Ivor Linton (born 20 November 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa,[3] Peterborough United[4] and Birmingham City.[5] He played as a midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ivor Linton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 November 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | West Bromwich, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1977 | Aston Villa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1982 | Aston Villa | 27 | (0) |
| 1982–1983 | Peterborough United | 27 | (3) |
| 1983–1984 | Birmingham City | 4 | (0) |
| 1984 | Bilston Town | ||
| 1984 | LappBK | 20 | (4) |
| 1985–1987 | Kaskö IK | ||
| 1988–1999 | IF Kraft Narpes | 243 | (41) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career edit
Linton was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire (now in the West Midlands). He joined Aston Villa as an apprentice in May 1976, and turned professional in September 1977.[6] He made his debut in the First Division on 16 May 1977, as a 17-year-old apprentice, as a substitute in a home game against Stoke City which Villa won 1–0.[7] In six years with the club he played regularly for the reserve team, and made 17 starts and 13 substitute appearances in all competitions for the first team,[1] one of which was in the first leg of the 1982 European Cup second round match against Dynamo Berlin, when he conceded a penalty with his first touch.[8][9]
In the 1982 close season he joined Peterborough United of the Fourth Division on a free transfer. Released by the club after 27 league games,[4] he returned to the First Division by way of a trial with Birmingham City, during which he played four league games[6] and became the first black player to appear for both major Birmingham-based clubs.[9] After a spell in non-League football with Bilston Town, Linton moved to Finland where he played for Kaskö IK[10] and then for many years for Kraft Närpes.[11]
He finally retired from the game at the age of 39 and returned home to West Bromwich where he worked as an electrician, and appeared for the Villa Old Boys team.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b "Linton, Ivor". Aston Villa Player Database. Jörn Mårtensson. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 54. ISBN 0362020175.
- ^ "Aston Villa : 1946/47–2007/08". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Peterborough United : 1960/61–2007/08". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "Birmingham City : 1946/47–2007/08". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- ^ "Ivor Linton – Aston Villa FC". Football-Heroes.net. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "History: June 10". Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ a b c Clarkson, Ian (21 October 2003). "Ivor Linton never made the impact of 'The Three Degrees' but he created a spot of history too". Professional Footballers' Association. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "Statistik" (in Swedish). Kaskö IK. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "sida 605 Kraftspelarnas målstatistik 1976-08 (page 605 Kraft players goal statistics 1976-08)" (in Swedish). Närpes stad (Town of Närpes). Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
External links edit
- Linton's Aston Villa details and photo at Football-Heroes.net