Frank Worthington RIP

Played for Preston and Bolton but I still liked him. A great player. That goal against Ipswich will be getting some airplay today.
 
Met him in Lanzarote about 15 years ago. We discussed that goal for Bolton vs Ipswich. He feigned his modesty quite well. Great player & character.
 
Loved watching Frank Worthington play. A true entertainer. Saw him speak at a sportsmans dinner at Ridgehill wmc in Stalybridge many years ago. First time I heard the Carton Palmer joke where Frank said Palmer could trap the ball further than I could kick it.
 
Saw him play many times for various clubs, but particularly remember him playing for Birmingham City at Leeds once when his ball-juggling tricks in the warm-up were worth the admission price alone.
 
A really great footballer, Liverpool wanted him in his prime, only for the move to be scuppered on medical grounds. Wonderful player
 
Very sad news RIP Frank. He played in that era of some very talented individual footballers Stan Bowles, Tony Currie etc and he was up there with them.
 
Met him many times on the after-dinner speaking circuit. My last gig with him was at Deepdale. A great raconteur of his time in football. RIP Frankie.
 
I remember watching that Bolton v Ipswich game and just willing the ball to hit the back of the net after such a magical peice of skill. RIP Frank.
 
Saw him at a Sportamans dinner a few years ago and he was very funny and told some great stories, he was then happy to mix with everyone after and sign autographs and have pics taken, really nice guy.

He played for 22 years as a pro which is incredible really, and that goal v Ipswich is one I'll always remember him by.

RIP Frank.
 
he was the sort of player who, when I was a kid, I used to get excited waiting to see when he came to Bloomfield Rd. Partly the innocence of youth but also the attraction of the showmen who were around at that time. RIP Frank.
 
Raging_Bull said:
Saw him at a Sportamans dinner a few years ago and he was very funny and told some great stories, he was then happy to mix with everyone after and sign autographs and have pics taken, really nice guy.

He played for 22 years as a pro which is incredible really, and that goal v Ipswich is one I'll always remember him by.

RIP Frank.
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I also saw him at a sportsmans dinner and I'd say he was just the same. He was on my table and was chatting up the wives when their husbands weren't there!
Talented player that never fulfilled his full potential. RIP Frank
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
RIP, that goal man, as above everyone wanted to copy it as a kid, you had to volley it as well, no bouncing!
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Yep tried that many times on the ‘rec’ as a kid. Never quite came off though!
What a player and character he was. RIP Frank
 
Frank was as prolific scoring off the field as he was on it. Particularly legendary in his days with Huddersfield and Leicester. The old idiom of more clubs than Jack Nicklaus certainly applies to Frank.

Played into his forties and one of his last gigs was in the Welsh Alliance with Cemaes Bay, playing on the nearby Wylfa nuclear power station sports ground! He would have loved that. An amazing life well lived.
 
There is a story about him signing for Liverpool but he failed the medical because he had high bloody pressure due to his life style. He wasn't a drinker but liked the ladies.
 
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Just had a thought, was that goal he scored 'Goal of the Season'?
What an amazing goal. Completely baffled the whole defence.
 
Davepick said:
Just had a thought, was that goal he scored 'Goal of the Season'?
What an amazing goal. Completely baffled the whole defence.
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I just googled Dave and goal of the season on Match of the Day that season was Ray Kennedy for Liverpool against Derby.

Maybe Frank's goal was on ITV and not the BBC because there has never been a goal better than Frank's in the history of association football.
 
RIP Frank, great entertainer, cracking footballer.

He, Alan Hudson, Tony Currie, Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh deemed not good enough for England yet I bet Brazil would have had em all 🤦‍♂️
 
SEASIDE2020 said:
I just googled Dave and goal of the season on Match of the Day that season was Ray Kennedy for Liverpool against Derby.

Maybe Frank's goal was on ITV and not the BBC because there has never been a goal better than Frank's in the history of association football.
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Spot on 2020. It was on Granada.
Shame it was for Bolton.
 
I saw him play for the nobbers at Bloomfield Road, when we beat them 3 nil with 10 men. He must have been nearly 40, but he was their best player on the day, his first touch was fantastic.
 
SEASIDE2020 said:
I just googled Dave and goal of the season on Match of the Day that season was Ray Kennedy for Liverpool against Derby.

Maybe Frank's goal was on ITV and not the BBC because there has never been a goal better than Frank's in the history of association football.
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Exactly that. Frank was on Granada with Gerald Sinstadt commentating.
 
A truly brilliant footballer and a real crowd pleaser. One of my all time favourite players and criminal he didn't play miles more games for England.
 
How very sad although he was very ill and had been struggling with the pre match appearances at ER. Nearly saved us from relegation in '82 but gave us some great memories in a short space of time.

That generation of Worthies, Curries and Hudsons etc are almost gone, but it was an exciting time that captivated millions on their Saturday afternoon.
 
Just finishing reading a book about Frank and the other 70's characters like Bowles Marsh, Hudson and Currie. The book is The Mavericks if anyone is interested.
 
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