Bobby Gough

Last updated

Bobby Gough
Personal information
Full name Robert George Gough [1]
Date of birth (1949-06-20) 20 June 1949 (age 74) [2]
Place of birth Birmingham, England [2]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [3]
Position(s) Forward [2]
Youth career
Birmingham City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1966–1968 Walsall 1 (0)
1968–1974 Port Vale 210 (33)
1973–1974Stockport County (loan) 6 (0)
1974–1976 Southport 61 (16)
1976–1981 Colchester United 196 (65)
1981–1982 Hendon 25 (10)
1982–198? Chelmsford City
Total499(124)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert George Gough (born 20 July 1949) is an English former footballer who played as a forward. In a fifteen-year professional career in the English Football League he scored 114 goals in 474 league appearances.

Contents

After failing to make an impression at Birmingham City and Walsall, he made his name at Port Vale between 1968 and 1974, making a total of 229 appearances for the "Valiants". During this time he helped the club to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in the 1969–70 season. Following a loan spell at Stockport County, he transferred to Southport in 1974, before arriving at Colchester United two years later. He helped Colchester out of the Fourth Division in 1976–77, and scored a total of 80 goals in 232 games, before he departed for non-League Hendon in 1981. He later turned out for Chelmsford City, before he left football for the building trade.

Career

Early career

Gough was a Birmingham City youth player, but was not offered a professional contract with the club due to his small stature. [4] He then went on to join Third Division side Walsall in 1966, but only made one league appearance for the club.

Port Vale

He joined Port Vale in June 1968, who were then in the Fourth Division. He was one of manager Gordon Lee's first signings. He scored his first senior goal on 16 September, in a 3–0 win over York City at Vale Park. He added to his tally with a goal against Exeter City, and also scored in both legs of Vale's FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town. He finished the 1968–69 campaign with four goals in 42 games.

He was more prolific in the 1969–70 season, scoring nine goals in 45 league games to help the club achieve promotion in fourth place. The most notable of these goals was a 35 yards (32 m) effort that helped Vale to a 3–2 win at Oldham Athletic on 13 September; The Sentinel reporter Chris Harper noted that "Gough can certainly hit a ball". [5] He coped well in the Third Division, and scored a hat-trick at the Gay Meadow on 12 September, in what finished as a 7–3 defeat for the "Valiants". By the end of the 1970–71 campaign he shot eight goals in 37 games, including a goal against fallen giants Aston Villa. He finished the 1971–72 season as the club's top scorer with ten goals in 47 appearances after forming an effective strike partnership with Sammy Morgan. [6]

However, in 1972–73 he was limited two goals in 29 games, hitting the net in easy wins over Southend United and Rotherham United. Instead Ray Williams and Sammy Morgan were forming an impressive attacking partnership, scoring 22 goals between them. Gough was dropped in November 1973, and went out on a one-month loan to struggling Fourth Division side Stockport County in December, but failed to score in six appearances. He asked to leave Vale to sort out some personal problems, but was persuaded to stay by new manager Roy Sproson. [6] He scored his final goal for the Vale against Southport on 2 March 1974. He finished the 1973–74 campaign with two goals in 26 games for Vale, as well as six games for Stockport County. In May 1974 he was allowed join Southport on a free transfer. He made a total of 229 appearances (210 in the league) and scored 35 goals (33 in the league) for the Vale. [7]

Southport

Southport were starting their 1974–75 campaign in the Fourth Division, having suffered relegation out of the Third Division. The club entered free-fall, and had to apply for re-election at the end of 1975–76, having finished second-from-bottom in the Football League. Gough managed sixteen goals in 61 league appearances for the club in his two seasons, before he joined Colchester United for a £7,000 fee in January 1976. [3]

Colchester United

Bobby Roberts's Colchester United lost their third tier status at the end of 1975–76, despite Gough scoring five goals in 22 games during the second half of the season. [3] Colchester won promotion of the Fourth Division in third-place in 1976–77, with Gough scoring nineteen goals in 52 games – five short of strike partner Colin Garwood. [3] The U's consolidated their Third Division status with an eighth-place finish in 1977–78, and Gough finished as the club's top-scorer with seventeen goals in 51 games. [3] Garwood's tally of thirteen strikes meant the pair combined to bring the U's thirty goals over the course of the campaign. [3]

United went on to finish seventh in 1978–79, and Gough was once again the club's top-scorer with 22 goals in fifty appearances. [3] In the FA Cup, he scored a hat-trick against Oxford United, two against Leatherhead and the winning goal against Newport County to bring Colchester a Fifth Round tie with Manchester United – which the "Red Devils" won 1–0. [3]

Colchester finished fifth in 1979–80, Gough scored twelve goals in 32 games, some six behind strike partner Trevor Lee. [3] The club suffered relegation at the end of the 1980–81 campaign after finishing two points below the safety of Walsall. [3] Gough spent much of the season out of the first-team, and made just eighteen appearances, scoring five goals, as Kevin Bremner was preferred to partner Lee up front. [3] Gough sustained an ankle injury and left the club for Hendon at the end of the campaign, having scored a total of 80 goals (65 in the league) in 232 games (196 in the league). [3] [6]

Later career

Gough later turned out for non-League side Hendon (Isthmian League Premier Division) and Chelmsford City. [6]

Later life

After hanging up his boots, Gough worked as a sports master at a college, bought a public house, then a restaurant, and worked builder in Essex. [4] [6] He also coached at former club Colchester United. [6] His son, John, was signed to Colchester United and played cricket for Essex County Cricket Club. [6]

Career statistics

Source: [8] [9]

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Walsall 1966–67 Third Division 10000010
Port Vale 1968–69 Fourth Division 3625210424
1969–70 Fourth Division4592010489
1970–71 Third Division3681000378
1971–72 Third Division421040104710
1972–73 Third Division2722000292
1973–74 Third Division2421010262
Total210331524022935
Stockport County (loan) 1973–74 Fourth Division60000060
Southport 1974–75 Fourth Division401000104110
1975–76 Fourth Division2161022248
Total611610326518
Colchester United 1975–76 Third Division2250000225
1976–77 Fourth Division431761315219
1977–78 Third Division421341535117
1978–79 Third Division421666205022
1979–80 Third Division321030423912
1980–81 Third Division1542011185
Total1966521815723280
Hendon 1980–81 Isthmian League Premier Division63000063
1981–82 Isthmian League Premier Division197001573414
Total2510001574017
Career total49912437103716573150

Honours

Port Vale

Colchester United

Related Research Articles

Robert William Smith is an English former footballer and football manager. He was capped by England at Schoolboys and Youth level. He is the son of Conway Smith and grandson of Billy Smith, from whom he gets his middle name.

Joseph Ball Allon is an English former footballer. A striker, he scored 135 goals in 361 league and cup games in a 14-year career in the English Football League.

Eric Winston White is an English former footballer who made 529 league appearances with 13 different clubs in a 17-year career in the Football League.

Kenneth Beech is an English former footballer. A midfielder, he played for Port Vale between 1976 and 1981, picking up the club's Player of the Year award in 1980, also playing on loan at American club Cleveland Cobras in 1978. In 1981, he was sold to Walsall, before he moved on to Peterborough United two years later. He dropped into non-League football with Stafford Rangers in 1985, with whom he won the Conference League Cup, before he retired in 1988. He played 314 league games in the Football League, scoring 28 goals.

Russell Bromage is an English former footballer who played as a wing-back. In a fourteen-year career in the Football League he made 400 league appearances, scoring 14 goals.

David Raine is an English former footballer who played as a full-back for Port Vale, Doncaster Rovers, Colchester United, and Burton Albion. He made 299 league appearances in a ten-year career in the English Football League, won the Fourth Division title with Port Vale in 1958–59, and was also promoted out of the Fourth Division with Colchester United in 1965–66.

Nicholas Jeremy Rowland Cross is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He scored 128 goals in 481 league games in a sixteen-year career in the Football League, playing for five different clubs.

Steven Jeffrey Taylor is an English former footballer. A forward, he scored 157 goals in 441 league games in a 15-year career in the Football League.

Charles John "Tim" Rawlings was an English footballer. A half-back, he made 231 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He made the bulk of these appearances for Walsall in between 1956 and 1963, but also had six years without a game at West Bromwich Albion, and also spent two years at Port Vale. He helped Walsall to win two consecutive promotions from the Fourth Division to the Second Division in 1959–60 and 1960–61.

John Lawrence Froggatt is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he scored 45 goals in 215 league games in seven seasons in the Football League.

Steven Waddington is an English former footballer. His father is former Stoke City manager, Tony Waddington.

The 1964–65 season was Port Vale's 53rd season of football in the English Football League, and their sixth season in the Third Division. They went on a club record streak of 13 home games without a clean sheet from 26 September to 15 March. After an awful start to the season that saw the club bottom of the league, manager Freddie Steele left the club in February, and was replaced by one of his players, Jackie Mudie. A mini-revival under Mudie was not enough to prevent relegation at the end of the season, as the club finished five points adrift of safety in 22nd place. Their 41 goals scored in 46 league games was the worst record in the Football League, as Albert Cheesebrough managed to become the club's top-scorer with only seven goals.

The 1966–67 season was Port Vale's 55th season of football in the English Football League, and their second-successive season in the Fourth Division. Again hopeful of escape from the basement division, Vale could only manage a mid-table finish. Player-manager Jackie Mudie resigned at the end of the season. Veteran defender Roy Sproson became the club's first ever Player of the Year winner.

The 1970–71 season was Port Vale's 59th season of football in the Football League, and their first season back in the Third Division following their promotion from the Fourth Division. Gordon Lee led his team to safety in the league, though Vale exited both cup competitions at the first stage.

The 1972–73 season was Port Vale's 61st season of football in the Football League, and their third-successive season in the Third Division. Their promotion efforts ended with a sixth-place finish, whilst in the two cup competitions they lost out to Newcastle United and West Ham United. Opposition managers condemned the players as overly physical, whilst off the pitch there were sporadic scenes of violence as football hooliganism gripped the club, and the sport in general.

The 1973–74 season was Port Vale's 62nd season of football in the Football League, and their fourth-successive season in the Third Division. They finished in twentieth spot, though were seven points clear of relegation. Manager Gordon Lee left the club in January, and was replaced by club legend Roy Sproson.

The 1985–86 season was Port Vale's 74th season of football in the English Football League, and second-successive season in the Fourth Division. John Rudge achieved his first success as manager, leading Vale to promotion into the Third Division with a fourth-place finish. The club also reached the Second Round in both the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as the Northern Section Semi-finals of the Associate Members' Cup. Rudge signing Andy Jones excelled to become the club's top-scorer, whilst Robbie Earle had another impressive season. However, the promotion campaign was built on the strength of the Vale defence, and goalkeeper Jim Arnold was made Player of the Year.

The 1965–66 season was Colchester United's 24th season in their history and their first back in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division, following relegation the previous season. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

The 1961–62 season was Colchester United's 20th season in their history and their first-ever season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Jordan Junior McFarlane-Archer is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League North club Southport.

References

  1. "Bobby Gough". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Profile at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Bobby Gough – Players – Colchester United". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 Sherwin, Phil (15 October 2011). "Sam's late strike sees Vale in to next round". The Sentinel: The Way We Were. p. 16.
  5. Baggaley, Mike (2 January 2015). "First half of the season has provided memorable moments for Valiants". The Sentinel . Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Bobby Gough Interview Part 2". The Vale Park Beano. 63.
  7. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 114. ISBN   0-9529152-0-0.
  8. Bobby Gough at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  9. "Greensnet – Official Hendon FC: Former Staff – Bobby Gough". hendonfc.net. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)". The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 227–257. ISBN   0-9508981-4-7.