John Middleton (soccer player, 1956)

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John Middleton
Personnel
Surname John Middleton
birthday December 24, 1956
place of birth Skegness ,  England
date of death 3rd July, 2016
position goalkeeper
Juniors
Years station
Nottingham Forest
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1974-1977 Nottingham Forest 90 (0)
1977-1980 Derby County 73 (0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1977 England U-21 3 (0)
1 Only league games are given.

John Middleton (born December 24, 1956 in Skegness , † July 3, 2016 ) was an English football goalkeeper . The three-time England U-21 international was instrumental in the rise of Nottingham Forest in the second division season 1976/77 before he was replaced by Peter Shilton and moved to Derby County . His professional career ended prematurely at the age of just 23 due to injury problems.

Athletic career

In the early 1970s, Middleton joined the youth division of Nottingham Forest . Already at a young age he developed into a regular goalkeeper after jumping into the professional department. He rose in the 1976/77 season under coach Brian Clough as part of a defense with the second few goals conceded and also won the Anglo-Scottish Cup . In addition, he completed two European Championship qualifiers for the English U-21 team against Finland (1-0 in Helsinki) and Norway (2-1 in Bergen) in late May / early June 1977 .

Despite these positive omens, coach Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor felt they had to strengthen their goalkeeping position. The ambitions were great and the sporting management hired Peter Shilton , who was already active in the English senior team , who, unlike Middleton, would "win games" and ultimately make the difference between a midfield and top team. Already in September 1977 he left "Forest" in the direction of the first division competitor Derby County and with up to then five appearances he had only a small share in the surprising championship title in 1978 . Part of the transfer was a swap deal with Archie Gemmill , who hired in Nottingham in return.

As early as October 1977, Middleton ousted former regular goalkeeper Colin Boulton in Derby . After 34 first division appearances in the 1977/78 season, 19 uninterrupted league games followed at the beginning of the 1978/79 season. Stubborn injury problems finally led to longer recovery breaks in November 1978 and April 1979, during which David McKellar took his place. He returned at the beginning of the 1979/80 season and again completed the first 13 league games before the next forced break overtook him and he finally ended his professional career. The last competitive game was on October 27, 1979 a 2-3 loss to Stoke City .

Title / Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "England - U-21 International Results 1976-1985 - Details" (RSSSF)
  2. ↑ Player profile on barryhugmansfootballers.com , accessed June 25, 2020
  3. ↑ "Legend of Nottingham Forest" (Spiegel Online)
  4. Jump up ↑ Derby County, The Complete Record, 372--37
personal data
SURNAME Middleton, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Skegness
DATE OF DEATH 3rd July, 2016