Norman Whiteside
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Norman Whiteside[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 7 May 1965||
Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) |
Midfielder Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1978–1982 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1982–1989 | Manchester United | 206 | (47) |
1989–1991 | Everton | 29 | (9) |
Total | 235 | (56) | |
International career | |||
Northern Ireland Schoolboys | 8 | (0) | |
1989 | Northern Ireland U23 | 1 | (0) |
1982–1989 | Northern Ireland | 38 | (9) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker.
Whiteside began his career at
.He remained with United until July 1989, when he was sold to Everton for £600,000. However, he retired from playing two years later, aged only 26, due to a knee injury.
Whiteside holds records as the youngest player to take part in a FIFA World Cup, the youngest player to score in a League Cup and FA Cup final, and the youngest player to score a senior goal for Manchester United. Winning 38 caps for Northern Ireland, he played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and also helped his country to win the last British Home Championship in 1983–84. After retiring as a player he became a podiatrist, and still works at the corporate hospitality department at Old Trafford.
Early years
Born in
He was said to have been discovered by Ipswich Town scout Jim Rodgers (his goals at schoolboy level meant that he was already well known to all the football scouts in Northern Ireland), who was told by manager Bobby Robson to wait until Whiteside grew older.[9] Instead, it was Manchester United's 80-year-old Ulster scout Bob Bishop, who previously unearthed Belfast-born George Best and Sammy McIlroy for the club, who first offered him a trial at an English club.[9][10] Whiteside's family were Manchester United supporters, though the youngster himself held no particular allegiance.[9] He found that he had been offered schoolboy terms at the club during a school trip to the United States; on the trip, he and his classmates met President Jimmy Carter at the Oval Office, a rare and extraordinary occasion for children from a disadvantaged background.[11]
Club career
Manchester United
A few days before Whiteside was old enough to sign schoolboy terms with Manchester United, he was offered a trial at Liverpool, causing United's chief scout Joe Brown to fly over to Belfast to immediately offer him the schoolboy contract to sign.[12] Whiteside remained in Belfast, and flew over to Manchester every weekend for training.[13] From the age of 14 he was constantly compared to George Best (by that time in the twilight of his career), and Whiteside did little to discourage such comparisons when he told a journalist that "the only thing I have in common with George Best is that we come from the same place, play for the same club and were discovered by the same man".[14]
His injury problems started as early as 1980, when he was 15 years old and saw
Whiteside became United's youngest first-team player since Duncan Edwards in 1953, when he made his debut as a substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion in a 1–0 league win at the Goldstone Ground on 24 April 1982, two weeks before his 17th birthday.[22][23] He later played in the FA Youth Cup final defeat to Watford, though it would be just another year before he appeared in the final of the senior competition.[24] He turned professional at Old Trafford on his 17th birthday, signing a three-year contract,[25] and he shared a room with Steve Coppell, who was heading into retirement due to a knee injury of his own.[26] He also struck up a close friendship with Paul McGrath, who would also face similar problems with his knee.[27] On the final day of the season, eight days after his 17th birthday, he became the club's youngest goalscorer in a 2–0 home win over Stoke City.[28]
His performances at the World Cup convinced manager
Manchester United later accepted a £1.5 million offer for Whiteside from
By February 1985, he had started just eight games in the
United won their first 10 league games of the 1985–86 campaign, and unbeaten from their first 15, and seemed destined to win the First Division title.[51] However they dropped off in mid-season and won just six of their final 18 games to end the season in fourth place, 12 points behind champions Liverpool.[52] The press blamed the decline in form on the club's drinking culture and Ron Atkinson's lax disciplinary attitude, though in his autobiography Whiteside denies that this was to blame, and states that stories of the player's drinking sessions were exaggerated.
That summer, a 21-year-old Whiteside played in his second World Cup.[53]
Then came a decline in his career at an early age, which started to around the time of the arrival of new manager Alex Ferguson in November 1986, the change of manager coming after a dismal start to the season led to the decision to sack Ron Atkinson. Whiteside, still only 21, was facing trouble from his right knee which was now beginning to require serious medical procedures to prevent it from causing his retirement.[54] Ferguson put Whiteside back up front, and in turn he scored three times in his first four games back from injury.[55] Ferguson did though have to rebuke Whiteside after some of his numerous drinking sessions.[4][56] He ended the 1986–87 season with 10 goals in 37 appearances, however United could only manage an 11th-place finish.
"I felt the excitement that is felt by watching a player of the highest class. He had self-assurance that was extraordinary in a 21-year-old. The excellence of his technique gave him easy mastery of the ball and he had the gift of making time for himself in the stamp of quality. He was an island of composure, looking up and unhurriedly making his decisions. He rarely surrendered possession and he increased the angle and weight of his passes so well that the receiver never had to fight the ball. His eyes were as cold as steel and he had the temperament to match. As a player, he was close to the genius category."
At the start of the
He ruptured his Achilles midway through the 1987–88 season, and missed almost a year of first-team action.[61] Whiteside's goal in a 2–1 win over Derby County in a league match at the Baseball Ground on 10 February 1988 would prove to be his last for Manchester United.
In the summer of 1988, he was put on the transfer list and came close to joining American club Portland Timbers, before injury put negotiations on hold. A £1million price tag also deterred a great deal of potential interest.[62]
In the summer of 1988, Ferguson brought striker Mark Hughes back to Old Trafford after two years away, further limiting Whiteside's opportunities for the first team. His continued fitness problems, and the growing competition for places in the first team, meant that Whiteside played just six league games in the 1988–89 season.
In view of Whiteside's medical reports, Ferguson rejected bids of £500,000 from Osasuna of Spain and from Ron Atkinson's new club Sheffield Wednesday, before accepting a bid of £600,000 (with £150,000 to follow if Whiteside reached 50 games) from Everton in July 1989.[47][63] This was to the dismay of some of the club's supporters, who felt that there was still a way back for Whiteside at Old Trafford.[64] Ferguson intended to build his own team having signed midfield duo Neil Webb and Mike Phelan, and also in the hunt for other players including Paul Ince, Gary Pallister and Danny Wallace.[65]
He had played a total of 274 games in all competitions for United, scoring 67 goals, and collected two winner's medals in the FA Cup, despite only being 24 years old when he left.[66]
Everton
Whiteside signed a four-year contract with Everton, and Alex Ferguson helped him to negotiate a pay deal that would see him earn more in two years at Goodison Park than he had done during his eight years in Manchester.[67] He was also offered £50,000 to put his name to a tabloid article criticising Ferguson, though he declined the offer.[68] At the time Everton boasted more recent success than Manchester United, having won two league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup.[69] Manager Colin Harvey was planning to boost the "Toffees" chances of more silverware, and also in 1989 signed Mike Newell, Martin Keown, Stefan Rehn and Raymond Atteveld.[69] Whiteside became Everton's playmaker in 1989–90, and formed an effective partnership with Stuart McCall in midfield to score 13 goals in his 35 appearances.[70] Everton finished the season in sixth place, some 20 points behind rivals Liverpool.[71]
However intense running sessions ran by coach Mick Lyons took their toll on his right knee, and on 20 September 1990 he took a knock in a practice match, which required him to have yet another operation on his right knee.[72] After the return of Howard Kendall as manager in November 1990, Whiteside managed to appear in a few reserve team games, but this only delayed the inevitable, and he was forced to retire from the game at the age of 26 in June 1991.[73] He had a testimonial game between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in May 1992, but as United lost the title the previous week, only 7,434 turned out for the occasion.[74]
International career
Whiteside broke
He featured in qualifying for UEFA Euro 1984. They won their final group game 1–0 over West Germany, Whiteside managing to get the better of one of the world's best man-markers in Karlheinz Förster. However the Germans secured the only qualification place in the group in their final match of the group with a late winner over Albania.[84]
Whiteside helped Northern Ireland win the centenary, and last, edition of the British Home Championship in 1983–84.[85]
Northern Ireland won qualification to the World Cup for a second successive tournament with a goalless draw with England in their final group game; Whiteside scored three goals during the qualification process, with his strike again Romania at Windsor Park proving to be crucial as they ended up qualifying at the Romanians' expense.[86] At the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals in Mexico, he scored with a deflected free-kick in the 1–1 draw against Algeria at the Estadio Tres de Marzo. They were beaten in their other two group games, losing 2–1 to Spain and 3–0 to Brazil.[87] Whiteside won a total of 38 caps and scored nine times in eight years playing for Northern Ireland.[47]
Personal life and post-retirement
He married English-born wife Julie on 4 October 1987;[88] the two had met when Whiteside was 16 and she was 20.[89] The relationship blossomed despite fears of reprisals in the loyalist Shankill area as he was a Protestant and she was a Catholic.[90] The couple had three children: Della, Blaine and Clodagh.[91] The marriage ended in 2001 and Whiteside subsequently remarried, to Denise.[92] He became a grandfather in 2023 when Blaine had a daughter, Marcellina.[93]
Upon retirement, Whiteside studied to become a podiatrist, graduating with a degree from the University of Salford, and served Northwich Victoria as their assistant manager/physio from October 1991 until March 1992.[94] He quit the role as he did not enjoy the amount of time spent travelling between games.[95] During his playing career, he had attended courses at Lilleshall to qualify for his coaching badges, but he did not wish to go into coaching.[96] He instead became an after-dinner speaker. He also worked for the Professional Footballers' Association, while taking a postgraduate course at Manchester Metropolitan University.[97] He later took up private practice as a podiatrist in Manchester.[2][91] Since 1994, he has also worked at the corporate hospitality department at Old Trafford.[4][98] In 2003, he released a book entitled My Memories of Manchester United.[99] With the help of writer Rob Bagchi, he released his autobiography entitled Determined in August 2007, published by Headline, and with a foreword by actor James Nesbitt.[100]
When Saturday Comes magazine reviewer Joyce Woolridge wrote that "Determined is an entertaining, well written account of one of the less ordinary 1980s footballers, with the added twist of how Whiteside was able to rebuild his life, if not his knee."
Career statistics
Club
- Source[104]
Club | Season | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester United | 1981–82 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
1982–83 | 39 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 14 | |
1983–84 | 37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 51 | 12 | |
1984–85 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 13 | |
1985–86 | 37 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5[d] | 1 | 51 | 8 | |
1986–87 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 10 | |
1987–88 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 10 | |
1988–89 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
Total | 206 | 47 | 24 | 10 | 29 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 278 | 68 | |
Everton | 1989–90 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13 |
1990–91 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 29 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 13 | |
Career total | 235 | 56 | 30 | 13 | 31 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 315 | 81 |
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup
- ^ Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
- ^ Appearance in FA Charity Shield
- ^ One appearance in FA Charity Shield, four appearances and one goal in Football League Super Cup
International
Northern Ireland national team[105] | ||
Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|
1982 | 7 | 0 |
1983 | 5 | 3 |
1984 | 6 | 2 |
1985 | 5 | 2 |
1986 | 7 | 1 |
1987 | 4 | 0 |
1988 | 2 | 0 |
1989 | 2 | 1 |
Total | 38 | 9 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 September 1983 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Austria | 2–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
2 | 16 November 1983 | Hamburg, West Germany | West Germany | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
3 | 13 December 1983 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Scotland | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1983–84 British Home Championship |
4 | 12 September 1984 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Romania | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification |
5 | 16 October 1984 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Israel | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly match |
6 | 1 May 1985 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Turkey | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification |
7 | 2–0 | |||||
8 | 3 June 1986 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Algeria | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1986 FIFA World Cup |
9 | 6 September 1989 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Hungary | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Manchester United[10]
- 1984–85
- Football League Cup: runner-up 1982–83
Northern Ireland
References
- ^ a b "Norman Whiteside". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ a b "What Happened Next?". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 19
- ^ a b c Scicluna, Frank (14 March 2010). "A career cruelly cut short – Norman Whiteside". trulyreds.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 26
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 29
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 34
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 36
- ^ a b c Whiteside 2007, p. 42
- ^ a b "Norman Whiteside". dnausers.d-n-a.net. Archived from the original on 21 February 2001. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 47
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 48
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 51
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 53
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 61
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 62
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 70
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 72
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 79
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 81
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 83
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 92
- ^ "Norman Whiteside". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
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- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 66
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- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 96
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 99
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 163
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 164
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 165
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 175
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 170
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- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 203
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 209
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 213–15
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 217
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 220
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 229
- ^ a b c "Irish Footballer that Played for Man Utd – Norman Whiteside". soccer-ireland.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 230
- ^ Lacey, David (20 May 1985). "Triumph over law, lore and logic". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 240
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 236
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 238
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 241–48
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 260
- ^ a b Whiteside 2007, p. 265
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 270
- ^ Phillip, Robert (30 August 2007). "Norman Whiteside was the 'new George Best'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ a b Whiteside 2007, p. 278
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 279
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 280
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 285
- ^ "Portland Timbers Striker Norman Whiteside – How it Almost Happened". fcmediallc.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 293
- ^ "Norman Whiteside - RedCafe.net". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2012. redcafe.net
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 292
- ^ "About Man Utd | Norman Whiteside, Manchester United player". Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 294
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 295
- ^ a b Whiteside 2007, p. 298
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 301–5
- ^ "1989/1990 First Division". emfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 308–9
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 310
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 315
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 116
- ^ "Record-breaking Northern Irish striker". culturenorthernireland.org. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 106
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 124
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 129
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 135
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 139–41
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 149
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 153
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 187
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 205
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 252
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- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 287
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 181
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 182
- ^ a b Whiteside 2007, p. 321
- ^ "Heart procedure for Whiteside". BBC News. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ^ "Legendary footballer Norman Whiteside delighted to become grandfather". 3 August 2023 – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 327
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 314
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 10–11
- ^ Whiteside 2007, pp. 316, 320
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 324
- ^ My Memories of Manchester United. ASIN 1904103219.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 1
- ^ Woolridge, Joyce. "Determined". wsc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Heart procedure for Whiteside". BBC News. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ "Talking Sport … with Jim Tait". The Shetland Times. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Whiteside 2007, p. 329
- ^ "Norman Whiteside". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "1983 Charity Shield Line Up". mufcinfo.com. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
General sources
- Whiteside, Norman (2007), Determined, ISBN 978-0-7553-1598-7
External links
- Official website (normanwhiteside.com)