1984 – George Telfer
Everton forward’s professional career was cut short, and he ended his playing at Formby
George Telfer – Topps collectors card, 1977
Carrie Fisher once said that whatever they make an action figure of you being, nothing else will ever happen in your career without reference to it. Despite most of her life happening since she signed up to make the original Star Wars trilogy, the opening sentence of her obituaries inevitably included the words ‘Princess Leia’.
By the same token, footballers spend the rest of their lives being asked about their early years and, just like action figure actors, Squirrels historians feel there’s an elite place in our lore for the three Formby players who had collector’s cards.
Tony Evans left us to be swapped in playgrounds on mid 1970s Cardiff City cards and later, with eye catching tiny shorts and fluffy perm, starred in early 1980s Birmingham City ones.
Big Ron Yeats had a decade of appearances on Liverpool cards before he came to Formby, and still appears in Liverpool Legends sets. The only other Squirrel to get a card – other than a ref’s red or yellow – was Everton striker George Telfer.
Telfer was a nippy forward but a medical condition cruelly truncated his career. We were lucky enough to have him come through Formby for a couple of games as his playing days ended in late 1984 when he was still only 29.
Born in Liverpool on 6th July 1955, Telfer wasn’t especially tall but his pace – he was All Lancashire Schools Sprinting Champion two years running – made him a quality forward player. His talent was noticed by the Toffees whilst playing for Huyton Schoolboys and he played for the Everton Youth team before signing professional forms at 17. He stepped out at Highbury to make his first team debut aged 18 in a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on 22 December 1973.
He went on to play for the Blues on 128 occasions, scoring 22 times. As he told Everton website Blue Echo in 2013, he remembers the Merseyside Derby with particular unease.
‘I never enjoyed them. My first derby was 1974 at Anfield, we drew 0-0 and Tommy Smith was marking me. I remember walking out and feeling absolutely terrified and the first 20 minutes I just couldn’t breathe. The whole occasion just gets to you, that had never affected me before but after I had a kick of the ball and things settled down I was alright.
‘Tommy (Smith) used to say the odd thing to me like “you come anywhere near me and I will break your fucking neck”. And he did land a nice tackle on my left knee in the second half which ended up with a few stitches in it but that was the game in those days, you just got on with it.’
PLAYING WITH THE BEST
George Telfer – Topps collectors card, 1975
As his pace declined he was picked less and less, only making three appearances for in his last two seasons at Goodison Park. In 1981 he signed up for San Diego Sockers in the North American Soccer League.
‘I played against George Best as he was out there then playing for San Jose Earthquakes. The summer season was played outdoors and in the winter there was the indoor season where they played in ice hockey arenas throughout the States and that was more popular. It was seven a side and it was played very quick. Because of that I could not adapt to that side of it. I was built for speed, not twisting and turning.
‘I played a few games for the Sockers and because I wouldn’t sign up for the indoor season I came home just before Christmas and signed for Scunthorpe United in the old English fourth division [now League Two]. I just wanted to get back home. I should have gone to Blackpool when Bob Stokoe came in for me and that was an opportunity I will always regret. Bob was legend and a gentleman.’
Whilst Scunthorpe may not have been his first choice, it did have its notable elements. Getting fit after a cricketing injury, Ian Botham had signed for the Iron in March 1980 and played up front alongside Telfer on several occasions.
After 36 league appearances and 11 goals in a little over two years, in 1983 Telfer moved on to Third Division Preston North End. His stay at Deepdale was brief – a mere two appearances – after which he moved into non-league with Runcorn.
SQUIRREL SEASON
And so, a year later in autumn 1984, George Telfer came to Formby. Hughie McAuley – father of the man of the same name who would become Formby’s owner 25 years later – was the player-coach who had helped manager George Byrne steer the Squirrels to what is still their all-time best league finish. Whilst Byrne was recovering from surgery, McAuley took over the running of the team.
By now approaching the end of his time at Brows Lane, he would return to his alma mater Liverpool FC to work with their academy. In 1988 he would notice an 8 year old boy in Whiston Juniors by the name of Gerrard, as well as going on to discover and nurture the likes of Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. Small wonder a man with such an eye for talent used his stint as stand-in manager to sign George Telfer.
In his Squirrels debut on 17th November 1984, Telfer was one of three notable names to score in a 3-3 draw at Congleton Town. McAuley also got his name on the sheet, alongside Peter Hennerty. In 1988, as McAuley was on the touchline watching that Whiston Juniors game, Hennerty would begin a twenty year tenure as Formby manager and hold the position until 2008. His goal at Congleton was his only one for the club.
Scoring on your debut is a great way to start your career at a club, but as it turned out Telfer didn’t stay. He walked out on to the Brows Lane turf just once, a week after the Congleton game, when Burscough visited on 24th November 1984. Formby were 2-0 down until midway through the second half. Keeper Dave Feeley brought down a Burscough player and was shown a red card. The Squirrels went to pieces, losing 6-0. But even before that, it had been noted that Telfer had received little service and seemed to be on the slow side.
George Telfer – Topps collectors card, 1979
The following Tuesday Formby travelled to Holly Park to meet Northern Premier League outfit South Liverpool in the Liverpool Senior Cup. They made a good show, taking a 1-0 lead and pushing all game – including a pop at goal from Telfer – before an equaliser came 90 seconds from time.
Formby would go on to beat South Liverpool in the replay and dispatch Tranmere Rovers on the way to the final, but by then George Telfer was long gone. He retired from playing the game completely.
His once legendary pace had declined and discomfort increased. A couple of years later Telfer discovered he had severe osteoarthritis, mainly affecting his hips.
AFTER THE MATCH
In his Blue Echo interview he reflected, ‘looking back a lot of the training methods that were implemented then I think had a lot to do with it. The injuries I sustained, I was always pulling my calf muscles as I tore them on a number of occasions. In those days they used to rush you back from injury as quickly as possible and they used to give you cortisone injections which I don’t think helped. I had quite a few cortisone injections to try and get me fit to play which I am sure had a detrimental effect on my career.
‘I was retired at 30 and diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis at 32 and I didn’t know quite what to do but to try and get a job somewhere but I had no qualifications at all. So I went back to college and did sport and recreation and got a qualification in that, then got a job with a charity called Merseyside Youth Association.
‘I was taken on as Football Development officer which was a two year contract and I then they offered me a supervisory role, supervising different sports projects and I did that for another year.’
He was then promoted to Playing Fields Manager, managing sports and recreation with 5 grounds covering over 200 acres of football and cricket pitches with a team of about 15 staff. He developed that into a bigger sports programme for the sports association, and by the time he left the role had effectively doubled its scope.
In later years he’s been doing a lot of voluntary work in his area, including working for the Widnes foodbank. Whilst today’s top flight footballers often put their humongous wages into charitable foundations that bear their name, I can’t imagine too many of them ending up personally doing charitable work for its own sake like George Telfer.
