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v. Carrick
Windsor Park, Belfast
Saturday,
13 March, 2021
Kick-off: 3.00 p.m.
Danske Bank Premiership
Season 2020-2021
Look at
Linfield
Danske
Bank
Premiership
Champions
Windsor Park,
2019-20
Belfast
Tuesday,
16 March, 2021
v. Dungannon
Kick-off: 7.45 p.m.
Official Matchday Programme: £3 l Volume 50, No.10
w o r d ?
what’s t
fromI Nw
he
i n d s o r UB
L D F O O TBALL CL
FI E
E OF L
THE VOIC
Carrick Rangers and Tuesday's home game
against Dungannon Swifts. Members, senior
n Linfield will aim to complete a sequence of members and life members will have free
four consecutive home league games in pole access to the live streams. The cost for non-
position in the Danske Bank Premiership members remains £7.50 per game.
table, but with five other leading clubs in hot Commentary on the games will be provided by
pursuit. The coming months are going to Jonny Martin, with expert analysis by Michael
produce a major battle to secure the Gault and Philip Mitchell.
Premiership title and European qualifying n Today's game against Carrick Rangers was
places and Linfield must aim to hold off the originally scheduled for April 17 but has been
challenge of the contenders to retain the top brought forward to today's date because this
position in the league table. Consistency and date cannot be used for Irish Cup fixtures, due
momentum will be the key over the busy to the current government restrictions
schedule of the coming months. affecting clubs designated as non-elite.
n Results in the past week have been very Linfield have been drawn at home to Annagh
pleasing, with a hard fought 2-0 home win United in the Irish Cup opening fixture.
against Cliftonville followed up with a The weekend marks the 135th anniversary of
comfortable 5-0 home win against
n
the formation of Linfield Football Club in the
Warrenpoint in midweek. Linfield must aim to
Linfield mill in the Sandy Row area of Belfast
maximise home advantage, by building on
in March 1886. This club, while proud of our
these positive results, ahead of an upcoming
history, is firmly focused on the future and on
run of four consecutive away games against
Crusaders, Ballymena, Portadown and Monday, will outline details of our strategic
Dungannon. plan to take the club forward over the next five
n A warm welcome to Windsor Park to the years.
players, management, directors and staff of n Today's issue of the match day programme is
Carrick Rangers and Dungannon Swifts again being featured in full on Linfieldfc.com,
Football Clubs. In the previous games against thanks to the cooperation of our long-time
Carrick, Linfield won 5-1 at Windsor Park but programme printers at Edenderry Print. Only
the East Antrim team earned a point in the a limited number of copies have been printed
recent 1-1 draw at Taylor's Avenue. Linfield and these have been reserved by regular
won a County Antrim Shield tie 2-0 in collectors. The absence of spectators at
Carrickfergus. In the previous home game games and the unavailability of our
against Dungannon, Linfield emerged Superstore, due to the current NI Executive
victorious by a 4-0 margin. Carrick and Covid restrictions, have caused major
Dungannon enter these fixtures in the bottom difficulties for programme production and
two in the league table, but with their sales.
Premiership places already assured for next n Exactly a year ago this weekend, this club’s
season. With both clubs free from relegation home league game against Larne was
worries, their challenge cannot be postponed and the season was unavoidably
underestimated. curtailed, due to the unprecedented
n Linfield's game at Seaview, originally circumstances of the corona virus pandemic.
scheduled for Saturday March 20 has been It’s been a long and difficult year and hopefully,
brought forward to Friday March 19 and will be it won’t be too long until a form of normality
broadcast live on BBC2. Linfield's game away can return, including the return of greatly
to Portadown on Saturday March 27 will have missed spectators to games.
a delayed kick-off time of 5.30pm and the n In accordance with the club rules, nominations
game will be streamed live by BBC online. from members for positions on the club’s
n Linfield tv in partnership with 247.tv will live board of directors, or business motions must
stream today's home league game against be submitted by the end of this month.
Look at Linfield l 03
visitorsteamline-ups
Carrick Dungannon
Rangers Swifts
Sam Johnston 01
Geoff McKinty 01
Conner Byrne 13
Aaron Hogg 18 Stuart Addis 18
Connor Friel 28 Roy Carroll 33
Kurtis Forsythe 02 Caolin Coyle 02
Alan Teggart 03
Reece Neale 03
Douglas Wilson 04
Mark Surgenor 04 Dylan King 05
Chris Rodgers 05 Callum Byers 06
Caolan Loughran 06 Caolan McAleer 07
Lee Chapman 07 Daniel Hughes 09
Oisin Smyth 10
Jonny Frazer 08 Rhyss Campbell 11
Daniel Kelly 10 Lorcan Forde 12
Alexander Gawne 11 Mark Patton 14
James Ferrin 15 Ben Gallagher 15
Michael Carvill 16
Michael Smith 16 Cahal McGinty 17
Steven Gordon 17 Ryan Mayse 19
Liam McKenna 19 Shane McGinty 21
Kyle Cherry 20 Fra Brennan 22
Dylan O’Kane 23
Reece Glendinning 23 Terry Devlin 24
Jordan Gibson 24 James Convie 25
Jack Millar 26 Adam Glenny 26
Lloyd Anderson 42 Ethan McGee 27
Shea Conway 28
Jordan Jenkins 43 James Teelan 29
Corey McMullan 44 Odhran Smyth 30
Gérard Storey 48 Harry Evans 31
Chris Ramsey 55 Matty Smyth 32
Nathaniel Ferris 34
Cathair Friel 99 Rory Patterson 35
Look at Linfield l 04
by Linfield manager David Healy
Over the course of this weekend, we will face two more formidable hurdles against
teams that will come here with no fear and with nothing to lose.
Both sides may be in the bottom two at present but even without the fear of the
dreaded relegation, they will be battling to gather points, to move away from their
current basement positions in the league table.
Carrick showed in their recent 1-1 draw against us at the Loughshore hotel arena
and in their subsequent 3-1 win at Seaview, that they are more than capable of
securing impressive results against the leading sides in the league.
Dungannon have also recorded several impressive results and with Roy Carroll in
goal and a new manager in Dean Shiels in charge, they will be determined to make
a significant impression on their return to a stadium they know well.
I was delighted with our recent wins (2-0) against Cliftonville and (5-0) against
Warrenpoint. The clean sheets were most welcome and I've also been very pleased
with the positive contributions of our new signings, Cameron Palmer and Michael
Newberry. Both lads have settled in well in their new surroundings and I'm sure
they will make a significant contribution during the course of their time with us.
We are in the middle of a tough schedule of Saturday / Tuesday fixtures and the
players have responded well to the demands placed on them. Several players
missed the midweek game due to injury - Christy Manzinga, Stephen Fallon, Mark
Haughey, Mark Stafford and Ross Larkin.
They will be joined on the doubtful list for this weekend's games by two others who
limped off injured in the midweek game against Warrenpoint. Kyle McClean had just
returned to action after a one game suspension, when he picked up an injury early
in the Warrenpoint game and later in the game, Conor Pepper had to be withdrawn,
due to a knock he sustained.
As a result, it's been a busy time for our medical team of Patrick Noble (doctor),
Terry Hayes (sports therapist) and Paul Butler (physio) and hopefully, they will have
got some of our injured players back into the squad for these important games this
weekend.
It's not just players who we've been missing, as we've really been missing our loyal
supporters, home and away at all of our recent games. We really hope it won't be
too long until we can play in front of our supporters again, as we know they can
really make a huge difference, especially in tight games.
Congratulations to everyone at one of my former clubs Rangers on their 55th league
title success and we will be working hard over the coming weeks to try and equal
that tremendous achievement.
Look at Linfield l 05
who’s
who
Shayne Lavery
at
‘The Park’
Age: 22
ard
Position: Forw
ber: 14
Squad num
bs : Glenavon,
Previous clu
loan at Falkirk
Everton and on (11 as sub)
59
Appearances:
Goals: 31
Linfield striker Shayne Lavery is a man
in form. On Saturday he banged in two
goals in a 2-0 win over Cliftonville, the
week before that he did the same in a
2-1 win over Larne and during the
week against Warrenpoint Town he
scored one, assisted two and was
named ‘Man of the Match’. Speaking to
‘Look at Linfield’, Shayne told us he’s
thriving with regular starts and wants
to keep up his good form.
“The two goals against Cliftonville took
a while coming but we kept getting into
the right areas and putting balls into
the box and we believed it would pay off
and the midfield and defence were
excellent to see the win out. It was a
deserved three points as I thought we
were the better team.
“For a striker it is beneficial to have a
run of starts like I have recently
because if you’re playing and scoring
you just want to keep going, keep
playing 90 minutes and hopefully get
more goals and more wins.
“This has probably been my best
season league-wise in terms of goals. I
don’t really set myself targets but I
always aim to perform better because I
feel if I am performing well then the
goals will come for me. Holding up the
play, passing and crossing are all a part
of that. I work hard at all of that and I
know that I can get in the right position
Look at Linfield l 06
to score goals after that.”
Last season was Shayne’s first full season in senior competitive football and he netted
17 goals in 38 appearances, second only to Andy Waterworth who scored 19 in 42.
Shayne already has 14 goals for this season and looks sure to better last season’s tally
in the remaining games and he told us about some of the factors behind the
improvement.
“During the first lockdown – about a year ago now – I gave Personal Trainer, Jonny
Pierce a ring because I thought I needed to get leaner and sharper on the pitch. I think
that is paying off at the minute but still a long way to go.
“I was probably more self-critical last year. If I had a bad game I didn’t know how to deal
with that as I was more inexperienced but now I know you’re going to get the odd game
where you’re not performing well but you just need to make sure that isn’t a recurring
thing.”
The former Everton and Falkirk striker played a big part in a never to be forgotten
European journey in 2019, scoring against Sutjeska and then twice at home to Qarabag
in the group stage play-off win at Windsor Park. What he did on that memorable night
was incredible and we asked was setting such high standards in his early days almost a
hindrance because it leads to higher expectancy?
“I suppose people maybe expected quite a lot after that, but I am able to do that so the
challenge for me is to do it on a more consistent basis and most importantly, help the
team win games. This is the biggest Club in the country, so the pressure comes with it
but I enjoy that and I know Andy Waterworth says the same thing. It’s brilliant when you
get the goal or two goals to win the game, that’s what we do it for.”
At the start of the season it was Andy Waterworth banging the goals in and at times
Shayne has had to be patient, but he says his fellow striker is a massive help both on
and off the pitch.
“Andy Waterworth is a massive influence for me. He would talk to me about other
defenders that he’s played against over the years, he knows the league and has been
one of the best strikers in the league for the last five or six years, so he’s great as you
saw on the pitch against Cliftonville because if you watch his run for the opening goal, he
takes defenders away to give me the space to get the goal.”
After a spell of a few disappointing results, The Blues are hoping to continue to build
form and momentum now that they’ve bounced back with back-to-back wins over
Cliftonville and Warrenpoint Town. Shayne says it’s important to keep doing the basics
well and making Windsor Park a fortress with consecutive home games looming against
Carrick Rangers and Dungannon Swifts.
“It’s been a bit stop-start in terms of our form lately but we had a chat after the Glentoran
game and we want to hopefully put a run of form together, but to do that you must take it
one game at a time and we need to make sure we are hard to beat. We want teams
coming to Windsor Park scared. If we play the way we know we can, creating chances
and being hard to beat then we will string wins together. We are good enough to beat
anyone on our day so it doesn’t matter who comes here, we aim to win every game. If we
can keep picking up maximum points we will see where that takes us.”
It’s great to see the 22 year-old in such fine form and everyone associated with the Club
will commend Shayne for it and hope that it will continue for the rest of the season and
beyond.
Look at Linfield l 07
Facts & Figures
01
40
51
02
03
05
06
07
08
09
A full round-up of the season so far!
Andrew Waterworth
Christy Manzinga
Matthew Shevlin
Jimmy Callacher
n Starting Line-Up n Substitute
Mark Haughey
Mark Stafford
David Walsh
Chris Johns
Ross Larkin
Goals scored are shown inside individual
Alex Moore
boxes
Date Opponent H/A Comp. Result
August 8 Tre Fiori (N) CL 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n
1 n
11 Drita (awarded 3-0 win) (N) CL 3-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
18 Legia Warsaw (A) CL 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
September 17 Floriana (H) EL 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
October 5 PSNI (H) CAS 6-0 n n n n n n n n n
1 n n
13 Carrick Rangers (A) CAS 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
17 Carrick Rangers (H) Prem. 5-1 n n n n n n n
1 n
3 n n n
24 Ballymena United (A) Prem. 3-2 n n n n n n n n n n n
30 Crusaders (H) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n
1 n n n
November 3 Larne (A) CAS 1-4 n n n n n
1 n n n n n n
7 Portadown (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n
1 n n n
14 Coleraine (A) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n
1 n n n
21 Glenavon (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
24 Glentoran (H) Prem. 3-3 n n n n n n n
1 n n n n
28 Warrenpoint (A) Prem. 1-2 n n n n n n n n n n n
December 5 Cliftonville (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
11 Larne (A) Prem. 1-3 n n n n n n n n n n n
19 Dungannon (H) Prem. 4-0 n n n n n n n
2 n
1 n n n
January 2 Glenavon (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
23 Warrenpoint (H) Prem. 6-0 n n n n n n n n
4 n n n
26 Cliftonville (A) Prem. 3-4 n n n n n n n n n n n
February 2 Portadown (H) Prem. 3-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
6 Crusaders (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n
1 n n n n
9 Carrick Rangers (A) Prem. 1-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
20 Coleraine (H) Prem. 0-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
23 Glentoran (H) Prem. 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
26 Larne (H) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n
March 2 Glentoran (A) Prem. 1-3 n n n n n n n n n n n
6 Cliftonville (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n
9 Warrenpoint (H) Prem. 5-0 n n n n n n n
1 n
1 n n n
13 Carrick Rangers (H) Prem.
16 Dungannon (H) Prem.
Linfield
19 Crusaders (A) Prem.
23 Ballymena (A) Prem.
27 Portadown (A) Prem.
April 3 Dungannon (A) Prem.
squad
6 Coleraine (H) Prem.
10 Larne (A) Prem.
20 Ballymena (H) Prem.
24 Glenavon (A) Prem.
TBA Annagh United (H) IC
Look at Linfield l 08
10
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
31
32
99
35
04
Michael Newberry
Cameron Palmer
Eamon Scannell
Matthew Clarke
Jamie Mulgrew
Ryan McGivern
Jordan Stewart
Brandon Doyle
Stephen Fallon
Shayne Lavery
Joshua Archer
Conor Pepper
Navid Nasseri
Daniel Kearns
Kyle McClean
Bastien Hery
Joel Cooper
Ethan Boyle
Niall Quinn
Kirk Millar
n n n n n n n n n n1 n n n n n n n
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
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n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
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2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
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n
1 n n
1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
1 n n n
Chris Johns 01 Andrew Waterworth 07 Stephen Fallon 20
Alex Moore 40 Christy Manzinga 09 Jamie Mulgrew 22
David Walsh 51 Jordan Stewart 10 Ryan McGivern 23
Mark Stafford 02 Kirk Millar 12 Conor Pepper 25
Ross Larkin 03 Shayne Lavery 14 Niall Quinn 31
Michael Newberry 04 Navid Nasseri 15 Cameron Palmer 35
Mark Haughey 05 Matthew Clarke 16 Joel Cooper 99
Jimmy Callacher 06 Kyle McClean 18
Look at Linfield l 09
Test your knowledge!
1. Which former Spanish player and manager played for Bolton Wanderers
for one season in 2004-05?
2. Former Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross signed for which MLS side
in February 2021?
3. Which player has made the most UEFA Champions’ League
appearances?
4. Which Scottish side plays home games at Cappielow Park? Answers
5. Joachim Low is the current manager of Germany. Who was his
on page
predecessor?
21
6. Against which side did Andrew Waterworth score his first hat-trick of
the 2020-21 season?
Wishing Linfield FC every success for Season 2020/2021!
PETER DORNAN & COMPANY
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Look at Linfield l 10all the facts & figures from 2020-2021 season
earances
Linfield App -2021
0
& Goals 202 App.
LINFIELD PLAYING RECORD 2020-21
P W D L F A
Danske Bank Premiership 23 15 3 5 54 25
Goals County Antrim Shield 3 2 0 1 9 4
5
27 (2 as sub) 5
UEFA Champions League 2 1 0 1 2 1
Kirk Millar 26 (1 as sub) Europa League 1 0 0 1 0 1
6
Niall Quinn 26 (1 as sub) Total: 29 18 3 8 65 31
er 1
Jimmy Callach 26 (2 as sub) –
Jamie Mulgrew 25
Chris Johns 10
25 (5 as sub) – LINFIELD PLAYING RECORD 2019-20
Jordan Stewart 24 (2 as sub)
Kyle McClean 12 P W D L F A
rth 24 (12 as sub) –
Andrew Waterwo 22 (2 as sub)
Danske Bank Premiership 31 22 3 6 71 24
k Ha ug he y 13 Co. Antrim Shield 2 1 1 0 7 3
Mar 22 (3 as sub) 3
Shayne Lavery 21 (6 as sub) League Cup 4 3 0 1 10 7
–
Navid Nasseri 18 (1 as sub) UEFA Champions League 2 0 0 2 0 6
–
Conor Pepper 17 (2 as sub) UEFA Europa League 6 4 1 1 12 9
2
Matthew Clarke 17 (5 as sub) UTU Champions Cup 2 0 1 1 1 7
1
Stephen Fallon 11 (7 as sub) Irish Cup 1 0 0 1 1 2
1
Bastien Hery 9 (1 as sub) Total: 48 30 6 12 102 58
Friday Fixture:
–
Joel Cooper 9 (1 as sub) 1
Mark Stafford 9 (8 as sub)
Coleraine ( ) Crusaders ( )
ga 1
Christy Manzin 8 (1 as sub)
Saturday’s Fixtures:
–
Ross Larkin 6 (3 as sub) 1
Daniel Kearns 6 (4 as sub)
Ballymena United ( ) Portadown ( )
–
Ryan McGivern 4
Cliftonville ( ) Glenavon ( )
1
Ethan Boyle 4 as sub
Dungannon Swifts ( ) Larne ( )
–
Matthew Shevlin 3
Warrenpoint Town ( ) Glentoran ( )
–
David Walsh
Tuesday’s Fixtures:
3 (2 as sub) –
Brandon Doyle 3 as sub
er –
Cameron Palm
Carrick Rangers ( ) Larne ( )
2
ae l Ne wb erry –
Glenavon ( ) Glentoran ( )
Mich 1
1
Alex Moore 1 as sub
Warrenpoint Town ( ) Ballymena United ( )
Joshua Archer
Follow, follow Linfield!
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLinfieldFC
@OfficialBlues
Twitter:
Look at Linfield l 11past
players
from our
Michael Gault
by James Kennedy
For former Linfield midfielder and captain Michael Gault,
his journey as a Linfield 1st Team player started and ended
against Glenavon.
“Well, that’s nearly right. I made my debut against
Glenavon in 2002, and my last match in 2014 should have
been against the same side – but, of course, I was
injured!”.
A young Michael played for Lisburn Youth, and it was one
of his managers there, Les King, who was his link to The
Blues.
“Les was also a Linfield scout. We had a decent side, David
Healy and Ryan McCann were teammates, and we had a
few trips to tournaments in Blackpool and Germany”.
Aged 16, a number of the players from Lisburn Youth
moved to Lisburn Distillery, but for Michael it was
destination Windsor Park.
“I started with the Under 18s and wasn’t always a starter. We had a small squad, I played in
various positions, then I ended up in the centre of midfield on a regular basis”.
An enthusiastic and confident Michael was soon called up to the Linfield Swifts squad for a
Steel and Sons Cup tie against Shorts. Another player failed to appear, and Michael was
thrown into the side.
“That was my first experience of playing against a men’s team, and gave me a good idea of
what was to come”.
Dennis Shields made sure news of Michael’s form reached David Jeffrey, and his senior
debut came in April 2002.
“A lot of the regulars were rested as it was the Irish Cup final the following week. I played
Look at Linfield l 12alongside Pat McShane in defence, with Peter Thompson up top. We lost 2-0 but I must have
done something right as The Sunday Life picked me as Man of the Match!”.
2003/04 saw Michael firmly established in the team, and he picked up the first of 7 League
winners’ medals that season.
“We were at the start of a golden era for the club. Winning the Setanta Sports Cup in 2005 set
us up for the Clean Sweep in 2006, and the successful seasons that followed”.
That golden era also included 6 Irish Cup finals in 7 seasons, with Michael picking up 5
winners medals. And it could have been 6 only for a foot injury picked up late in the 2011/12
season.
“I got injured in the semi final and played a few games with pain killing injections. However,
when Noel Bailie came to pick me up for the final I could hardly get my shoe on!”.
Michael was ruled out of the team, missing out on lifting the trophy in his first season as
captain of the club.
The next couple of years weren’t so good, and David Jeffrey announced he would leave the
club at the end of the 2013/14 season.
“In football terms, I wasn’t convinced that was the right decision, but for David’s sake he
needed to step away from some of the stress of managing at the highest level”.
Michael also left Windsor Park that summer, signing for Portadown, and his new side got to
another Irish Cup final in his first season.
“We were beaten by what I can only describe as a diabolical refereeing decision. The incident
that the officials got wrong had a huge bearing on the outcome, we lost out on European
football and the money that comes with it, and the team broke up”.
Short spells at Crusaders and Ballymena Utd (where he reunited with Jeffrey) ended with
Michael retiring from the senior game. Although, he wasn’t finished completely, turning out
for Annagh Utd and Ballymacash Rangers before trying his hand at management at The
Bluebell Stadium.
“And now my football life has come full circle with me becoming coach of the same Linfield
U-18s side I started out with! Hopefully the young players can learn from me and Chris
Kingsberry, although they should probably learn not to get themselves injured as much as I
did!”.
Look at Linfield l 13Linfield chairman Roy
McGivern presents the Ronnie
Morrison sponsored Linfield
player of the match award to
Mark Stafford following last
week's 2-0 win against
Cliftonville.
Linfield vice-chairman
Stephen Dickson presents
the Discount Blinds
December Linfield tv Goal
of the month award to
Shayne Lavery.
Look at Linfield l 15Shayne
Lavery
Cameron
Palmer
Joel
Cooper
Jimmy
Callacher
Look at Linfield l 16Joel
Cooper
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Windsor Park, Belfast
Linfield 2 – Cliftonville 0
Shayne
Danske Bank Premiership
Lavery
Look at Linfield l 17WILLIAM COATES
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Look at Linfield l 18Linfield vice-chairman
Stephen Dickson presents
the Discount Blinds February
Linfield tv Goal of the month
award to Niall Quinn.
Linfield players feature in Webinar
On Saturday March 20 at
3pm we will be hosting a
webinar with players Andy
Waterworth and Chris
Johns. This is open to all
supporters on a first come,
first served basis and will
be capped at 200
supporters. Each
supporter who registers can ask a question and a number will be picked out at
random on the day
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D544jKBGQbeDEBisex_NUw
Look at Linfield l 19by Dan Brown
135 Years of Success
Reading the past number of
programme editions online has no
doubt been an enjoyable
experience for those of us unable
to attend matches in person. In
our present circumstances – when
we are missing out on connections
to which we have been
accustomed – having access to the
online programme brings some
semblance of normality.
As with so many areas of our lives
we have adapted to deal with the difficulties we face. Adaption and meeting the challenges we
face head on has been something this club has excelled in ever since our formation.
Last week this article considered the history boards in our club offices that will tell the story
of Windsor Park. That story is one of foresight and striving to be the best. From the
establishment of this club until today that aspiration has underlined everything we have done.
It was in this month of March 135 years ago – in 1886 – that Linfield was born. The story of a
club, which was formed by workers at the Ulster Spinning Company’s Linfield Mill, is a well
known one. Chronicled both by Malcolm Brodie in “Linfield 100 Years” and Ivan Little in his
VHS production of “Weavers to Winners”, our club very quickly came to dominate the
footballing landscape of Ireland, then Northern Ireland.
When the first Irish League was contested in 1890/91, it was Linfield who took the title.
Winning that first League Championship we edged ahead of our competitors, and ever since
then we have never looked back.
Our domination of the local game has witnessed the Irish League trophy come to rest with
our club on a staggering 54 occasions. What is more is that on some of the major milestones
of the club’s history, our 100th and 125th anniversaries we lifted the Gibson Cup to give the
fans the perfect tonic to toast the important dates.
On the occasion of our one hundredth anniversary, Roy Coyle understood the importance of
succeeding in that most special of seasons. Coyle boasted of his players’ exploits to this
publication. He explained, “their achievements have brought great credit to the club in this our
Look at Linfield l 20Centenary Year”. He furthermore
maintained: “it [was] particularly fabulous
and particularly pleasing as it [was] our
centenary year!”
The sentiments were echoed by club
captain, David Jeffrey, who also explained,
“Given the anniversary, the players felt
under strain as well as pressure, so dear
knows what Roy Coyle was feeling”.
As a player and a captain, Jeffrey
empathised with his manager. He knew
the sort of pressure that Coyle was under,
and twenty-five years later he would
experience similar feelings. Like Coyle,
Jeffrey would lead this club as manager
and do so with distinguished success.
Not only did both take the club to title after title, they both led the club during significant
milestones in the club’s history. Jeffrey was at the helm two-and-half decades later, when the
125th anniversary was celebrated.
By the time the club were enjoying the celebrations during 2011, Jeffrey had established
himself on a par with Coyle as one of this club’s – and the wider Irish League’s – greatest
managers. Going into the 2010/11 campaign, Jeffrey had won four League and Cup Doubles in
five seasons.
He and his players would achieve the feat once again to complete a fifth double in six
seasons. It was fitting that one of the club’s most faithful servants – Noel Bailie – would bow
out that campaign and leave on a spectacular high.
Incredibly the Doubles were not done that year of 2011, another would follow the next season
to make it six Doubles in seven years. As with the players who represented the club in the
previous 125 years, they
understood and fulfilled the
expectation at the club.
Who knows how this 135th
year will pan out for the club,
but those who went before
set the highest of standards.
Let’s hope our current crop
of players can replicate and
complete what would be a
most impressive third
straight League title and a
global record-equalling 55th
title.
Quiz Answers: (1) Fernando Hierro; (2) Inter Miami; (3) Iker Casillas;
(4) Greenock Morton; (5) Jurgen Klinsmann; (6) Carrick Rangers.
Look at Linfield l 21Kyle
McClean
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
The Oval, Belfast
Glentoran 3 – Linfield 1
Danske Bank Premiership
Kyle
McClean
Jamie
Mulgrew
David
Healy
Look at Linfield l 22Cameron Palmer, Andy
Waterworth and Jordan
Stewart celebrate Linfield’s
5th goal at Windsor Park in
midweek.
n Happy Birthday to Linfield’s general manager Pat Fenlon who will
celebrate his 52nd birthday on Monday (March 15).
n This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of Linfield tv video
cameraman Jamesy Robertson filming games on behalf of the club. In
the past season Jamesy’s work has reached new heights in excellence,
with the need for certain games to be live streamed on Linfield tv, due
to games being designated as behind closed doors or restricted in
attendance figures, as a result of the corona virus pandemic.
n Congratulations to everyone at Rangers FC on their tremendous
success in securing their 55th league title in Scotland and with several
games to spare. It’s been an incredibly consistent season, both
domestically and in Europe for Steven Gerrard’s side and of course,
everyone at Linfield hopes we can equal their 55th title winning success
in the coming months.
Look at Linfield l 23Joel
Cooper
Shayne Lavery
and Jordan Stewart
Conor Pepper
Michael
Newberry
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Windsor Park, Belfast
Linfield 5 – Warrenpoint 0
l 24
Danske Bank Premiership
Look at LinfieldShayne
Lavery
Jordan
Stewart
Niall
Quinn
Andrew
Waterworth
Look at Linfield l 25Today’s visitors – Carrick Rangers
Carrick hoping for another good
performance against the Blues
Just weeks after Linfield were held to a draw by Carrick Rangers at the Belfast
Loughshore Arena in front of the Sky Sports cameras in Carrickfergus, the two
teams meet again on Saturday, only this time at Windsor Park.
Linfield will need no lectures about what to expect from Niall Currie’s team, who
would certainly – you would imagine – be delighted with the same result and
performance that held The Blues in February.
On the night, Linfield were ahead within two minutes through Shayne Lavery’s goal
but failed to kick on and Carrick Rangers captain Daniel Kelly equalised late on for a
deserved point, and they very
nearly won it at the death when Niall
Lloyd Anderson fired just wide Currie
from close range. David Healy
said his team didn’t win their
battles and it’s something he will
surely remind his players of pre-
match.
The last time Carrick Rangers
got a result at Windsor Park was
back in October 2015, just ten
days into David Healy’s reign as
Linfield manager, as Miguel
Chines put Carrick ahead from
the penalty spot before Aaron
Burns slotted in a late leveller.
Look at Linfield l 26The Amber Army pulled off a great
Daniel away win a few weeks ago which
Kelly can give them belief, having been
to Seaview where they beat
Crusaders 3-1. Former Linfield
player Jonny Frazer – now on loan
at Carrick Rangers from Glentoran
– scored twice in their win at
Seaview but picked up an
unfortunate hamstring injury and
is yet to return.
Today’s visitors had a slow start to
the season and were at the bottom
at one stage, but it was a false
position. Everything that could
have gone wrong was going wrong
at the beginning of the season.
Due to weather and Covid-related
protocols, they played just four
matches in 80 days, which
obviously isn’t ideal for a team
trying to build some momentum. They weren’t playing badly, and recorded 16 shots
on goal away to Glentoran but they somehow lost. The staff believed that things
would turn, and they have, with Carrick picking up results against the likes of
Crusaders, Linfield, Glenavon and Dungannon Swifts in recent weeks.
Although there is no relegation this season, Carrick have said they don’t want to
finish bottom regardless and they haven’t changed the way they play. They will want
to forget last week’s 5-0 defeat at home to Glentoran who scored all five in the first
half. On the night they changed to a back four from their familiar 3-5-2 system,
possibly in part due to the absence of their leader and captain, Mark Surgenor at the
back. He picked up a knee injury against Cliftonville in a 1-0 loss on February 27 and
like Frazer he is a sore miss. In their last game, Carrick Rangers battled hard but
went down 3-1 at home to Crusaders during the week and they will try to bounce
back against Linfield
This afternoon’s officials:
Referee: Ian McNabb
Linesmen: Paul Robinson and Jamie Carnduff
4th Official: Louise Thompson
Look at Linfield l 27Today’s visitors – Dungannon Swifts
New manager Dean hoping for a
Swifts revival this season
Saturday will begin a new era for Dungannon
Swifts as 36 year-old former Rangers,
Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Coleraine attacker
and Northern Ireland international Dean
Shiels will take charge of the Stangmore Park
outfit at home to Larne, having recently
replaced former Linfield defender Kris
Lindsay as Swifts manager.
Son of the experienced former Ballymena
United, Coleraine, Kilmarnock, Derry City and
current Northern Ireland Women’s National
team manager Kenny Shiels, Dean will then
bring his young Swifts team to Windsor Park
on Tuesday night to play Linfield.
Although it’s a very young team at Shiels’ disposal, he does have some players who
possess a wealth of experience and they will need no introduction to the Linfield
support. Roy Carroll was a fan favourite at Windsor Park in his three seasons with The
Blues from 2016-2019, where he won two league titles, an Irish Cup, a League Cup and a
County Antrim Shield. The 43 year-old joined the Swifts in January having recovered
from an ACL injury which ultimately ended his time with Linfield in 2019 and it is just a
pity that the Linfield supporters won’t be there to give Roy a warm welcome on his
return to Windsor.
Michael Carvill is another who had a successful Linfield career, spending seven years
with the Club, winning three Irish League and Cup ‘doubles’, as well as the County
Antrim Shield.
The Swifts also brought in 36 year-old striker Rory Patterson in January, having been
playing in the Mid-Ulster league with Ballymacash Rangers since September 2019 and
Look at Linfield l 28then signing for Belfast Celtic, however, their lack of football due to not being granted
‘elite’ status in leagues below Premiership level meant he had to move to the Swifts to
get playing football again.
When Dungannon Swifts last visited Windsor Park in December – then under the
stewardship of Kris Lindsay – they were stubborn and resolute and their gameplan was
working to a tee until Andy Waterworth made a 66th minute breakthrough, before The
Blues added a few more to win 4-0. It was far from straightforward and Linfield had to
be focused and patient.
The Swifts currently sit bottom of the table but even with no relegation this season they
are very much fighting, just as title challengers Coleraine found out last week when Oran
Kearney’s men edged a dramatic five-goal thriller at Stangmore. In that game, Swifts
captain Dougie Wilson showed his set-piece capabilities with a smashing free-kick goal
and that’s something for Linfield to be wary of, whilst Rory Patterson showed he hasn’t
lost with finishing touch with a fine headed goal.
New manager Dean Shiels spoke upon his unveiling saying that he has clear views on
how he thinks football should be played and that he wants fans coming excited to see
the Swifts, so it will be interesting to see how they approach Tuesday’s game at Windsor
Park.
This evening’s officials:
Referee: Steven Gregg
Linesmen: Ryan Kelsey and Stephen Bell
4th Official: Shane McGonigle
Danske Bank Premiership League Table 2020-21
P. W. D. L. F. A. Points
Linfield 23 15 3 5 54 25 48
Coleraine 22 13 4 5 35 22 43
Crusaders 23 12 3 8 43 28 39
Larne 22 10 7 5 35 23 37
Glentoran 21 10 6 5 36 18 36
Cliftonville 24 10 6 8 34 28 36
Ballymena United 22 9 4 9 30 24 31
Glenavon 21 8 7 6 33 35 31
Warrenpoint Town 21 6 5 10 22 37 23
Portadown 21 3 6 12 24 45 15
Carrick Rangers 21 3 4 14 19 48 13
Dungannon Swifts 21 3 3 15 14 46 12
Look at Linfield l 29LINFIELD SHIRT SPONSORS 2020-2021
PLAYER SHIRT NO. SPONSOR SPONSOR SPONSOR
Chris Johns 1 Aaron Cully Lukas Martin Paul Clydesdale
Mark Stafford 2 In Memory of Eddie McCurry Michael Lusty Aaron Butler
Ross Larkin 3 Mikey- Carrick True Blues Graham Larkin
Mark Haughey 5 Dougie Craig Jim Haughey Stupid Priced Plants. Bill Love
Jimmy Callacher 6 “Peter, Andrew & Suzanne Rollins” 1st South Belfast LSC Andrew Jordan
Andrew Waterworth 7 East End Blues Bangor LSC William Lewis
Matthew Shevlin 8 Ciggy Vapes (NI) Ltd York Star LSC
Christy Manzinga 9 Linfield Supporters Trust Alan Campbell Wm Coates
(Sponsored by Paul Weir)
Jordan Stewart 10 Gary W Dickson & Co. Norman Davison Ciggy Vapes (NI) Ltd.
Kirk Millar 12 East End Blues Aaron Cully Paul Clydesdale
Shayne Lavery 14 Keith Ferson Robbie Speers Sammy & Wesley McFarland
Navid Nasseri 15 Robbie Speers Ryan McCullough Adam Wilson
& Jenna Dickson
Matthew Clarke 16 North Time + Data Dougie Craig Mackey Hepburn
Daniel Kearns 17 Ballymoney Supporter Fife Loyal Rangers SC
Kyle McClean 18 Bangor LSC Mikey-Carrick True Blues
Brandon Doyle 19 Rhys & Zara Dickson David Quinn
Stephen Fallon 20 The Kennedy Family Wm Coates Kirsty Leigh Blair
(Sponsored by Paul Weir)
Bastien Hery 21 Teddy Murray Henry Hughes Gordon Markey
Jamie Mulgrew 22 “Jaden,Alisha & Chantelle Henderson” Discount Blinds David Sales
Ryan McGivern 23 Jackies Quality Meats Roy McGivern
Ethan Boyle 24 QMS Insight Jim Nelson
Conor Pepper 25 Jonathan Wilson Springdale LSC Zoe & Ryan McFarland
Niall Quinn 31 WJM Building Services WJM Building Services Darren Gaw
Alex Moore 40 Urban Fitness Dundonald Thomas Moore
Look at Linfield
Trai Hume 48 1st Mid ShankillLSC Jamesy Robertson Davy Downes
David Healy Manager Brian Close Transport WJM Building Services Robbie Speers
l 30Linfield Footb
(Founded Marc all Club
Linfield Football Club Limited h 1886)
2020-2021 Linfield Footba
by millworkers
ll Club, formed
in March, 1886,
Peter Lunn M.B.E.
in the Sandy Ro
Belfast, is the la w area of
President: Roy McGivern rgest, most succ
Chairman: Ireland. The Be essful club in
Stephen Dickson lfast Blues have
Vice-Chairman: Pat Fenlon
unsurpassed in
Irish football an
a playing record
General Manager: Richard Johnson stadium is the d Windsor Park
Hon. Treasurer: home of the N
Andrew Conn international te orthern Ireland
Hon. Secretary: am.
ors
Board of DirectJac Johnson,
k Grundie, Richard HONOURS:-
Trustees: Dr. Cameron Irish League Ch
Peter Lunn M.B.E., • 1890/91, 1891
ampionship –
54 times
Stuart
Ramsey, Paul Weir, /92, 1892/93, 18
94/95, 1897/98,
ath an W ilson, 1901/02, 1903/0
Gilmore, Jon 1910/11, 1913/14,
4, 1906/07, 1907
/08, 1908/09,
Da vid Sa les 1921/22, 1922/23
en Dickson, 1933/34, 1934/35 , 1929/30, 1931/3
Andy Conn, Steph , 1948/49, 1949/5 2,
Elected Members: en Shaw, 1954/55, 1955/5 0, 1953/54,
David Strain, Steph 1965/66, 1968/6
6, 1958/59, 1960
/61, 1961/62,
ds , Ro y McGivern, 9, 1970/71, 1974
Irvine Woo 1978/79, 1979/8 /75, 1977/78,
ie Mo rris on, Jon athan 0, 1981/82, 1982
Ro nn 1984/85, 1985/8 /83, 1983/84,
ew Mc Co ubrey. 6, 1986/87, 1988
Lamont, Dr 1993/94, 1999/0 /89, 1992/93,
0, 2000/01, 2003
Linfield Str:aff 2006/07, 2007/0 /04, 2005/06,
8, 2009/10, 2010
David Healy MBE 2016/17, 2018/19, /11, 2011/12,
Team Manage 2019/20.
Ross Oliver Irish F.A. Challe
Assistant Manager: nge Cup – 43 tim
Co ac h: Ricky McCann • 1890/91, 1891 es
Fitness /92, 1892/93, 18
pis t: Terry Hayes 1898/99, 1901/0 94/95, 1897/98,
Sports Thera 2, 1903/04, 1911/
Patrick Noble 1915/16, 1918/19, 12, 1912/13, 1914/1
Medical Officer: 1921/22, 1922/23 5,
nage r: Gary Eccles 1930/31, 1933/34 , 1929/30,
Kit Ma
g Co ach : Johnny Williamson 1945/46, 1947/4
, 1935/36, 1938/
39, 1941/42, 1944
Goalkeepin 8, 1949/50, 1952 /45,
ist : Paul Butler /53, 1959/60,
Physiotherap 1961/62, 1962/6
r: Glenn Ferguson 3, 1969/70, 1977
Academy Directo .,Billy Kennedy, 1981/82, 1993/9 /78, 1979/80,
: Noel Bailie M.B.E 4, 1994/95, 2001
Hon. Vice-Presidents 2006/07, 2007/0 /02, 2005/06,
Jim Kerr 8, 2009/10, 2010
chael Jones, 2016/17. /11, 2011/12,
Andy Kerr, M.B.E., Mi ikle, Gary
Vice-Presidents: Me
Robert Neill, Glenn
rt, Norman League Cup (City
Dickson, Jacky Stewa Cup): 30 times
Gold Cup: 31 tim winners.
Morrow es winners.
Kenny Mc Keagu e Ulster Cup: 15
Hon. Trainer: times winners.
Andy Kerr M.B.E. Co. Antrim Sh
Hon. Team Attend: ield: 43 times wi
me
Official PrograAnmdre
All-Ireland Cu
p: 4 times winn
nner
s.
w Conn Budweiser Cup: ers.
Editor: b Once.
Linfield Football Clu Bus. Coca-Cola Cup:
Publisher: M. , Un it 10B, Argy le 3 times winner
s.
EP Setanta Sports
Printer: 2AU.
Centre, Belfast BT13 Cup: Once.
Tel: (028) 9074 0192
Alan Kirkpatrick
Design & lay-out:
her: Colin McMaster
Photograp
European Record: Played Won Drew Lost For Against
122 24 32 66 116 220
• Linfield have competed in the European Cup over 31 seasons, in the European Cup Winners’ Cup over three, the
European Fairs Cup over two, the UEFA Cup in six and seven in the Europa League. In 1966/67 Linfield reached
the quarter-finals of the European Cup, losing by the odd goal to CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria.
Look at Linfield l 31You can also read
