RIP The Preston plumber

[Mind the gap 12]

Sir Tom Finney has passed away today.

Not Norwich related I know. But a true legend of the game has gone.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,402]

Indeed, RIP.

I''m sure there''s a few posters have mentioned they saw the great man play.

[nutty nigel 7,506]

Far too young to have seen him but rated one of the best ever by those who did. RIP.

 

 

[morty 0]

Before my time, but when greats of the game are mentioned, his name was always in there.RIP.

[Tim Dawson 0]

Sad news, my dad always spoke of what a great player he was, shame there isnt much footage of some of the older greats.

[First Wazzock 902]

I take no credit for what you are about to read it comes from Wiki, but it gives you some idea as to what a giant Tom was in football. It relates to football after the war...

Once normal competition was restored, he made his debut for the club in August 1946 and soon established himself as an agile forward. Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that he had a second income to supplement the £14 he received as a footballer and he became famous as the "Preston Plumber". Such was his influence on the team that Preston were, rather unfairly, known to some as "the Plumber and his 10 drips". Twenty eight days after his first league appearance for Preston, Finney made his England debut, going on to win 76 caps and score 30 goals.

Finney was Footballer of the Year in 1953–54, the year of his only appearance in the FA Cup Final (losing 2–3 to West Bromwich Albion), and again in 1956–57, becoming the first player to win this award more than once. Finney revealed in his autobiography that he was not fully match fit for the FA Cup final of 1954, and therefore did not give his best performance.

He formed an attacking partnership with Tommy Thompson in the 1950s. In the 1956–57 they scored 56 goals altogether; next season their combined tally was 60 goals.

In June 1958, he scored his 29th international goal, against the Soviet Union to become joint England all-time top-scorer, sharing the record with Vivian Woodward and Nat Lofthouse. In October the same year, he netted his 30th goal, against Northern Ireland, to become the sole holder of the record. Two weeks later, Lofthouse equalled his tally. Both were surpassed by Bobby Charlton in October 1963.

Dave Whelan described Finney as the perfect gentleman. Whelan explained that in his first game back for Blackburn Rovers after recovering from a broken leg, he had to mark Finney in a 1962 pre-season friendly against Preston. Finney said, "You''ve had some bad luck son, and I''m not going to take you on, I want you to get through today''s game and get back into the first team."

RIP you true star

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="Tim Dawson"]Sad news, my dad always spoke of what a great player he was, shame there isnt much footage of some of the older greats.[/quote]

It does make you wonder what these oldie greats would''ve been like today.  Modern training methods and diet, boots like carpet slippers and balls numerous times lighter.  

We wouldn''t be able to afford him I''m sure.

[ncfc fan 0]

Clubs held a minutes silence this last weekend.

[Syteanric 1]

the 2 best players in the world played for England once... Matthews and Finney... It must have been a joy to behold for anyone lucky enough to have seen them...

Heaven''s footy team must be a hell of a side!

[YankeeCanary 0]

 

Tom Finney was my hero as a boy. He was not only a wonderful footballer but anyone could tell he was also a gentleman. A special combination. RIP Tom.

[ncfc fan 0]

As there wern''t many matches this last weekend I think the Premier League should ask clubs to have a minutes silence this weekend.