Congratulations to Oldham Athletic on your 3-2 victory over Southend in the National League play off final. Great to have you back in the Football League. A dramatic final – that’s football.
Tag Archives: Southend
The 1950s: The 1955-56 Season
The new series on Manchester City in the 1950s continues today with this 3,900 word article on the 1955-56 season when City won the FA Cup final (nowadays known as the Trautmann Final) and Bert Trautmann was FWA Footballer of the Year (presented in the days before the final). Enjoy!
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Valentine Lawrence
Happy Valentine’s Day! Way back in 1911 Manchester City signed a player from Forfar Athletic with the name Valentine. He was born in May 1889, not 14 February as maybe some would expect. He joined City on 5 July 1911 but only made 22 first team appearances in defence before signing for Oldham Athletic on 31 May 1913 (£50 transfer fee). Sadly he only managed one League appearance at Oldham.
A year later he was on his way to Leeds City. War ultimately limited his opportunities and he later played for Southend in 1921 before joining Abertillery in July 1922.
When he signed for City he was expected to be a significant member of the team but it didn’t quite work out like that. His debut was against Oldham on 7 October 1911 and he did play in a goalless Manchester derby. I first wrote about him in The Pride of Manchester, the history of the Manchester derby I co-wrote with Steve Cawley.
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Gary James' Football Archive 