N/A: Andy Turner, Tottenham Hotspur, Subbuteo Squads Premier League Pro Edition
Mat Jolin-Beech takes niche football knowledge to new heights today with a look at a man who is so obscure the only sticker or card I could find for him was a Subbuteo Squads card. Sadly we have another story of an egotistical Liverpool striker ruining a young man’s career and this time Neville Southall was nowhere to be seen. Apart from when the hugely significant goal went in. Over to Mat.
The other week, when lockdown was still in place and WhatsApp group chats were the main source of human interaction, we here at A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words had some football trivia going around. One of the questions was to name the youngest Premier League goal scorer for the following clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Some of these came flying straight off the bat and are part of the immediate collective knowledge. Michael Owen (Liverpool), Federico Macheda (Man U), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) and big Emile Heskey (Leicester) were dropped first. Then came the scrabbling around and starting to delve back into the memory banks. James Vaughan (Everton) also arrived shortly afterwards, as did Rio Ferdinand (West Ham).
After some prompting and clues, Mikael Forssell (Chelsea), Micah Richards (Man City) and James Milner (Newcastle) were finally named. But one person remained elusive: Tottenham Hotspur’s youngest Premier League goal scorer. Stuart Nethercott, David Howells, Dean Marney, Ryan Mason, and Stephen Clemence were all admirable guesses. But all wrong. When I gave this a go, I had no clue at all. No one did. Even some of my so-called die-hard Spurs’ fans friends.
So, let’s break this down step by step.
Age when he scored: 17 years and 166 days
Opposition: Everton
DoB: 28 March 1975
Date of goal: 5 September 1992
Position: Winger
Nationality: English
Anyone? Any ideas? Nope? Spurs’ youngest Premier League goal scorer is, and has been since the first season of the rebranded league, one Andy Turner.
1. James Vaughan – Everton, 16 years 270 days
2. James Milner - Leeds United, 16 years 356 days
3. Wayne Rooney – Everton, 16 years 360 days
4. Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal, 17 years 114 days
5. Michael Owen – Liverpool, 17 years 144 days
6. Andy Turner - Tottenham Hotspur, 17 years 166 days
7. Federico Macheda - Manchester United, 17 years 227 days
8. Raheem Sterling – Liverpool, 17 years 317 days
9. Mikael Forssell – Chelsea, 17 years 342 days
10. Danny Cadamarteri – Everton, 17 years 344 days
Most of these players are household names and have gone on to have outstanding, or at least pretty good, top-level careers. All of the other nine resonate in the minds of football fans for one reason or another, and could be guessed. Poor Andy Turner, who held the record as the league’s youngest goal scorer for five years until being deposed by Michael Owen, seems to have been forgotten from the memory of most football fans.
His career trajectory did dive after his breakthrough season, as well as Spurs hiring Ossie Ardiles who only played him thee more times over the next three years. Loans to Wycombe Wanderers, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town and Southend United followed, before he went on to play for another 17 clubs eventually hanging up his boots in 2008 after a stint with Chasetown. For a former record holder, he is someone who has slipped into obscurity and out of the collective hive mind of football fans. However, at least for one afternoon back in June, he was remembered.
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