Tony Hateley NCFC

[catfan 14,793]

Not a Magpies fan but a loyal servant to the club anyway.

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Legendary-Notts-County-striker-Tony-Hateley-dies/story-20545506-detail/story.html

[FLY2 10,108]

A Real footballer. RIP Tony.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Tony Hateley was an old school centre forward and regarded as one of the best headers of a ball in football. Tony Hateley R.I.P.

[Paulus 541]

I met him on a few occasions, very down to earth lovely man, sadly missed by many in Nottingham, no matter who you supported, RIP Tony.

[Braddy 160]

From a Notts fan R.I.P Tony Hateley,

[Commo 1,292]

Met him at a Junior League presentation do at the Elizabethan rooms in about 1970 ( believe he had already moved to WBA?) and he was a really nice bloke.

R I P Tony, a Maggie in the mould of Tommy Lawton.

[Big Mac 12]

A memory of Tony Hateley. In the summer of 1963 he was transferred from Notts to Aston Villa for a fee of I think 30,000 pounds. As luck would have it his first game for Villa was at the City Ground against Forest on the first day of the season, August 24 (my 14^th birthday). Me and my pal Rob were seated on one of the football buses that used to take you from Boots on Parliament Street to Trent Bridge when Tony came up the stairs and sat down. He had a duffle bag over his shoulder (which presumably contained his boots). He got off at Trent Bridge and we followed him as he walked to the ground, bantering good-naturedly with the fans. Compare that to the prima donnas of today who are ferried around in luxury limos and coaches and stay at a five star hotel the night before a match. Anyway Villa won 1-0 and Tony got the goal. A typical old-fashioned English center forward was Mr. Hateley. RIP.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

I enjoyed reading your post, Big Mac, until you mentioned the Forest/Villa result.

[Mess 614]

Tony Hateley was my childhood hero. As a youngster I bumped into him one Saturday afternoon also upstairs on a bus to Trent Bridge. He was with Alex Gibson and when he saw me staring in disbelief he smiled and said hello. I think I had my Notts scarf and wooly pom-pom hat on. I also had a rattle. (I don't think you'd get into a ground these days with a rattle. It would be classed as an offensive weapon.)

I saw him score many wonderful goals for Notts mostly with his head but sometimes with his feet.

I was told that Tommy Lawton taught him to jump from the floor to the edge of a snooker table from a standing position. Sounds incredible. Anybody else on here heard that story?

I would think Jeff Astle and Les Bradd probably had the same training.

[LizzieM 9,503]

Couldn't Duncan McKenzie jump right over a Mini car?

[Michael Booth 7,364]

In May 1976, Leeds Utd arranged a match against Newcastle Utd for Paul Reaney's Testimonial. There was some pre-match entertainment

and they got Duncan McKenzie to jump over the Mini Cooper with a single leap. To everyone's amazement, that's what he did.

I saw Duncan play at the City Ground and he really was a gifted player. I used to go to every home game with my eldest brother and I've a

mountain of programmes in the loft. Oh, mustn't forget the away games against the sheep-sh@ggers...lol.

[.... 23]

I remember those stories about Tommy Lawton training a crop of young players how to jump for high balls. Tony Hateley was magnificent for Notts and got a great hero's welcome when he returned to Meadow Lane to spearhead Jimmy Sirrel's successful assault on the old Fourth Division title which Notts achieved by some distance if I recall correctly.

Les Bradd was as good a header of a ball as you could see in his day. 'Bomber' was fantastic in the air and could really direct his headers well on goal and to teammates. Not blessed with pace but a terrific target man.who scored his share of goals.

Duncan McKenzie was just a freak of nature - one of my favourite players of all-time, he was so entertaining to watch. What a great dribbler! There were quite a few stories of his natural athleticism at the time. One was his ability to take a throw-in in training over the old East Stand - no mean feat. The one I liked was his 'golf' game with Cloughie where he challenged the master manager to a round with Duncan throwing the ball down the fairways and rolling it on the greens! Not sure what the result was.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Duncan McKenzie was a heavy smoker but not a drinker and, like you mention, Stu, he always entertained the crowd with his talent.

[.... 23]

It was a bit of a shame the way his career fizzled out gradually, Michael. He looked a world beater at Forest. He did go to some very good clubs as we know of course but he never really blossomed the way I thought he would. Maybe he just chose the wrong moves - unlike on the pitch with a Garibaldi Red shirt on his back.

Great player.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Yes, he had his best times at Nottingham Forest but, after he'd left, he never seemed to stay at other Clubs for very long. I think the problem was that he wasn't a 'team player' but more of an individualist. By that, I mean that when his team were on the attack he'd want to beat his man two or three times before he released the ball. By that time, though. the goal scoring chance had gone which would infuriate the Manager and the players. The crowd would love him but there was a game that had to be won.