Where do players end up after retiring from football? It is a theme we tend to come across at this time of year, when anniversaries are thin on the ground but player departures are more frequent.
As we can see from the links below Andy Linnighan became a plumber, Paul Davis works for the FA and Eddie McGoldrick is (or at least was, the last we heard of him) in charge of the Crystal Palace academy.
Here are the anniversaries.
18 June 1914: George Jobey sold to Bradford PA. He had won a league winners’ medal with Newcastle and was the first Arsenal player to score at Highbury as well as being the first player to be stretchered off at Highbury. He later went into management. For broader context see here.
18 June 1921: “The Football and Sports Favourite” magazine carried an interview with Leslie Knighton which in its best interpretation might be called eccentric, but is probably best called utterly bizarre.
18 June 1962: Andy Linighan born in Hartlepool – both his brothers were also footballers. He started with Hartlepool, then moved through Leeds, Oldham and Norwich before coming to Arsenal. After leaving football he became the owner of a plumbing company
18 June 1979 Paul Davis signed professional forms for Arsenal having signed as an apprentice in 1977. He made his debut in 1980 and played 447 league games for the club. In March 2016, Paul joined the FA where he continues to work with the elite coach development team
18 June 1993: Eddie McGoldrick signed for Arsenal for approx £1m, playing his first game in the charity shield against Man U on 7 August 1993. He was last heard of as the head of Crystal Palace’s academy which he took over in the summer of 2016.
Publications
“Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football” and “Making the Arsenal” are both available in paperback, as well as on Kindle. Please see here for more details.
Henry Norris at the Arsenal:
Arsenal in the 1930s: The most comprehensive series on the decade ever
Arsenal in the 1970s: Every match and every intrigue reviewed in detail.
