Happy Birthday Peter Ward - 60 today

[The Birdman]

Happy Birthday Peter Ward from the Mid Sussex seagulls

 

[catfish]

I think that's probably balanced out by the fact that defending today is so much better. The defending in half those clips of Ward is dreadful, the likes of March and KLL would run riot through it.

I wasn't born when Ward was at his peak, if he was so good then why didn't he make it at a higher level? Someone suggested he'd be worth £50 million in today's game! That's not a dig, I'm just genuinely interested why he never went on to (much) better things.

I think he made the wrong move - Cloughy didn't really want him & was persuaded by Peter Taylor to sign him. In the end he could make far more money playing in the states so that's where he went.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I think he made the wrong move - Cloughy didn't really want him & was persuaded by Peter Taylor to sign him. In the end he could make far more money playing in the states so that's where he went.

Good call.
Cloughie liked ' muck and bullets ' players. Hard workers, who would run through brick walls for him. e.g John O'Hare, John McGovern, Garry Birtles etc. Peter Taylor liked flair players and he loved Wardy. Cloughie was never convinced and limited his opportunities. He looked at him as lightweight.
At another club at the top level, he could have made it big.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Having never seen the great man play, somebody tell me what sort of player he was (apart from the obvious "a goalscorer")? Are there any modern day striking equivalents, for comparison purposes?

He was from that generation of players that backed their skill against defenders and keepers rather than take easier options. If you look at all top strikers, they are all self-confident. They all have good balance ( the pre-requisite of all top sportsmen ) and they are courageous.
Wardy was lightweight but boy was he brave. He would take a tremendous buffetting from defenders but would just pick himself up and carry on. He was deceptively quick over 15-20 yards and was comfortable with the ball at his feet.
You had to be at the Goldstone for those moments. He would hover just inside his own half and then, in a flash he would be away. For 5-10 seconds the excitement would grow as he raced away and you knew there was a great chance he would score. He was that confident. We were that confident. He didn't always score but it didn't bother him. He backed his skill.
He was a will-o-the-wisp. An exciting bundle of energy. Keen to torment defenders. From his debut at Hereford to his comeback on loan ( like the prodigal son returning ) he entertained us. Glorious solo goals, tap-ins and miskicks. He did the lot. It was an exciting ride and you were privileged to be there.
It seems hard to believe he has reached 60. That boyish look, the tousled hair, still seem fresh in the memory.
Happy Birthday and thanks for those special years.

 

[rocker959]

Belated Happy Birthday God

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Him and Ian Mellor were for me the best strike partnership in the 46 years I've been watching the Albion

Can't disagree with that. Mellor was pure class and stepped down two levels to join us, lured by Clough and Taylor. The perfect foil for the predatory striker.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

P
And all in the second half if I remember..and indeed I got soaked

Yes....and all in the first 28 minutes of the second half!

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Will never forget that game, was so wet and fed up at half time I was all for going home

...as indeed did a friend of mine....soaked through, bored to tears and fearing the usual result v Walsall, he turned to me at the half-time whistle and said..." thats it, I'm off.....I'm soaked, pissed off, we are rubbish and as usual, we are going to lose to this lot "...He turned on his heels and left and missed one of the great nights in Albion history.

 

[symyjym]

I think that's probably balanced out by the fact that defending today is so much better. The defending in half those clips of Ward is dreadful, the likes of March and KLL would run riot through it.

I wasn't born when Ward was at his peak, if he was so good then why didn't he make it at a higher level? Someone suggested he'd be worth £50 million in today's game! That's not a dig, I'm just genuinely interested why he never went on to (much) better things.

Surely most goals come from bad defending? He was two footed, possessed great ball trickery and was quick on the turn. Looking at his career on Wiki "in November 1979 Brighton accepted a £400,000 offer from Nottingham Forest, but Forest manager Brian Clough changed his mind and withdrew it." Might have been because of the money spent on Trevor Francis that year.

£400k was a lot of money in those days, but when you look at Fernando Torres's price tag of £50m there is no guarantee of a £? performance.

Clearly his best playing days were with us but we played to his strengths and the opposition feared him.

 

[Del Fenner]

My favourite Albion player by a country mile. Happy birthday, sir!

 

[seagullwedgee]

Edna, I'm sorry you missed the chance of seeing Wardy live. His trade mark move was to revive the ball around the half way line, back to goal. He often took a smack from behind, even allarsyce was playing against him then. But he had the ability to come towards the ball, giving him 2 or 3 yards of space, then spin his man either right or left, and accelerate goal wards from 30 or 49 yards out, evade the obvious attempt to hack him down and drive on hard towards goal, and thn as the keeper came out he was th coolest man on the planet. He could slip it past him from 20 yards or skip round him and slot it in from 10 yards. What made him a star was his acceleration over 15 to 20 yards, his courage to survive and ignore the hacks, and his coolness to beat the keeper either way. I've been watching live footie and TV footie for 42 years, and I can't think of anyone who could do that back then, or can do it today, to spin his man and disappear before Rahman even knows what has happened. It was magical.

 

[seagullwedgee]

Some typos on there, but you get the gist.

 

[devonsi]

All Time Greatest

2 legends bithdays within 2 days [emoji847][emoji482][emoji106]

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