Eddie Bailey dies


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The Evening Post reports:

Tributes to former Forest player Eddie Baily

Not of my generation but I've always thought he sounded a very clever player of the day. I loved this this bit: 'But he was sold to Forest for £7,000 in October 1956 because he was considered to be too much of an individualist.'

How we could do with a few Eddie Baily's today...

Rest in peace.

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Saw him play a few times in the late 50's.

Clearly past his best by then...tended to suddenly run out of steam!

Nevertheless, he and Dougie Lishman were important cogs in the Forest team which gained promotion to the First Division - but both moved on shortly afterwards.

Read a strange fact,in another obit', that Spurs (with whom he played pre-war) understood that he had 'died in action' in WWII...until he turned up in a Chelsea shirt, in 1946! Quickly moved back to White Hart Lane and became part of their famous 'push and run' team, of the early 50's.

Cheers

Robt P

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I was a Forest fan when Eddie Bailey arrived at the City Ground, he had great ball control and used to 'wriggle' through the defence.

Once he had caused so much trouble that the opposition put two men on him, this happened quite often, they had him cornered near the corner flag, he was facing the flag, about a foot from it, the two defenders were just behind him.

Suddenly he looped the ball over his head and over their heads and scampered around them, he centred the ball, well, more like put it were Tommy Wilson's head would be. Wilson who was a consumate header or the ball put it in the net.

The crowd went mad.

He was a delight to watch, you never knew what he would do next.

RIP Eddie Bailey. You gave so many people so much pleasure.

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Certainly Tommy Wilson was the best header of the ball that I've ever seen in the Garibaldi No 9 shirt.

Typified by the superb goal that he scored in the '59 FA Cup final...

Jack Burkitt often insisted that it was the best headed goal he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a few!

He left Forest for Walsall in the early 60's, and then down to Brentwood - where he retired.

Sadly, he lost a leg, through illness, in his mid 40's - and died shortly afterwards.

A cousin of mine has known Tommy's widow since childhood, and is still in contact.

Apparently, she always wears his '59 winners medal around her neck...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Certainly Tommy Wilson was the best header of the ball that I've ever seen in the Garibaldi No 9 shirt.

I've heard tales of Tommy's great aerial ability. With arguably the best ever attacking header of a ball playing the other side of the Trent it must have made for an interesting comparison between the two number nines.

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Stu,

Reckon the Tommy Lawton/Tommy Wilson eras didn't quite overlap.

Suggest that Lawton is always acknowledged as the 'Bradman' of heading, certainly in the 20th century game...

Tommy Wilson was great in the air, but the only name I've ever heard geniunely submitted as a rival to Lawton would be Jimmy McGrory of Celtic...my own personal best (that I've seen) behind Lawton was Tony Hateley.

Ironically, the best Tony Hateley headed goal that I saw was v Walsall, when Tommy Wilson was leading the visitors attack!

Seems that Carroll of Newcastle has now emerged as a decent header of the ball.

Let's hope he doesn't find that a cell restricts his leaping practice...

BTW: Rangers 0 Hibs 3!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/9172909.stm

Don't despair Stu...just see what Nottingham managerial experience can bring you... thumbsup

Cheers

Robt P.

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Now don't laugh, but best headed goal I ever saw (live) was by justin fashanu for notts against I think arsenal? I kid you not he must have been about 2 foot above rest of players and it was one of those where he seemed to hang in mid air, bet he had that sort of rare "time slowed down" "everything perfect" moments? I said don't laugh! hard to explain but I've had such? only in amateur sports but where you KNOW you're going to score, save a penalty, hit a six, connect with a punch, even get 180 before it happens, anyone else had such

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Rob

Thanks for the information. I had always assumed, incorrectly, that the two were contemporaries.

It's an interesting subject. I've heard a lot of anecdotal stuff about Jimmy McGrory of Celtic through family and I know he is immortalised in more than one Celtic song. Looking him up, he is spoken of as the most prolific of all goalscorers in British football history with 408 strikes in exactly the same amount of games. Very formidable and all from a stature measuring just 5 ft 6 in!

I remember older relative talking of the legacy that Laawton had left behind at Meadow Lane of some great headers of a ball and perhaps Tony Hateley might be the epitome of that. I would also like to draw Les Bradd into that sort of company too regarding that particular skill.

Some of the best headers of a ball I recall personally are three Welshman, Ron and Wyn Davies and John Toshack. I stand to be corrected but I think it's possible that all three may have lined up together for their national side. What a busy day that would have been for the opposition central defenders!

--

The Hibs win last night was as improbable as it was magnificent, thank you! Those of us who stick to our home town teams through thick and mostly thin live for days and nights such as those! I'm sure you will agree. I've never been convinced regarding Calderwood, not here in Nottingham and not now in Auld Reekie but I hope proves me wrong. I do hope they can play a little football under him along the way though.

--

Ashley - yes indeed. The pros know that it is all about great timing. Older relatives would tell me that Lawton had this innate ability and would often be 'on the way up when others were on the way down', giving the appearance of him leaping head and shoulders above the defence and even the goalkeeper! I'm happy to believe that!

The experience you describe is coined in well-known psychological theory and is academically referred to as the state of 'flow'. Commonly, in sporting spheres it is often labelled as being in the 'zone'. One of the main characteristics of it is of 'time standing still'. With the modern financial pressures associated with sports it is an area being much used by sports scientists but the theory has been around for a long time.

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Was it not Ron Davies who scored with 4 headers for Southampton in their 4-1 victory at Old Trafford against a Man Utd side with Best,Charlton and Law in their ranks?

Yet another Welsh international who was strong in the air was the late Ken Leek, of Leicester City.

Not forgetting the great John Charles...

My posting of 25/01/10:

Best headers of a ball, in my time:

1) Tommy Lawton

v

v ...big gap...

v

2) Nat Lofthouse (Bolton)

3) Sandor Koscis...aka 'The Golden Head' - (Hungary)

4) Ron Davies (Southampton)

4=) Tony Hateley (Notts)

6) Denis Law (Man U)

7) John Charles (Leeds)

8) Tommy Wilson (Forest)

9) Jose Torres (Portugal) [died Oct 2010, aged 77]

10) Wyn Davies (Newcastle)

Cheers

Robt P.

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Sad to hear of Tommy Wilson's untimely death, He was only 5'10'' if that, yet he would rise above the 6'+ center halves with ease. Back in the fifties the game was much rougher, with barging and tackling from behind being allowed.

Tommy would be in there heading the ball out of the goalie's hands, while putting his shoulder into his ribs.

I can see it now, Eddie Bailey wins the ball in midfield,shakes off a couple of tackles then passes to Stuart Imlach. Imlach dribbles up to the right back then kicks it down the touch line and scampers after it, beating the defender by sheer speed, he goes to the line and centres to Wilson who has come in from the right wing, yes indeed , he was the right wing for Forest before finding his true position at centre forward.

Wilson rises above the defence and knocks it down to centre forward Jimmy Barret on the penalty spot. Jimmy bustles and barges his way through the defence and walks the ball over the line.

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I had the "Knowing" experience in one particular match. I was playing left wing for "Finishing shop" at "Raleigh" in a game at "Old Coach Road" against a team from Ilkeston, it was a cold day in November and a boring game IMMSC all of a sudden I found myself all alone and unmarked and still in our own half when our 'keeper punted the ball upfield, it bounced once in front of me and seemed to all of a sudden have an illuminated type of target on it ,(Like you see in WW2 film of a 'Spitfire' knockout a Dornier out of the sky) coming down in their half for the second bounce I just took aim and lamped it as hard as I could. Well it would be no exadgeration to claim that Schmiecal, Shilton, Clemence and Seaman all at their very best and standing on the line together, wouldn't have been able to stop it !!! it was still climbing as it hit the back of the net a full 45 yards away.!!!

Now the depressing part, it got dissalowed for offside , regardless of the fact that I was in our own half when it was kicked upfield !! and to add insult to injury , I got booked for protesting too loudly !! (Calling the ref a cheating blind b45t4rd , or somethig like it !!)

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