and when John Charles and Jim Storrie hired further striker competition in Leeds before the start of the 1962/63 season , Lawson wanted to leave the club again. However, since no buyer could be found, he stayed with the "whites" and after only three missions in eight months he was able to assert himself again at the end of the season and in eight games he scored five goals. His contribution to the rise as second division champion in 1964 was not insignificant and he scored eleven goals. Despite his now good "scorer" Lawson received little love from the Leeds supporters and when Alan Peacock was signed in February 1964 , his perspective deteriorated further - a transfer deal with Scunthorpe United in the same month failed due to Lawson's agreement. After three missions in the first six games of the 1964/65 season, he injured his knee and, which made an operation in September 1964 necessary. He did not return to the Leeds United team afterwards and he was also disregarded on the way to the FA Cup final . Ultimately, he hired in June 1965 for a transfer fee of 9,000 pounds at the second division club Crystal Palace .

Lawson stayed with “Palace” for a year as well as with the fourth division club Port Vale , where his career slowly came to an end. For Port Vale, he played only eight games and remained without a goal before losing his place on the team. He then moved to Barnsley FC on a free transfer in May 1967 . There he could no longer "revive" his career and so he ended his professional career at the age of 28.

Web links

• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League AZ Player's Database
• Profile on barryhugmansfootballers.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Ian Lawson" (Clarets Mad)
2. ^ "Players: Ian Lawson (forward) 1962-65" (mightyleeds.co.uk)