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Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club 3FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011
Linfield Football ClubCONTENTS
ADVERTISINGSalesforce [email protected](028) 4483 9787
Anne [email protected] (028) 9026 4180
PRODUCTION AND [email protected](028) 9033 7389
FEATURE WRITERSAlex McGreevyChris HoltMichael Bashford
Credits & Contacts for Commercial Supplements
4 The origins of a football phenomenon
7 Unique glory of European nights
9 Lest we forget the legends
12 Boyhood Blue lives the dream
15 Building bridges
18 David Jeffrey — Mr Linfield
Lest we forget the legendsF
or every Linfield fan over the age of60, the team of 1961/62 was prob-ably the greatest ever. The namesReid, Parke, Gilliland, Irvine, Hat-ton, Graham, Wilson, Gough,
Andrews, Stewart, Ferguson, Dickson, Barr,Scott and Braithwaite are etched into the fab-ric of Windsor Park folklore for their seven-trophy haul.
It was never done before and unlikely toever happen again (given that a number ofthe competitions are now defunct).
But for a team to make a clean sweep ofdomestic competitions when strength indepth squads were a thing of the future isamazing in itself.
Over the years many of the players havereminisced about what they regard as theclub’s finest season.
Bobby Braithwaite played in 50 of the 59games that season. He recalls how the play-ers didn't think about a possible clean sweepuntil the last few games of the season.
“The strange thing is that it never reallyoccurred to any of us that we could lift allseven trophies until very late in the sea-son,” he remembers.
“Isaac McDowell (manager) kept us fo-cused on each game and I recall that it wasonly after Portadown drew with the Glens toset up a play-off match for the title that werealised what we could possibly achieve.
“Of course the final game at Solitude mustrank as the most memorable of my Linfieldcareer. The atmosphere was unbelievable.Jimmy Reid scored two and I was fortu-nate enough to score the other on that greatday.”
Phil Scott says he mainly remembers “thecouple of goals that I scored”.
“Tommy Dickson was one of the greatsfrom that time,” he said.
“Then there was Bobby Braithwaite, an-other great player. Billy Ferguson, TommyStewart, that was some team at that time.
“The only way I got on was when Dicksonwas injured. I was like his understudy. I goton if the Duke was out but he would always
be back the next week.“Even if I had have scored three, I still
would have made way for the Duke for thenext match. At the time I was a bit peevedabout that but I suppose looking back, theDuke was such a special player, one of the alltime greats.”
Ken Gilliland says it was the highlight ofhis career.
“The season started off in the usual Lin-field manner and we were winning plenty ofgames,” he said.
“We kept knocking teams down but werenever really thinking of where it might leadto. As the season progressed and we pickedup the early trophies, it suddenly becameclear that something quite special mighthappen.
“The league play-off game against Porta-down at Solitude was a great experience. Atthe end of the game the crowd surged ontothe pitch and they gave us a tremendous ova-tion.
“I still have wonderful memories of the vic-tory parade down the Shankill Road and upto Windsor Park. I don’t think I have everseen anything like it.”
A reminder of the seven trophies whichLinfield won: The Gibson Cup (Irish LeagueChampionship); Irish Cup, Co Antrim Shield,Gold Cup, City Cup, Ulster Cup, and North-South Cup.
The invincibles: The all-conquering seven trophy winning side
Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club 9FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011Linfield Football Club8
Peter Thompson has helpedsecure, and raised aloft, manya trophy in his relatively shortyet supremely fruitful careerat Linfield — yet one in partic-
ular stands out.In April 2005, just two weeks after
suffering gut-wrenching defeat at thehands of rivals Glentoran, thanks toan injury time goal from formerWindsor Park favourite Chris Morgan,a loss that would see them ultimate-ly miss out on the league title, theBlues headed south for the very firstSetanta Cup final.
Facing them were Shelbourne –the big-spending kingpins of Irishfootball; a team that had come with-in a whisker of qualifying for thegroup stages of the ChampionsLeague, managed by another ex-Lin-field hero, Pat Fenlon.
David Jeffrey's men weren't givena hope.
However, in a terrific display ofcharacter not least in bouncingback from that heartbreakingdefeat at the Oval, the Bluessaw off the Dubliners in theirown back yard with GlennFerguson opening thescoring and Thompsonproviding the clincher.
For the striker, it wasa moment that tops allothers in a career thathas seen him win thelot, several times over,domestically.
“It was the first year ofthe competition and therewas an excitement surround-ing it because it was the firsttime that teams from here hadplayed League of Ireland teams
competitively for a long time,” re-flected Thompson.
“Playing against Shelbourne was amassive ask for us – they were fulltime and were seen as the best teamin Ireland at the time after havingsome great results in Europe.
“As well as that we had just comeoff the back of losing to Glentoran andweek after that they won the leagueand we felt that we had blown that,
“But we went down to Dublin andwe got the goals and then battled tothe end and I'll never forget the cel-ebrations after it. It was a brilliantperformance and an amazing day allround, certainly the highlight of mycareer.”
Most of the players at that timepoint to the 'clean sweep' season astheir highlight but Thompson felt itimportant to take a step back.
“For me that Setanta Cup win wasthe springboard for what we would goon to achieve the following season,”
he added. “The catalyst was actu-ally the defeat to Glentoran, weknew at that point that we didn't
want to ever have to suffer thatsort of disappointmentagain and used it to ouradvantage.
“I think in football youhave to know what it islike to feel disappoint-ment. It gives you a
hunger and desire toensure that you don'texperience that feel-
ing often. The 'cleansweep' season wasamazing to be part ofbut for me, it allstarted when webeat Shelbourne.”
Pistol whippedThompson is Blues’ deadly weapon
Singing the blues: Peter Thompson celebrates another Irish Cup win
11
They say success breeds successand nowhere has that wearymaxim been given more lus-tre than in the corridors ofWindsor Park.
Linfield’s domination of the domes-tic football scene is as old as the leagueitself, and under the glittering 14-yearstewardship of David Jeffrey, the Blueshave cemented their reputation asNorthern Ireland’s pre-eminent club.
This season, there was a sense of in-evitability as Linfield marched to thefirst final of the season, only for old ri-
vals Glentoran to remind the Bluesthey have no divine right to silverwarein the final of the County Antrim Shield.
Around the international stadium,changes are afoot with the Govern-ment announcing millions in fundingto upgrade Irish League stadiums.
Indeed the future sure looks brightand with the reigning Carling Premier-ship champions top of the league onceagain and through to the semi-finals ofthe Irish Cup, Blues fans are confidentanother season of success beckons.
Some things just never change.
It’s all over: Robert Garrettreacts as Linfield lose toDundalk in the Setanta Cupen route to crashing out ofthe all-Ireland competition
It’s a rout: Peter Thompsoncelebrates as Linfield hit 11against Kilmore Rec enroute to the County AntrimShield Cup final
Heavens above: DavidJeffrey looks for somedivine inspiration
Up and running: MichaelCarvill scores the Blues’first league goal of theseason against Distillery
Actions not words: Striker MarkMcAllister celebrates his goal asLinfield tightened their grip ontop spot with a win at Portadown
Up for the cup: Peter Thompsonscores from the spot as Linfieldmake the Irish Cup last four afterwinning on the road at Dungannon
European dreams: NoelBailie and Alan Blayneyhug after securing a 0-0draw against Rosenborg
Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club10 FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011 Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club 11FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011
10
Building bridgesacross the divideA
ugust 1979 saw someof the worst ever vio-lence at an Irish foot-ball ground. The venuewas Oriel Park, and the
two teams, Linfield and Dundalk,faced each other in the EuropeanCup.
The Troubles were at their heightand as soon as the draw was made,organisers and officials from bothclubs feared there would be clashesduring the first leg in Dundalk. Theywere proved to be correct.
On the day of the game buses werestoned and rival fans attacked eachother inside the ground and out. De-spite appeals from officials of bothclubs during the match, the violencecontinued with fans and gardai bothinjured.
It was a sad chapter in the histo-ry of Irish football but the ugly scenesironically helped forge a close bondbetween the clubs that continuestill this day.
The Dunfield Project, launchedin 1999, aimed to bring together Lin-field and Dundalk to participate ina coordinated programme of footballand personal development for youngpeople.
The key areas to be addressedwere cross border cooperation and toestablish best practice partnership atgrassroots level.
The project provided disadvan-taged young people with the oppor-tunity to receive quality training inlife, football and educational skills,while creating a legacy of workingand playing together in the focusareas.
The coaches from both Belfastand Dundalk were given the oppor-tunity to engage in higher level de-velopment work within those areasthat would create a greater under-standing of peace and reconcilia-tion, social inclusion and mutualunderstanding.
While the project ended in 2008the tradition and friendship betweenboth clubs has continued, most re-cently with the launch of the DessieGorman Cup.
When the two clubs were pittedagainst each other in the SetantaCup earlier this season, they decid-ed to revisit and cement their rela-tionship, launching an annual youthtournament to mark the move.
The cup, named after Dessie ‘theDundalk Hawk' Gorman, a legend atboth clubs during the 1990s, willsee a Dundalk and Linfield youthteam compete each year for the tro-phy which will encourage close sport-ing ties between both clubs.
Speaking during the recent an-nouncement of the tournament atWindsor Park, which was attendedby ‘the Hawk' himself, Paul Johnston,promotions officer at Dundalk,thanked everyone at Linfield for thegreat welcome and warm hospitali-ty shown to their officials and sup-porters.
“There is a lot of history betweenthe clubs but we have moved on along way since the events of 1979.
“The Dunfield Project showed allof us the way forward and this newinitiative will further cement thebond between the clubs,” he said.
Long may it continue!
Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club14 FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011
ICANNOT think of a time in the last eightyears as Umbro Account manager to Lin-field Football club when I haven’t felt any-thing other than an incredibly warmwelcome when i drive through the blue
gates into Windsor Park. Having served there as a player (1988-
1990) under Roy Coyle and as under 18coach (2001-2003) under David Jeffrey, I had no illusion about what was requiredwhen Umbro became sponsors to Linfield in2003. An institution which has produced so many wonderfully gifted players overmany ]years and a club whose fans havebeen its lifeblood and who from board roomto boot room have been the epitome of pro-fessionalism.
As I depart these shores for a new adven-ture in the USA , it is with great delight thatPaul Leeman and myself brokered a newfour year sponsorship with Ireland’s leadingclub and I can assure all Bluemen of therespect with which the club is held not onlywith my successor but all at Umbro HQ inManchester.
The new contract takes us through to 2016and each year is always exciting workingwith Linfield as there is the assurance ofend of season glory. In the past seven sea-sons, Linfield have racked up an incrediblefour doubles and a clean sweep as well as anAll Ireland title and in total have collectedup an amazing 15 trophies along the way.
My thanks to everyone at Linfield whohave made the task of ensuring the clubwere kitted out to the highest professionalstandards was nothing other than a delight... here is brief glimpse of the last eight sea-sons through the eyes of Philip Mitchell ...
I don’t believe the deal would have beenoriginally done had it not been for the inter-vention of Jack Grundy and JimGlendinning when the club looked to set tocontinue with their then current sponsor.
In those early days, Jim Glendinning,Derek Brooks and of course Ireland’sfavourite boot boy Gary Eccles becameinstrumental in implementing the contractwe had set in place and Jim set aboutredesigning the club shop to give a moreprofessional and spacious look and feel.
In our first year the new kits and trainingand leisurewear (which had been pretty nonexistent under the previous sponsors)received a massive thumbs up from the firstteam dressing room and the fans.
The hugely popular white away kit of2004 when we took over the mantle of clubsponsors, was followed by the Windsor Parkcentenary home and away kits the followingyear, a summer after having famously wonthe Setanta cup.
One of my funniest memories was DavidJeffrey going live on UTV on April Fools Day2005 to tell the watching world that the newkits for 2005/06 would be sleeveless.
As pictures beamed out across televisionscreens of Peter Thompson and MichaelGault trying on the new sleevless shirts pre-sented out of a suitcase by Kitman GaryEccles the phones around bluemen andboard room members began to buzz untilthey realised they had been HAD!
By the time we launched the new homekit in December 2006, the Blues were ontheir way to completing the second of anincredible hat trick of doubles having pulledoff an incredible clean sweep of all fourdomestic trophies ... the shirt sales were
phenomenal and continued through thesummer of 2007 as they defeatedDungannon in the Irish cup Final and nar-rowly missed out on what might have been amore historic treble losing on penalties inthe Setanta Cup Final to Drogheda.
We had by now signed a new five yeardeal with the club and the relationshipsdeepened.
Stephen Dickson had now taken over themantle as commercial manager , opening upthe Shankill superstore, energising theWindsor Park superstore and taking com-mercial revenues at the club from 2005 to awhole new level. David Crawford and PaulWeir had successfully brokered the new dealwith Umbro and David's passing was a greatshock only two months later.
When May 2008 finally arrived and theBlues had reached their third Irish CupFinal and were set to pull off their third dou-ble, we persuaded the club to wear their newaway kit against Coleraine in the final (abrilliant vibrant vermillion red trimmedwith white and royal blue), due to the colourclash and when Pistol Pete gunned themdown in his last domestic game before head-ing to England in brilliant sunshine weknew the kit launch a week later was goingto be huge and as expected we were sold outin no time at all.
Peter Thompson has a special bond withnot only the brand but with myself. I veryeasily persuaded him to sign for Linfieldwhen I was youth team manager in 2001,gave him his first pair of Umbro Specialisand I watched in awe as he soared throughyouth football and reserve team footballbefore finally reaching the first team in 2004where he forged a partnership with a certainGlenn Ferguson.
Now to have these two gentlemen wearingUmbro footwear as they went about theirbusiness in the Irish League was quite something and when they racked up 90goals between them in 2006/07 we werelooking at the Irish Leagues greatest everpartnership in action. Glenn and Peterremain dear friends and the part they playedin Umbro's success with Linfield is not to beunderstated.
At first team level, there is always theneed for the highest standards, because itsets the tone for the rest of the club and it ishere where Gary Eccles excels.
His attention to detail is second to noneand he ensures that we provide the firstteam players and staff with everything thatis required within the professional arena .David Jeffrey for his part is a lifelong friendhaving captained the side I played in andand managed the club for over 14 years.
Our biggest encouragement on our jour-
ney with Linfield in those early days wasDavid's insistence that the way the playershad been dressed for training, arrival onmatch day, in the warm up and on the fieldof play had played its part in the club win-ning their first League title in 2004 for threeyears.
The “look good, feel good, play good”adage was working. David has always beenaccessible , always hugely supportive andand continually delivering the goods duringthe last seven years and let me tell you thatno matter how much support you have withyour product at board room level andamongst the fans, you need the first teammanagers support as well.
On a Sunday at New Forge under thewatchful eye of David Chisholm it is a blastof colour as you watch the fields lit up withan academy bristling with talent. David hasbeen phenomenal in his role at Linfield'sacademy and I have enjoyed his friendshipas well as working closely with him toensure the academy reflects the appearanceof the first team.
His knowledge and enthusiasm is infec-tious and I know that the professionalism heinstills in the young players is crucial in anywho become Linfield first team players. Theinsistence by him of how the academyshould dress is tantamount to his own pro-fessionalism.
When we launched the famous orangeaway shirt in 2010, David and the playershad not disappointed us, pulling off theirfourth double in five seasons and so whilstwe knew the kit was going to be pretty goodanyway, the teams success heightened theanticipation.
What happened in the week after the kitlaunched in Ma was nothing short of stag-gering as shirts literally flew off the shelvesand the club had their biggest ever take atthe till in a single week. Hats off especially toSteven Dickson who consulted with Umbroon style and colour and pressed home theadvantage when he purchased all theremaining stock at Umbro three days afterthe launch!
Steven, along with Paul Weir and Jim Kerrin this current year, brokered the new fouryear deal and it was all taken care of over anice lunch in the Merchant Hotel withoutany fuss.Jim has become a chairman that Ihave great respect for whilst Paul hasbecome a close friend and confidant awayfrom Windsor .
In my time as Umbro Area Manager, Ihave been fortunate to meet and work withmany great people around the club.
Winky Murphy, Stevie Douglas and JimErvin have been there a long time and Icount them as great friends.
Noel Bailie I made my debut with in thefirst team and is a an unbelievable credit tothe game. In the current stable of Umbroplayers Mark McAllister and Philip Lowryare recent acquisitions to Windsor but wereplayers who we sponsored before theyarrived at Linfield and they are two greatguys.
Michael Gault was another who played inthe Linfield youth team that I managed andis one of the nicest guys you can meet in thegame and for my money is the next Linfieldcaptain.
Jamie Mulgrew like Michael has blos-somed into a really fine player and hasbecome a dear and trusted friend as as wehave looked after the under 10 Linfield acad-emy side together. Former players such asDavy Larmour and Darren Murphy andMark Picking all were significant in the play-er - brand relationship.
On the coaching staff , Alfie Wylie hasbeen a mentor and family friend to say noth-ing of a fellow football nut-case, whilst Ialways love the company of BrianMcLoughlin and Denis Shields when i amprivileged enough to sit with them in thebootroom.
In the boardroom, I was humbled when amatter of weeks before my departure theclub presented me with lifelong member-ship.
The board room is filled with many greatcharacters and aside form those I havealready mentioned I have enjoyed closeworking relationships with CameronRamsey, Jack Grundy, Billy Kennedy,Richard Johnson and Andy Conn in particu-lar whilst always receiving a welcominghandshake from every member of the man-agement committee no matter where wemeet.
Ken Greer has been nothing short of 100percent supportive of all we have attemptedto achieve in our partnership with Linfieldand he has a great support network aroundhim, with Pauline Anderson and DesMcQuitty. At retail Pauline, Frankie Taylor,stephen McKernan, Billy and Kate workwith diligence and co-operation and Linfieldare blessed to have such people working forthem.
And amongst the fans, I have been blessedto receive their warm handshake on any dayat Windsor — and guys like Michael Jonesand Mark Winters have become wonderfulsupporters of the special Umbro — Linfieldrelationship.
I must mention also David the grounds-man who always goes out of his way toensure we get pitch access and dressingroom access when required for photoshootsand events.
It has been great fun (even the difficultparts like having to do so many photoshootswith Lucy Evangelista..........the red away kitbikini photoshoot on the beach probablybeing the most difficult!
In closing on behalf of Umbro, may I wisheveryone connected with Linfield footballclub every success and every blessing for thefuture and I hope the next four years withUmbro are as much fun as the last eighthave been and most significantly can I con-gratulate you on this incredible milestone ofyour 125th Anniversary.
Philip MitchellArrea Manager Umbro International
A message from Umbro...
Friendship: Youth players swap pennants in inaugural Dessie Gorman trophy
15Linfield Football Club
Linfield Football Club16 17Linfield Football Club
You don't have to comefrom the Sandy Row, theDonegall Road, theShankill or, dare we sayit, east Belfast, to be wel-
comed into the Windsor Park fold.Over the past two decades, players
from various areas and different com-munities have worn that badge ontheir chest with pride and distinction,showing how far Linfield and indeedNorthern Ireland as a whole has comealong.
While many in the team, like JimErvin, Peter Thompson and WilliamMurphy, have grown up engulfed inthe history and traditions of the club,for others it is the quest for successthat drives them towards wanting tobe a part of the Linfield family.
Mark McAllister is one such play-er. He readily admits that his new-found allegiances put him in aminority, round his way,but when he moved toWindsor Park from Dun-gannon Swifts in Janu-ary 2009, it was trophiesand medals that took himthere.
“I am born andbred on the Gar-vaghy Road inPortadown sothere aren't toomany Linfieldsupportersaround here,”he laughed.
“I obviouslynever grew upsupporting Linfieldand I was at Dungannon
Swifts from a very young age butwhen the chance arose to join LinfieldI jumped at it.
“At the end of your career you wantto be able to look back at the successyou had as a player and have medalssitting in front of you as proof ofwhat you have done.
“At the end of the day it is themedals that count.
“I know there have been plenty ofbrilliant players through the yearswho stayed at their hometown clubwhen they could have moved on andnever got the chance to win anything.
“I have been lucky already in thatI have won a league and a cup andhopefully there will be many more.”
He added: “When you arrive hereyou know straight away the demandsthat are set. I remember when I firstarrived after I signed the contract,straight away David Jeffrey told mewhat he expected of me and it hasbeen like that ever since.
“It is a hugely welcoming club andimmediately you are made to feelpart of it.
“I had a slow start to my career atLinfield but things have
picked up a bit and nowI hope that I can domy bit for the club for
many years to come.“And to be part
of the team in abig year like thisat such a hugeand famousclub is a mas-
sive privi-lege forme.”
IT'S one of those great sportingconundrums — why do IrishLeague clubs Linfield and Glen-toran dislike one another somuch?
Put simply, it's an age-old sportingrivalry. It's about winning. It's aboutbragging rights. It's about who dom-inates Northern Ireland's football-loving capital and beyond. It's aboutsilverware. It's about history, pride,honour and being able to walk withone's head held high in the work-place. It's the classic working man'sdebate.
It is a bitterness also fuelled everyseason because of the success of thetwo clubs otherwise known as the BigTwo.
They are Belfast's biggest clubs.They are Northern Ireland's biggestclubs. Their sporting disdain is leg-endary and regarded throughout theworld as one of the most intense onthe field of play. For its own rea-sons, it is right up there with Liver-pool-Everton, Arsenal-Spurs,Rangers-Celtic or Lazio-Roma.
Players give their all to wear thejersey green or the jersey blue.
Those who have worn both godown in history as traitors, merce-naries, heroes or villains.
Trading places is not somethingthat happens very often and there aresome that have barely batted an eye-lid.
But when a player of great talentmakes the switch, it becomes some-thing that sticks in the craw forever.
Utter the name Justin McBride toa Glentoran fan.
Utter the name Chris Morgan to aLinfield fan.
See the reaction. It can be quite funif you happen to follow neither club.
McBride, who is the current man-ager of Ards FC, was Glentoranthrough and through. That was untilhe walked out on to Windsor Park’sturf with his new Linfield team-mates at the start of the 2001/02season. He did so after winning threeIrish League titles with the Glens.
Having won as many league titlesas Linfield player, Chris Morganjoined Glentoran after being releasedby his south-Belfast employers. Inspite of his glory with the Blues, itwas in the east of the city that his ca-reer was defined — notably on April23 2005, when his goal against Lin-field brought the title to The Ovalafter an epic game.
Others who have crossed the di-vide the great Tommy Dickson,Raymond Campbell, Jonny Jame-son, Paul Millar, Jamie Mulgrew,Garry Haylock and Joe Bambrick.
There is even a picture circulat-ing, that features current Linfieldmanager, David Jeffrey, with theGlentoran crest resting on hisheart.
On his return from ManchesterUnited, Jeffrey turned out for theGlens in a friendly in the early 80s,with a view to signing for them.
Ask him about the experience ifyou get the chance.
‘Trophies areall that count’
Mark McAllister wears the Linfield badge with pride and distinction
Chris Morgan is one of a host of players to play for both the Big Two
The players who crossed the rubicon
Striding down the touchline on matchday,proudly clutching the badge on his chestand passionately fist pumping his play-ers through another game — David Jef-frey is the epitome of Linfield.
The vast majority of his life has been dedicat-ed to the red, white and blue of the club he loves— Windsor Park seeps from his every pore.
And so it is perhaps apt that, in this, Lin-field’s 125th year, Jeffrey will complete a uniquedouble.
Back in 1986, when the club celebrated theircentenary, Jeffrey was the team captain, dis-playing the same passion on the pitch, then, ashe does now while pushing the team on from thesidelines.
Now, a quarter of a century on, he is the bossas another amazing milestone in the glitteringhistory of Linfield is reached.
“I was so proud back in 1986 to be the captainin such an important period for the club, as it cel-ebrated it's 100th anniversary. That was an im-mense experience,” he says. “Now, in 2011, to bethe manager as we celebrate our 125th year is justan amazing feeling and I have to say a real priv-ilege.
“This is a special club, everything about it isspecial and for me to have spent such a huge partof my life as part of it, makes me feel so proud.”
Jeffrey has resided over one of the most suc-cessful periods in the club's history — winningfour league and cup doubles in five years, a Se-tanta Cup with a famous win over Shelbourne onthe Dubliners' own patch when no-one gavethem a hope and of course there was that famous‘clean sweep' season in 2005-06 when they wonevery domestic trophy on offer.
It is that campaign that stands out as his high-light of a managerial career that began in 1997.
“There have been many, many highs — a few lowpoints, of course, but a lot more highlights,” reflect-ed Jeffrey. “My first league title as manager in 1999-2000 stands out — that was huge for me.
“There was also my first Irish Cup win, when
we beat Portadown in 2002. That was special be-cause I never won it as a player.
“Winning the Setanta Cup was also a massive.We went down to Dublin and Shelbourne werehuge favourites to win. They had a very goodsquad, were full time and the final was at theirown ground.
“To win that under those circumstances wasjust a phenomenal achievement.
“Winning three doubles in a row is obviouslyanother terrific accomplishment.
“However, the biggest of all would be the‘clean sweep' year — what a team!
“Older Linfield supporters would be ableto rhyme off the ‘seven trophy team' of 1961-62 and I think in the future that Linfieldteam of 2005-06 will be rememberedin the same way.
“It was just an incredible teamand although we had a relative-ly big squad, there wasn'tactually that manychanges made through-out the season.
“We were very luckywith injuries and thesame team played al-most every week.
That was a groupof very talentedplayers — strong,powerful playerswith Glenn Fergu-son in his heyday andthe emerging PeterThompson and at the back William Mur-phy and Noel Bailie were absolutelyimmense.”
As a player, Jeffrey served under RoyCoyle — winning an unprecedented sixleague titles in a row in the 1980s.
“This club is about winning, it alwayshas been and it always will be,” Jeffreysaid proudly.
Celebrating 125 years of Linfield Football Club18 FRIDAY APRIL 8 2011
Mr LinfieldFrom skipper to manager, he needs little introduction — David Jeffrey is quite simply...
