The name Peter Withe conjures up memories of a bygone era, when football was a proper man’s game and there were very few egos around the dressing room — and players drove around in Maestro’s instead of Maserati’s. The well-travelled striker saw action in South Africa and the United States before heading back to England to achieve considerable domestic success and pick up international honours.

At 6’2” and strong on the ball, Withe cut an imposing figure up front and his ability to shield the ball proved an asset to those who played alongside him. Having signed for Nottingham Forest in 1976, he won the Football League and Football League Cup with them before moving to Newcastle and then Aston Villa. The £500,000 transfer fee that took him to Villa Park in 1980 was a club record but it proved well justified as he helped them win the League title and the European Cup when he scored the only goal in a 1–0 defeat of Bayern Munich in 1982.

He was just shy of his 30th birthday when he received his first England cap, playing in the 1–0 friendly defeat to Brazil at Wembley in August 1981. He went on to make a further ten appearances for the Three Lions and was part of Ron Greenwood’s World Cup squad in 1982 although he did not play. He claimed a total of 11 caps for England, scoring one goal in the 1984 Euro Qualifier win over Hungary at Wembley.

Withe finished his career with Huddersfield Town in 1990 and had very successful stints as an international Manager with Thailand and Indonesia. He now lives in Perth, Australia.

Simon Goodyear

Libros