Over 60’s! Peter Spiring!!

[stephenkibby.]

4 hours ago, City oz said:

Jersey Bean will have all this covered but looking at the great away travel numbers already posted it should be a great day out and an emphatic away win for us. 

I remember as a young lad it was the first London away match my dad took me too and we drew 1-1and Jerry Spring scored. Great memories from that season and those early years in the 70s.

Oz are you mixing up Gerry Sharpe with Peter Spiring?

[bcfc01]

4 minutes ago, stephenkibby. said:

Oz are you mixing up Gerry Sharpe with Peter Spiring?

Season 72/73 so Peter Spiring.

 

[Nogbad the Bad]

1 hour ago, bcfc01 said:

Season 72/73 so Peter Spiring.

 

Spiring must go down as one of City's best ever sales, the 60k we received from Liverpool was a fairly substantial fee in '73.

Garland's replacement iirc and a career scoring rate of about a goal every 4 games for City.

Can't imagine what Liverpool saw in him but he never played a first team game for them and was quickly moved on to Luton.

 

[bcfc01]

6 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Spiring must go down as one of City's best ever sales, the 60k we received from Liverpool was a fairly substantial fee in '73.

Garland's replacement iirc and a career scoring rate of about a goal every 4 games for City.

Can't imagine what Liverpool saw in him but he never played a first team game for them and was quickly moved on to Luton.

 

His scoring rate was good for a winger.

He was rapid, but his technical ability was nowhere near good enough for Liverpool which was a strange signing by them - up there with Ralph Milne to Man.Utd.

[REDOXO]

1 hour ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Spiring must go down as one of City's best ever sales, the 60k we received from Liverpool was a fairly substantial fee in '73.

Garland's replacement iirc and a career scoring rate of about a goal every 4 games for City.

Can't imagine what Liverpool saw in him but he never played a first team game for them and was quickly moved on to Luton.

 

He broke his leg if I remember and was never the same player afterward 

[bcfc01]

7 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

He broke his leg if I remember and was never the same player afterward 

Memory may be bad, but I don't think he payed again after the injury.

Went to USA and died over there a few years ago.

[Nogbad the Bad]

1 hour ago, bcfc01 said:

His scoring rate was good for a winger.

He was rapid, but his technical ability was nowhere near good enough for Liverpool which was a strange signing by them - up there with Ralph Milne to Man.Utd.

I thought he first became a regular after being brought in as Garland's direct replacement up front, but maybe he was thought of as a winger before that and then moved wide again after Gould was signed?

Either way, somehow Liverpool were prepared to pay almost twice as much for Spiring as they had for Keegan some 18 months earlier.

[Nogbad the Bad]

12 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

He broke his leg if I remember and was never the same player afterward 

I don't remember hearing that before. 

He was at Liverpool for about a year, on the bench twice but no appearances, before he was moved on.

I doubt he broke his leg (or certainly not badly in a Gerry Sharpe way) while at Liverpool or presumably Luton wouldn't have paid even more for him (70k) than Liverpool did to us.

Also had 8 seasons at Hereford after Luton.

[REDOXO]

Peter Spiring (born 13 December 1950) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League playing as a winger for Bristol City, Luton Townand Hereford United,^[1] and in the North American Soccer League(NASL) for Washington Darts.^[2]

Peter Spiring

Personal information
Full name	Peter John Spiring
Date of birth	13 December 1950 (age 72)
Place of birth	Glastonbury, England
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Bristol City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1973	Bristol City	63	(16)
1971	→ Washington Darts (loan)	4	(0)
1973–1974	Liverpool	0	(0)
1974–1976	Luton Town	15	(2)
1976–1983	Hereford United	227	(20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Spiring started his career at Bristol City before being sold to Liverpoolfor £60,000 in March 1973. He did not play a first team match at Anfield, only featuring on the bench twice,^[3] and was later sold to Luton Town for £70,000.^[4] He went on to spend eight seasons at Hereford United.

[bcfc01]

2 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

I don't remember hearing that before. 

He was at Liverpool for about a year, on the bench twice but no appearances, before he was moved on.

I doubt he broke his leg (or certainly not badly in a Gerry Sharpe way) while at Liverpool or presumably Luton wouldn't have paid even more for him (70k) than Liverpool did to us.

Also had 8 seasons at Hereford after Luton.

Not sure about @REDOXO but I was talking about Gerry Sharpe who broke his leg.

Spiring still lives in Hereford last I heard.

[Nogbad the Bad]

10 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

Memory may be bad, but I don't think he payed again after the injury.

Went to USA and died over there a few years ago.

He played League football with Hereford until he was 33, and Wiki has him down as still alive.

[bcfc01]

Just now, Nogbad the Bad said:

He played League football with Hereford until he was 33, and Wiki has him down as still alive.

Posted explanation as you posted this..

[REDOXO]

From Luton Town. Reference the injuries Spiring got at Liverpool in the text. Again My recollection was a broken leg!
 

Peter John SPIRING

After joining Bristol City from school, quick and powerful attacking midfielder Peter soon had the scouts flocking to Ashton Gate when he was moved up front and scored five goals in as many games.
This led to a £65,000 move to Bill Shankly’s Liverpool in 1973 but the dream turned to disaster when a series of injuries left him still waiting for a League start. Luton manager Harry Haslam then rescued him in November 1974 but five games into his Hatters career he broke a toe when winning a penalty against future champions Derby which opened a space in the side for teenager Ron Futcher.
Unable to win back a regular spot in the Luton side, Peter moved to Hereford where he made over 200 League appearances in a long and successful career. Peter still lives in Hereford where he became an electrical contractor.

[Nogbad the Bad]

4 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

Posted explanation as you posted this..

Yep, I can see there's been a Spiring/Sharpe mix up somewhere along the way!

Real shame about Gerry Sharpe - I remember a big crowd turning up at AG for a reserve match when he attempted a comeback, but sadly his injury wasn't up to it.

 

[REDOXO]

17 minutes ago, bcfc01 said:

Not sure about @REDOXO but I was talking about Gerry Sharpe who broke his leg.

Spiring still lives in Hereford last I heard.

Nope Peter Spiring. 
 

Ref from Luton Town FC as above and Harry Haslam taking a chance after the injuries at Liverpool! 
 

I remember talking to my old man about it one night while MOTD was on.  I was about 10 :laugh:! Long time ago. 

[Nogbad the Bad]

58 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

Nope Peter Spiring. 
 

Ref from Luton Town FC as above and Harry Haslam taking a chance after the injuries at Liverpool! 
 

I remember talking to my old man about it one night while MOTD was on.  I was about 10 :laugh:! Long time ago. 

Not so sure Haslam took a chance on him Oxo, the word used is 'rescued' , i.e. Spiring was rescued from an unsuccessful and injury hit time at Anfield - perhaps an unhappy time too - with Liverpool delighted to get an offer from relegation threatened (desperate) Luton which was more than they paid - thus saving face.

Sounds like injuries may have hampered him at Liverpool, however looks to me that he simply didn't live up to expectations because he was fit to pass the medical to Luton, so doubts regarding his fitness wouldn't have been a consideration for Liverpool and they could have persevered with him had they still rated him.

Bad luck with the toe injury at Luton that allowed Futcher to make his mark, but not a serious long term injury and again had Luton really rated him they would have kept him for div.2 rather than unloading him down the divisions to Hereford.

Nobody higher than Hereford interested at that point (even a cut price return to AG perhaps?) suggests to me he was vastly over rated by Liverpool after maybe an eye catching month or 2 at AG, signed in desperation by Luton, and actually found his true level with Hereford.

That's my take on it half a century on, and I imagine City couldn't believe their luck when the 60k Liverpool offer came in.

Edited October 15, 2023 by Nogbad the Bad

[slartibartfast]

5 hours ago, stephenkibby. said:

Oz are you mixing up Gerry Sharpe with Peter Spiring?

Yes, Peter Spiring got the equaliser late on, it was a mid week game .

[Nogbad the Bad]

9 hours ago, City oz said:

Jersey Bean will have all this covered but looking at the great away travel numbers already posted it should be a great day out and an emphatic away win for us. 

I remember as a young lad it was the first London away match my dad took me too and we drew 1-1and Jerry Spring scored. Great memories from that season and those early years in the 70s.

This is where the Peter Spiring/Gerry Sharpe confusion in this thread originated.

At least we didn't end up talking about daytime TV presenters!

[REDOXO]

2 hours ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

Not so sure Haslam took a chance on him Oxo, the word used is 'rescued' , i.e. Spiring was rescued from an unsuccessful and injury hit time at Anfield - perhaps an unhappy time too - with Liverpool delighted to get an offer from relegation threatened (desperate) Luton which was more than they paid - thus saving face.

Sounds like injuries may have hampered him at Liverpool, however looks to me that he simply didn't live up to expectations because he was fit to pass the medical to Luton, so doubts regarding his fitness wouldn't have been a consideration for Liverpool and they could have persevered with him had they still rated him.

Bad luck with the toe injury at Luton that allowed Futcher to make his mark, but not a serious long term injury and again had Luton really rated him they would have kept him for div.2 rather than unloading him down the divisions to Hereford.

Nobody higher than Hereford interested at that point (even a cut price return to AG perhaps?) suggests to me he was vastly over rated by Liverpool after maybe an eye catching month or 2 at AG, signed in desperation by Luton, and actually found his true level with Hereford.

That's my take on it half a century on, and I imagine City couldn't believe their luck when the 60k Liverpool offer came in.

I don’t agree, but we can agree to disagree again Nogbad. 
 

The bloke never got back to what he was before he went to Liverpool. 
 

Loads of players pass Medicals after major injury problems but are never quite the same again,  as we know 

Edited October 15, 2023 by REDOXO

[Super]

13 hours ago, REDOXO said:

Peter Spiring (born 13 December 1950) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League playing as a winger for Bristol City, Luton Townand Hereford United,^[1] and in the North American Soccer League(NASL) for Washington Darts.^[2]

Peter Spiring

Personal information
Full name	Peter John Spiring
Date of birth	13 December 1950 (age 72)
Place of birth	Glastonbury, England
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Bristol City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1973	Bristol City	63	(16)
1971	→ Washington Darts (loan)	4	(0)
1973–1974	Liverpool	0	(0)
1974–1976	Luton Town	15	(2)
1976–1983	Hereford United	227	(20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Spiring started his career at Bristol City before being sold to Liverpoolfor £60,000 in March 1973. He did not play a first team match at Anfield, only featuring on the bench twice,^[3] and was later sold to Luton Town for £70,000.^[4] He went on to spend eight seasons at Hereford United.

He knew his time was up with us when we loaned him out to a Darts Team.

[Nogbad the Bad]

14 hours ago, REDOXO said:

I don’t agree, but we can agree to disagree again Nogbad. 
 

The bloke never got back to what he was before he went to Liverpool. 
 

Loads of players pass Medicals after major injury problems but are never quite the same again,  as we know 

That's true but I can't see any evidence of 'major' injury problems for Spiring at Liverpool or elsewhere which would have such a detrimental effect on him and his career.

If you watched Spiring play for City you were probably as surprised as I was that Liverpool came in for him, and not surprised that he didn't thrive there.

While major injury problems obviously can thwart a career there's no sign of that in Spiring's case, and of course there are equally occasions when the buying club gets a closer look at the player in training, in Spiring's case compares him with players like Keegan and Heighway, realises he'll never be in the same league, and accepts the signing was a mistake.

I think that's almost certainly the case here, but agree to disagree of course!

[REDOXO]

11 hours ago, Nogbad the Bad said:

That's true but I can't see any evidence of 'major' injury problems for Spiring at Liverpool or elsewhere which would have such a detrimental effect on him and his career.

If you watched Spiring play for City you were probably as surprised as I was that Liverpool came in for him, and not surprised that he didn't thrive there.

While major injury problems obviously can thwart a career there's no sign of that in Spiring's case, and of course there are equally occasions when the buying club gets a closer look at the player in training, in Spiring's case compares him with players like Keegan and Heighway, realises he'll never be in the same league, and accepts the signing was a mistake.

I think that's almost certainly the case here, but agree to disagree of course!

As I said earlier I remember discussing at the time (with my old man) his injuries at Liverpool and their extent  

However it seems whoever keeps track of former players at Luton certainly had his injury problems at Liverpool documented as I cut and pasted earlier.
 

Shankly wasn't known for signing duds but there we are!

He is still around I believe, I wonder if he is a member of the former players association I would like his view on whether he was a dud Liverpool signing that found his level as you say, and to what extent my memory is right/wrong  regarding his injuries, particularly with his leg and to what extent it may/ may not have affected his career.
 

I’ll see if I can find something out!

 

 

 

[REDOXO]

@Nogbad the Bad and I are having one of our semi regular discussions on  a subject that anyone under 60 need not apply with our memories varying (it’s a thing kids). In order not to clog up the QPR thread I’ve started this one! 

As in the title. Do our oldies remember Peter and is he a member of the former player’s association? 
 

For the under 60s Peter was sold to Liverpool for a decent sum in the early 70’s, but (if my recollection is accurate) got injuries that he never really got over, playing much of his career At Hereford! 
 

It would be great if anyone knows the bloke and to have his view on his career with City/Liverpool/Hereford et al (and encourage him to join the FPA)  AND give a few of us a view of life under Shanks!

Any insights (even the fella himself) out there!?

[GrahamC]

I was working in Hereford many years ago (2000s, I reckon) & a van drive past with “Peter Spiring, Electrical Contractor” on the side.

Not like being called Alan Smith, so it has to have been him, doesn’t it?

Nice part of the world & logical that he stayed there after playing.

[East End Old Boy]

Remember him as a strong powerful player, disappointed when he was sold (nothing changes!) but pleased it was to a top club. Always looked out for his name on the Liverpool team sheet, but gave up when it never appeared!

[City oz]

On 15/10/2023 at 19:02, bcfc01 said:

Season 72/73 so Peter Spiring.

 

Yes season. 72/73. He was one of our top scorers that season. And second highest scorer the season before behind the legend John Galley. Keith Fear was also smashing in a few around those two seasons.

[Port Said Red]

I found this on a Luton page

https://www.hattersheritage.co.uk/peter-spiring

As he is 72 now I assume he has retired as there is no sign of the business online.

I also found this piece about another player from that era, Danny Bartley. It seems he worked with Spiring in his business a few times.

https://yourherefordshire.co.uk/all/sports-news/my-hereford-united-story-danny-bartley/

[TedsHeadIs Red]

Peter Spiring scored the first goal I ever witnessed at AG, against Wolves in Jack Connor’s testimonial in 1971. 

The above is all dependent on a fading  memory but hopefully factually correct. 

A special City name for me anyway. 
 

[Sir Geoff]

I remember him as being an exciting young winger / wide player. I do remember his injuries that hampered his time here and was disappointed when he went to Liverpool. Unfortunately for him his career never kicked on after leaving us.

[slartibartfast]

I didn't know Spiring had injuries at Liverpool, I thought it was just them keeping him as "one for the future", as they used to do a lot. I didn't know (or remember) DB went to Swansea, either .