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Alan Spavin

Alan Spavin

Ando60 said:
He wasnt flash, but he was effective....... although your Dad is right - he split opinion.

He scored two of our three goals when we beat Rotherham in May 1971 to clinch the Division 3 title..... I was there on that wonderful night

i remember many years after he retired, i was playing for BAE against Preston supporters club at Willow Farm - he was 40 and i was 20

he picked up the ball on the half way line went past me like i didnt exist and hit one into the top corner from 30 years out !!!
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Everyone who knows/knew about Spavin are all agreed he was a slow player, (he even admits that himself) yet he went past you Ando as if you didn't exist, which leads me to the question of how slow were you?

Was it: a) just slow, b) very slow or c) statue like slow? 🙂
 
deepdaledreamer said:
He made his debut in 1960/61 against Arsenal.
I was given a newspaper cutting of it some Years ago. He was in the Team that won the Youth Cup final with Peter Thomson, Dave Wilson possibly.
He was a great Player at the old second Division level (Championship). Ron Atkinson once said he was the best uncapped midfielder of his generation (told this story to Spav when he was in his 60's - He said it was very kind but he was a tad too slow for that level).
I got to know his Parents & Son (who supports Spurs) and ex wife when we moved to Morecambe in the late 80's.
Spav used to come in the Family PO/CTN when he was over from the USA.
Nice. Family
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I always said that if he had had an extra yard of pace he would have been taken by a top club, and done well.
 
ernest said:
Kelly
Ross, Smith
Lawton, Singleton, Kendall
Wilson, Ashworth, Dawson, Spavin, Holden

FA Cup Final team 1964 - only Dave 'Tug' Wilson, Alex 'The Black Prince' Dawson and Doug Holden still with us.
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That's the team. Just a shame Godfrey didn't play in the '64 final instead of Ashworth, we may well have won, but isn't that the story of N.E?
 
RVW said:
Everyone who knows/knew about Spavin are all agreed he was a slow player, (he even admits that himself) yet he went past you Ando as if you didn't exist, which leads me to the question of how slow were you?

Was it: a) just slow, b) very slow or c) statue like slow? 🙂
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Very slow when going backwards , but boy I was quick when going down the wing towards the opposition goal 😆
 
Couldn't agree more. I was there ernest (as a 10 year old). Ashworth spent most of the game on his arse. Alan Spavin was brilliant - remember part of the chant - 'Spaviin is better than Euseibio. Happy days
 
khnuttall said:
Couldn't agree more. I was there ernest (as a 10 year old). Ashworth spent most of the game on his arse. Alan Spavin was brilliant - remember part of the chant - 'Spaviin is better than Euseibio. Happy days
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My dad would have been somewhere near you. I was sat in a chair on the eastern edge of Preston watching on TV.
 
No Danger said:
Spavin was not a prolific scorer but scored two absolute belters at home to Rotherham when we secured third division championship in 1971.
The Rotherham keeper was a young Roy Tunks who later played for us.
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Am sure I went to that game, think it was a 28,000 sell out, may be wrong but I think it was when we used to form a wall of our own in front of the opposition wall at free kicks, sure he scored one from a set piece like that at the town end .
 
Don't often visit but would just like to add a word or two to all the above. He came from a rugby playing school and it wasn.t until I persuaded him to help a friend out and play for Carnforth Rangers Juniors on a saturday that he started to play "soccer" Very early on whilst there he was approached by a Wolverhampton W scout but was not interested. Took him to a trial at Blackburn Rovers which was held on a cinder car park! Brought him to his first trial at PNE Willow Park. Not a long time after Peter Thompson went to Liverpool a quiet approach was made to Alan, but his business interests around Lancaster/Morecambe were just beginning to flourish and he decided to stay put. In later life he was at one time either p/t manager or coach at Telford and was also player manager at Morecambe. Never saw him play in USA but had a picture of him somewhere sat with his arm round Pele
 
Was he not voted Player Of The Year in the old Third Division by his fellow professionals when we went up as Champions
Remember a pic of him sat in the dressing room at Fulham having a cuppa after our 1-0 win it was on the cover of a Football League Revue I think.
 
Maycli said:
Don't often visit but would just like to add a word or two to all the above. He came from a rugby playing school and it wasn.t until I persuaded him to help a friend out and play for Carnforth Rangers Juniors on a saturday that he started to play "soccer" Very early on whilst there he was approached by a Wolverhampton W scout but was not interested. Took him to a trial at Blackburn Rovers which was held on a cinder car park! Brought him to his first trial at PNE Willow Park. Not a long time after Peter Thompson went to Liverpool a quiet approach was made to Alan, but his business interests around Lancaster/Morecambe were just beginning to flourish and he decided to stay put. In later life he was at one time either p/t manager or coach at Telford and was also player manager at Morecambe. Never saw him play in USA but had a picture of him somewhere sat with his arm round Pele
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Alex Bruce SAE said:
Was he not voted Player Of The Year in the old Third Division by his fellow professionals when we went up as Champions
Remember a pic of him sat in the dressing room at Fulham having a cuppa after our 1-0 win it was on the cover of a Football League Revue I think.
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He carried us out of that division on his back.
 
pne_alan said:
The Black Prince passed away about 5 years ago, I remember a tribute before a home game around the time..
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Indeed - Alex 'The Black Prince' Dawson is probably my all-time favourite PNE player. I can remember the exact moment I read of his passing - I was checking things on my phone while sat in a pub called The Chandos at the bottom of St Martin's Lane just above Trafalgar Square - though I prefer to remember his header for our second goal in the 2-2 draw at Bolton in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in 64 I really don't think I have ever seen a ball headed so hard. Doug Holden has sadly also since passed from this life so only Dave 'Tug' Wilson is left of the Cup Final team of that year.
 
Great memories of Spav. On a Sunday morning he would come and play on Ryelands Park with us kids. It was teenagers v Spavs all Stars.(Under 11s) It was my job to knock on his door at Peel Avenue and ask his mum can Alan come out and play. I have several more happy memories of Spav. Agreat footballer and a great bloke.
 
khnuttall said:
Couldn't agree more. I was there ernest (as a 10 year old). Ashworth spent most of the game on his arse. Alan Spavin was brilliant - remember part of the chant - 'Spaviin is better than Euseibio. Happy days
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ernest said:
Kelly
Ross, Smith
Lawton, Singleton, Kendall
Wilson, Ashworth, Dawson, Spavin, Holden

FA Cup Final team 1964 - only Dave 'Tug' Wilson, Alex 'The Black Prince' Dawson and Doug Holden still with us.
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Thompson
Cunningham, Walton
Docherty, Marston, Forbes
Finney, Foster, Wayman, Baxter, Morrison

1954 Cup Final team. Lost 3-2 just like 1964.
Most were still playing for us when we finished 2nd or 3rd in 1957/8 in what is now the Premier League
 
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