| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Henry Rafferty | ||
| Date of birth | 30 December 1950 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Port Glasgow | ||
| – | Coventry City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1972 | Coventry City | 27 | (3) |
| 1972–1974 | Blackpool | 36 | (9) |
| 1974–1976 | Plymouth Argyle | 90 | (35) |
| 1976–1978 | Carlisle United | 72 | (27) |
| 1978–1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 44 | (6) |
| 1979–1980 | Newcastle United | 39 | (6) |
| 1980–1984 | Portsmouth | 102 | (40) |
| 1984–1985 | AFC Bournemouth | 58 | (19) |
| 1985–1988? | Farense | 79 | (53) |
| – | Louletano | 12 | (14) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Henry Rafferty (born 30 December 1950) is a Scottish retired footballer who played as a forward. He appeared in the Football League for Coventry City, Blackpool, Plymouth Argyle, Carlisle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Portsmouth and AFC Bournemouth, scoring 145 goals in 468 matches. He finished his career in Portugal with spells at Louletano and Farense.
Rafferty began his league career with Coventry City after joining them from Port Glasgow but found opportunities few and far between. [1] A move to Blackpool in 1972 saw him play and score more regularly before joining Plymouth Argyle a year later. [2] With his striking partner, Paul Mariner, he became an important player in the Argyle side that won promotion to the Football League Second Division in 1975. Their partnership contributed 47 goals to the campaign, with Rafferty scoring 26.
He then joined Carlisle United where he continued to score regularly. He moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United. After Newcastle he joined Portsmouth in 1980. At Portsmouth, Rafferty once again became a key striker, winning the Third Division championship in 1983 before joining AFC Bournemouth, which would be his last league club in England. [3]
The 2003/04 football season saw Plymouth Argyle regain a place in the second tier of English football for the first time in twelve seasons, Along the way to capturing the Division Two championship they accumulated 90 league points, 21 clean sheets and a club record of seven straight clean sheets whilst also losing arguably the most successful manager in recent history in Paul Sturrock to Southampton F.C.
The 1999–2000 FA Cup was the 119th staging of the FA Cup. Both the semifinals and final of the competition were played at Wembley Stadium for the last time before reconstruction work began. The competition culminated with the final between Chelsea and Aston Villa. The game was won by a goal from Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo, giving them a 1–0 victory.
The 1960–61 season was the 62nd completed season of The Football League.
The 1967–68 season was the 69th completed season of the English Football League.
The 1971–72 season was the 73rd completed season of The Football League.
The 1972–73 season was the 74th completed season of The Football League.
The 1976–77 season was the 78th completed season of The Football League.
The 1957–58 season was the 59th completed season of The Football League. The first division title went to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the second time, while Sunderland were relegated to the second division for the first time in the club's history, after 57 consecutive seasons in the top flight of English football. The season was marred by the Munich air disaster, in which eight Manchester United players died as a result of the crash with two others suffering career-ending injuries. Manchester United were chasing a hat-trick of league championships, but they dropped 21 points in 14 matches after the Munich crash and finished 21 points behind the champions Wolves.
The 2001–02 Football League was the 103rd completed season of The Football League.
The 2002–03 Football League was the 104th completed season of The Football League.
The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League.
The 1929–30 season was the 38th season of The Football League.
The 1935–36 season was the 44th season of The Football League.
The 1946–47 season was the 48th completed season of The Football League.
The 1949–50 season was the 51st completed season of The Football League.
The 1954–55 season was the 56th completed season of The Football League.
The 2016–17 EFL Trophy, known as the Checkatrade Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 35th season in the history of the competition and the first since being rebranded from Football League Trophy. It was played as a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football system and for the first time was expanded to include 16 Premier League and Championship "B Teams" with Category One status as part of a trial.
The 2019–20 EFL Trophy, known as the Leasing.com Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 38th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football system, and also including 16 Premier League and Championship "Academy teams" with Category One status. Due to their financial crisis, Bury were expelled from the EFL and automatically eliminated from the competition as well.
The 2018–19 Premier League Cup was the sixth edition of the competition. The defending champions were Aston Villa, who won the 2017–18 competition.
The 2021–22 FA Youth Cup was the 70th edition of the FA Youth Cup.