George Farm
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George Farm | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | George Neil Farm | |
Date of birth | July 13, 1924 | |
Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
Date of death | July 18, 2004 (aged 80) | |
Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
Youth clubs | ||
Armadale Thistle | ||
Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1947-1948 1948-1960 1960-1964 |
Hibernian Blackpool Queen of the South |
461 (1) 119 (0) |
7 (0)
National team | ||
1953-1959 | Scotland | 10 (0) |
Teams managed | ||
1961-1964 1964-1967 1967-1970 1971-1974 |
Queen of the South (player-manager) Raith Rovers Dunfermline Athletic Raith Rovers |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
George Neil Farm (July 13, 1924 — July 18, 2004) was a Scottish goalkeeper. He played for three clubs in a 17-year playing career.
Born in Slateford, a suburb of Edinburgh, Farm represented his country on ten occasions, the last four of which occurred after a gap of five years.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
After playing junior football with Armadale Thistle, Farm began his professional career in 1947 at Hibernian. A year later, he moved south to join English club Blackpool for £2,700. After being third choice at Easter Road, Farm made a name for himself at the seaside, breaking several appearance records and playing in two FA Cup finals.
Well built, Farm possessed a distinctive way of holding the ball, preferring to catch it with one hand above and one below, as opposed to the more orthodox style of one hand on either side of the ball. He was a perfectionist, and could often be seen practicing long after his teammates had left.
Farm made his league debut for Blackpool on September 18, 1948, replacing an out-of-form Joe Robinson, in a home draw against Bolton Wanderers. Robinson didn't play for Blackpool again, as Farm went on to play in 111 consecutive league games. The first game he missed, due to his receiving a first cap for Scotland, on October 18, 1952, Blackpool lost, 4-0 at Tottenham Hotspur. He also played in all 47 of Blackpool's FA Cup ties between 1949 and 1960, including the famous 1953 "Matthews Final".
On October 29, 1955, in a 6-2 home defeat by Preston North End, Farm became one of the few goalkeepers to score a goal. He injured a shoulder and replaced Jackie Mudie at centre-forward, where he proceeded to open the scoring with his head.
In February 1960, at the age of 35 and after over 500 first-team appearances for the Tangerines, Farm was granted a transfer. Blackpool manager Ron Suart, who had once been the goalkeeper's teammate, accepted a bid of £3,000 for the Scot from Queen of the South, a £300 profit on the fee Joe Smith had paid Hibernian twelve years earlier.
[edit] Managerial career
Farm went on to make over 100 league appearances for Queen of the South, as player-manager for three of his four years with the club. He guided them to promotion as Second Division runners-up in 1961-62; two years later, however, in January 1964, he was sacked, though the club retained him as a player.
A trio of three-year managerial appointments followed between the mid-1960s and mid-'70s. Firstly, from 1964 until 1967, he was in charge of Raith Rovers. Then, between 1967 and 1970, he took charge of Dunfermline, with whom he won 51 out of 107 league games[1] in addition to winning the Scottish Cup in 1968 and guiding them to the semi-finals of their resulting 1969 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign.
A second stint followed at Raith Rovers, from 1971 until 1974.
[edit] Retirement
When Farm finally retired from football in 1974, he and his wife enjoyed a quiet life in Edinburgh. He tried his hand at sports presenting on Radio Forth and also worked as a lighthouse keeper.
In 1988, Farm returned to Bloomfield Road to take part in Blackpool Football Club's celebrations to mark the Football League's centenary.
Farm died in the city of his birth in 2004, five days after his 80th birthday.
[edit] Honours
[edit] As a player
Blackpool
[edit] As a player-manager
Queen of the South
- Scottish Second Division promotion: 1961-62
[edit] As a manager
Dunfermline Athletic
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1924 births | 2004 deaths | Scottish footballers | Scotland international footballers | Football (soccer) goalkeepers | Hibernian F.C. players | Blackpool F.C. players | Queen of the South F.C. players | Queen of the South F.C. managers | Raith Rovers F.C. managers | Dunfermline Athletic F.C. managers