‘Drop ten, turn and Face.’ Quilty’s Football Yarns 7 Strikers

‘Drop ten, turn and Face.’ Quilty’s Football Yarns 7

Strikers

Good strikers are a special breed. They really come alive in and around the box. Five I particularly remember were Bobby Gilham, my cousin Gary Stretch, my brother in law Johnny Harrison, Nick Mountford and Bobby Colville here in Australia.

Bobby Gilham played for the Goldsmith Arms, like Gary and Johnny he was only small but in the box he seemed to come alive when everyone else was unmoving and flat footed. Gary played good Youth football and i’ll speak of him later. Johnny Harrison is only five foot four inches but played as a professional for Charlton in 1975 alongside Derek Hales and Micky Flanagan. He also played for England Youth. He was an amazingly talented player who one night scored away to Brian Cloughs Nottingham Forest side. As a kid he regularly scored 100 goals a season for clubs like ELY, East London Youth. 

Nick Mountford played for Wahroonga and Turramurra United. He still plays and coming down the left has the raw speed to spoil your afternoon. He is the kind of player regularly added to World Masters sides around the world...he is that good. Bobby Colville still plays today in Sydney but also played as a youngster in England for Stockport and Oldham. He scores goals for fun. Brilliant touch, speed and finisher. Whichever club Bobby plays for, wins, end of story. 

Gary’s story was a bit more serious. As I’d mentioned previously at one time I’d coached his team Queensbridge trucks. As a teenager Gary was often in trouble around Hoxton. He was a face well known to police. With this in mind, he was out one night in the Nags Head Pub in Hackney Road with his girlfriend. Somehow, he got involved in an argument with some off duty police and they attacked him. As the attack progressed they tried to drag him outside to a van. His ear was almost ripped off and he suffered a serious eye injury and rib damage. Fortunately, a barmaid rang the police, she was a judge’s daughter and had some hotline she could call. Within minutes uniformed police arrived and intervened fighting the plain clothed police in the process until they all realised what was happening. Gary was taken to hospital. These four attackers were suspended from the force immediately pending a trial. Knowing this could take a while Gary’s parents convinced him to leave London to go and lie low in recovery. In a way these events that nearly cost Gary his life probably were a catalyst for saving him. He moved down the south coast and lived a healthy life which was a revelation to him. While down there he joined a local semi-professional football club and proceeded to become the town hero scoring 25 goals and winning them the league in the process.

This story was a happy one but unfortunately had a sinister twist. The four police were eventually found not guilty of the criminal charges, it couldn’t be proven beyond reasonable doubt that Gary had not provoked them! In the event Gary also sued them in a civil case where the burden of proof was lower. On balance of probabilities it seemed that they had indeed almost killed him in the attack. They were sacked from the Metropolitan Police and Gary got 50,000 pounds compensation. The sinister ending came about when months later, Gary was visiting his parents in Hoxton, going there after watching football one Sunday morning at Hackney Marshes. As he went down the flats stairs after Sunday dinner, two masked men jumped him. One grabbed and held him while the other used a machete to sever the young man’s hamstrings with the blade! Nothing was said. They could, if they so desired have killed him but was not the intention. In time Gary recovered to play again.

So they are my special five strikers. It would be remiss of me to not mention a couple of good friends who occasionally pretended to be forwards. Big Jimmy Everitt and bald Scot Derek Kirk. Jim modelled himself on the stylish Frank Worthington while Derek with the ball at his feet had one of the powerful shots I’ve ever seen. Strikers, like keepers a special breed.