 Wark in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Wark[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1957-08-04)4 August 1957 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1984 | Ipswich Town | 266 | (94) |
| 1984–1988 | Liverpool | 70 | (28) |
| 1988–1990 | Ipswich Town | 89 | (23) |
| 1990–1991 | Middlesbrough | 32 | (2) |
| 1991–1997 | Ipswich Town | 154 | (18) |
| Total | 611 | (165) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977–1980 | Scotland U21 | 9 | (2) |
| 1979–1984 | Scotland | 29 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Wark (born 4 August 1957) is a Scottish formerfootballer who spent most of his playing time withIpswich Town. He won a record fourPlayer of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club'sHall of Fame. Wark had long spells at the club, which bookended his career, and a third, brief interlude dividing his briefer periods atLiverpool andMiddlesbrough. A versatile player, Wark played most of his professional games as amidfielder, although he sometimes played as acentral defender and on occasion as astriker.
Born inGlasgow, Wark representedScotland in international football, winning 29 caps and scoring seven goals. This included selection for Scotland in the1982 FIFA World Cup in which he made three appearances and scored twice.
During his playing career, Wark appeared in the filmEscape to Victory. Since retiring as a professional player in 1996, he has continued to work for Ipswich Town—since September 2008 in the corporate hospitality department. His autobiography,Wark On, was published in 2009.
Wark was born on 4 August 1957, inGlasgow Royal Maternity Hospital to parents Alex and Helen. The third of four children, he has an older sister Wilma, older brother Alex and younger brother Andrew.[3] The family lived in a four-storeytenement block inPartick. The family was impoverished: Wark's parents could not afford a cot and as a small child, he slept in a drawer from asideboard.[4] Althoughchristened John, Wark was soon referred to by his family as Johnny, a diminutive that stuck throughout his footballing career.[5]
In the early 1960s, the family moved to another tenement block, this time inScotstoun, and Wark's father secured employment at nearbyAlbion Motors. The new home accommodated a back yard in which Wark played football from the age of six. He said "[f]ootball seemed to occupy 99 per cent of my time as a youngster"[6] as he tried to emulate his brother Alex, who had become a professional atSt Mirren.[7] Wark attendedScotstoun Primary School, where he became captain of the football team. On moving to secondary school, he was selected for the Glasgow Schools representative team.[8] He also played forDrumchapel Amateurs at the under-14 level, where he was, for a period, managed byDavid Moyes' father, also named David.[9]
During Wark's time at Drumchapel, he attracted the attention ofCeltic. He trained with the club at theirParkhead ground, before receiving an invitation to sign schoolboy forms for the club. As a lifelongRangers fan with whom Celtic have anotable rivalry[10] and with interest from "several English clubs", includingBristol City,Manchester City andIpswich Town, Wark stalled on the offer.[11] He trialled with both Ipswich Town and Manchester City, and selected Ipswich when the latter remained non-committal. On arrival atPortman Road, Town managerBobby Robson, later described by Wark as the person in football "who had the single biggest influence on [him]",[12] personally welcomed him and Wark signed with the club as an apprentice.[13]
Wark started his career at Ipswich in the youth team, initially playing atleft back before moving to the centre of defence and occasionally occupying theright back position.[14] He signed up as a professional for the club on his 17th birthday.[15] Selected for the senior squad as a replacement for the injuredKevin Beattie, Wark made his first-team debut on 27 March 1975 in the 3–2FA Cup 6th round (3rd replay) victory overLeeds United;[16][nb 1] the game was played atLeicester City'sFilbert Street.[18] A nervous and homesick Wark was reassured by manager Robson:
"My debut was in the quarter-final of the FA Cup against the Leeds team ofGiles andBremner. He [Robson] said, 'I wouldn't put you in the team if I didn't think you were good enough'. He was a father figure as well because I was homesick. If it hadn't been for the boss I would have been straight back to Glasgow."[19]
Making four more first-team appearances in place of injured regulars, Wark ended the season still on the youth team, and experienced success in the final of theFA Youth Cup, defeatingWest Ham United 5–1.[20] He spent much of the 1975–76 season playing for the reserves, and was presented with the club's Young Player of the Year award, despite making just four appearances for the senior team.[21] Moving intomidfield, Wark made over 30 appearances in the 1976–77 season, scoring his first goals for the club, (10, in all)[2] taking overpenalty kicking duty; he also received his firstred card.[22]
In June 1977, Wark was selected forthe Scotland squad for the first time, for a friendly match againstEast Germany;[23] however, a torn hamstring sustained inpre-season training ended any chance of an international debut.[23] The injury also kept him out of first-team football until January 1978, when he returned for a match againstCardiff City in the third round of the1977–78 FA Cup.[23]
._Wark_(rechts)_maakt_1-0%2c_Bestanddeelnr_931-6178_(cropped).jpg)
Indifferent league performances that season meant that Ipswich finished just three points above therelegation zone,[24] but the season ended insuccess in the FA Cup. Wark scored in a 3–1 victory overWest Bromwich Albion in the semi-final,[25] and appeared in thefinal atWembley as part of a side that surprised favouritesArsenal,[26] winning the game 1–0.[27] Wark remarked, "We were underdogs but on the day we hammered them."[28] Wark did not touch the ball for the first 18 minutes of the match,[29] and as the players left the pitch at half-time,David Geddis said to Wark, "Make sure you hit it between theposts in the second-half. Avoid the white bits."[30] In the second half of the game, Wark "ignored Geddis' advice and hitPat Jennings' right post twice with almost identical swerving right-foot shots from outside the penalty area".[31]
Twice in the three seasons that followed, Ipswich came close to winning theLeague championship, but finished as runners-up to Liverpool andAston Villa, respectively. However, Ipswich did win the club's onlyEuropean trophy[32] when they lifted the1980–81 UEFA Cup. Wark set a competition record by scoring 14 goals—including two, one in each leg—in thefinal as Ipswich overcame Dutch sideAZ 67 Alkmaar 5–4 onaggregate.[33] Wark's record equalled the long-standing scoring record in a European competition, set byJosé Altafini ofA.C. Milan in the1962–63 European Cup.[34][nb 2] Wark's personal triumph that year was to win a European accolade, Young Player of the Year,[36] and gain the acclaim of his fellow professionals in England to earn thePFA Player of the Year award.[37] He ended the 1980–81 season with 36 goals.[2]
Wark continued to play for Ipswich, but after Robson left to becomeEngland manager in 1982, the side was gradually broken up by new managerBobby Ferguson.[38] Following a rejected demand for a wage increase, Wark submitted atransfer request, which was accepted.[39] He signed forLiverpool for £450,000 on 10 March 1984.[40] At the time, Liverpool had won the league title six times, the European Cup three times and the League Cup three times in the preceding eight seasons.[41]
Wark's final full season atPortman Road,1982–83, had seen him record the highest league goals tally of his career. He scored 20 goals in 42 league games, though it was not enough to prevent Ipswich from slipping to ninth place in the final table – their lowest position since finishing 18th in 1978.[42]
Themedical examination for Wark's transfer somewhat surprised him:
"I was rather taken aback when the doctor entered the Anfieldboot room", Wark said. "He was small in stature and I could not help but detect the smell of alcohol on his breath as he introduced himself to me. I was even more surprised when he announced we would stay put to conduct the medical examination. "He took myblood pressure, looked at the reading and muttered 'that's fine'. Then something happened that to this day I still cannot get over. He asked me to bend down and touch my toes. "Trying not to show my surprise, I did exactly as he asked and as I lifted my head he spoke again, this time to announce 'you've passed'. That was it, my Liverpool medical."[40]
Wark made his debut for the club on 31 March 1984 in a 2–0 league win againstWatford atVicarage Road,[43] and scored Liverpool's opening goal in the 58th minute.[44] Liverpool won the English league titlethat season, and Wark made sufficient appearances to earn himself a medal.[45] His unusual ability as a goalscoring midfielder was on display when he finished the1984–85 season as the club's top goalscorer, ahead of prolific strikerIan Rush,[46] with a tally of 27 goals in 62 appearances—a goal every 2.3 games.[2] Wark's season included threehat-tricks, one each in the League, the FA Cup and the European Cup.[47] Liverpool qualified for the1985 European Cup Final but the match was overshadowed by theHeysel Stadium Disaster, a tragedy Wark remembers as "a nightmare memory".[48]
In the1985–86 season, Wark made 18 appearances, scoring six times,[2] but missed out on the club's run-in to their League and FA Cup "double", due to a broken ankle suffered just after the turn of 1986, followed by anAchilles tendon injury.[49] He eventually regained his fitness but struggled to regain his place in the Liverpool team until injury toSteve McMahon allowed him back in.[49] Wark came on as a late substitute (but according to him, never touched the ball)[50] when Liverpool lost the1987 League Cup Final to Arsenal. No longer a part of managerKenny Dalglish's plans following the arrival of new midfielders includingJohn Barnes,[50] Wark was sold back to Ipswich on 4 January 1988 for £100,000.[51] In spite of more financially lucrative offers from bothWatford andCoventry City, he followed Bobby Robson's advice: "Money isn't everything—go where you will be happiest."[52] Wark left theMerseyside club with a record of 42 goals in 108 appearances, a goal every 2.6 games.[2]
Ipswich had been relegated 18 months before Wark's return to the club and were still playing in thesecond tier of English football.[52] During this second spell at Ipswich, Wark was close to being an ever-present in the side: he missed just two games in two seasons.[2] He was the club's equal top-scorer in the1988–89 season, sharing the achievement withforwardsDalian Atkinson andJason Dozzell.[53]
Following three seasons of mid-table finishes,[nb 3] managerJohn Duncan was sacked and replaced byJohn Lyall.[54] With his contract expiring, Wark received what he considered to be a "derisory"[55] offer from Lyall, which he declined. Once he became afree agent, Wark signed on afree transfer for Second Division rivalsMiddlesbrough in August 1990.[55] In his two additional seasons with Ipswich, Wark had scored 20 goals,[2] and won the club'sPlayer of the Year award in both seasons.[56]
Wark signed for Middlesbrough, the first club to show "a definite interest" in him, on a two-year contract, moving back to play in the centre of defence.[57] He made regular appearances and helped the team to seventh place by the end of theseason and qualification for theSecond Division play-offs.[58] Following a 1–1 draw withNotts County atAyresome Park, Wark was informed by managerColin Todd that he would not be selected for the second leg. Wark was outraged; Middlesbrough lost the second leg 1–0.[59] Todd departed from the club and was replaced byLennie Lawrence, who insisted that all players live "within an hour of Ayresome Park". Wark was still living in Ipswich at the time and following a "sensible agreement" with Lawrence, Wark's contract was terminated and he became a free agent again.[60]
Remaining without a club before the start of the1991–92 season, Wark trained with Ipswich to keep fit, and rejected interest in his services fromLeyton Orient,Colchester United andFalkirk.[61] When Ipswich suffered a succession of injuries among their defenders, they offered him a contract, initially on a week-by-week basis, before securing a year-long deal.[61] Wark made 43 appearances in the first season of his third spell with the club.[2] Early results in the season were excellent; the club won seven of their first 11 matches in the league.[62] In the FA Cup, Ipswich progressed to a fifth round encounter against Liverpool; when the tie went to a replay atAnfield, Wark received a standing ovation from both sets of fans.[63] Ipswich lost the match 3–2 after extra time, having led 2–1 in the first period. Ipswich went on to finish strongly in their league campaign and were crowned Second Division champions and promoted into the newly formedPremier League.[64] Wark ended the season as the club's Player of the Year for the third time.[56]
Wark agreed to a new one-year contract for the1992–93 season and was asked to feature in aSky Sports advertisement to promote the inaugural Premier League competition.[63] Ipswich were the only Premier League club to remain unbeaten after eight games (a sequence that included Wark's first Premier League goal in a 1–1 draw withTottenham Hotspur).[65] Ipswich went fourth in February and there was talk of finally winning that title that had eluded them more than once during Wark's first spell there, but 13 consecutive games without a win resulted a 16th-place finish in the table, just three points above the relegation zone, and only a win on the final day of the season made sure of their survival.[65][66] Wark, now aged 37, secured yet another one-year contract shortly before the end of the1993–94 season. Ipswich were saved from relegation in the last round of matches (for the second season running, another good start had given way to a late season slump), courtesy of aninjury time winning goal scored byMark Stein ofChelsea atStamford Bridge, which ensured that Ipswich's fellow strugglersSheffield United went down.[67] Wark went on to be voted the club's Player of the Year for a record fourth time.[56]
Ipswich and Wark fared worse in the1994–95 season. The club lost 9–0 toManchester United during a season in which Ipswich "recorded fewer victories and suffered more defeats than in any campaign in the club's history". He was sent off in the away game at Norwich, where the team lost 3–0.[68] Wark made fewer than 20 appearances in the following season, primarily because of a persistent foot injury.[68] Despite his appearance in three more matches in the1996–97 season, and atestimonial againstArsenal at Portman Road, Wark played his last professional match againstTranmere Rovers on 30 November 1996 at the age of 39. By this stage, he was the club's oldest player.[68] Of a total 826 league matches played by Wark as a professional, he made 679 appearances for Ipswich.[2] As of 5 June 2009[update], he is Ipswich Town's third-highest all-time scorer, with 179 goals scored for the club, despite rarely appearing as a striker.[2]
From 1979, Wark was selected to play for his country, usually as a defender,[69] eventually winning 29 caps forScotland and scoring seven goals.[2]Jock Stein was the Scotland manager who gave him his debut, in a game held on 19 May 1979, aBritish Home Championship match againstWales atNinian Park; Scotland lost 3–0.[70] Wark scored his first international goal a week later on 26 May, again in a British Home Championship game, this time againstEngland atWembley. Wark's opening effort was not enough, as Scotland were defeated 3–1.[71] A week later Wark played for Scotland in a friendly againstArgentina atHampden Park. However, the game is best remembered forDiego Maradona scoring his first international goal in helping Argentina to a comfortable 3–1 win.[72]
After a 3–1 home defeat byBelgium in December 1979, Wark was not selected again for his country until February 1981 for the1982 World Cup qualifying match away againstIsrael.[2] Following a successful qualification campaign,[73] Wark was included in the Scotland squad that went to the World Cup in Spain under Stein's leadership.[74] Wark played three games and scored two goals,[75] both of which were in Scotland's 5-2 opening match victory overNew Zealand.[76] Scotland were knocked out in the group stage.[77]
Wark's final appearance for Scotland came in September 1984, under Stein;[78] he was replaced in favour ofPaul McStay at halftime in a 6–1 victory overYugoslavia.[2]
Wark has married twice—first to Toula, on 1 July 1981,[79] with whom he has a son, Andrew, born in June 1983.[79] He married Karen atGretna Green in April 2009.[80]
In 1981, Wark was one of several Ipswich players who appeared alongside stars includingBobby Moore andPelé in theSecond World War football filmEscape to Victory, which starredSylvester Stallone,Michael Caine andMax von Sydow.[81] Wark played a character called Arthur Hayes,[82] but his only line of dialogue was dubbed due to his broadGlaswegian accent.[81]
Following his retirement from playing football professionally, Wark continued to live in Suffolk, like many other ex-Ipswich players, includingAllan Hunter,Mick Mills,Roger Osborne andMick Lambert.[83] Despite his retirement from the professional ranks, Wark continued playing football as an amateur, and signed forWoodbridge Town in 1999 alongside former Ipswich team-matePaul Mason.[84] He also played veterans football for Windsor and Eton,[84] played withSoccer AM'sBadgers team at theMillennium Stadium,[85] and has represented the Liverpool veterans in the Sky SportsMasters series.[86]
In 2005, Wark was voted as theBBC television programmeFootball Focus "all-time cult hero" by Ipswich Town fans.[87] In 2008Radio Suffolk announced that he would join their commentary team as a summariser, alongside former team-matesKevin Beattie andBryan Hamilton.[88] Wark was working in the corporate hospitality department at Ipswich Town in September 2008.[89] As of March 2014, he remains in that job.[90]
Wark's autobiographyWark On was published on 9 April 2009.[91] The book contained material that gained media interest. Wark sold his [FA Cup Final] tickets for cash to aticket tout.[92]
Wark played as a central defender,[93] midfielder and, occasionally, as a striker.[94]
Wark was not a "supremely talented" player, but, according to football journalistJim White, one who espoused team-work and team spirit: "There is no question that the 'one-for-all, all-for-one' mentality generated in the Anfield dressing room was the engine that drove the great team. With players such asAlan Kennedy, John Wark,Sammy Lee andCraig Johnston, nobody could claim this was a collection of top-notch operators in the manner, say, of the currentReal Madrid. Every week, they played as an entity greater than the sum of its parts."[95] He has been described as "a defensive midfielder with an astonishing goalscoring record".[96]
Over the years, Wark has become closely associated with his moustache.Owen Slot described the player as "Ipswich's immortal moustache",[97] while Wark himself notes "... it is something of a trademark, even if people are always calling meBruce ..."[98]
In 2006 Wark gained the final place in the poll100 Players Who Shook the Kop, conducted by the liverpoolfc.tv website.[99] The list was compiled as a result of a fan survey: "Over 110,000 supporters all nominated their own personal Top 10 players in order of impact made".[99]In 2007, theProfessional Footballers' Association polled fans of all Football League clubs, as to "their No 1 player" as part of the "centenary celebrations of the players' union"; Wark was the choice of Ipswich fans.[100] In the same year, Wark was one of four Ipswich Town players to be inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.[101]
Ipswich Town[2]
Liverpool[2]
Individual[2]
| Club | Season | Appearances | Goals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | |||
| Ipswich Town | 1974–75 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975–76 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976–77 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 1977–78 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 1978–79 | 42 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 9 | |
| 1979–80 | 41 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | |
| 1980–81 | 40 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 36 | |
| 1981–82 | 42 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 23 | |
| 1982–83 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 23 | |
| 1983–84 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | |
| Total | 266 | 37 | 24 | 27 | 134 | |
| Liverpool | 1983–84 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1984–85 | 40 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 27 | |
| 1985–86 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1986–87 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | |
| 1987–88 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 42 | |
| Ipswich Town | 1987–88 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1988–89 | 41 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | |
| 1989–90 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| Total | 89 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 25 | |
| Middlesbrough | 1990–91 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Ipswich Town | 1991–92 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 1992–93 | 37 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| 1993–94 | 38 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1994–95 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1995–96 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1996–97 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 154 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 20 | |
| Career total | 611 | 73 | 56 | 56 | 223 | |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1979 | 9 | 1 |
| 1980 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1981 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1982 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1983 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 29 | 7 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 May 1979 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1978–79 British Home Championship |
| 2 | 25 March 1981 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Northern Ireland | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 28 April 1982 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1981–82 British Home Championship |
| 4 | 15 June 1982 | Estadio La Rosaleda,Málaga, Spain |  New Zealand | 2–0 | 5–2 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||
| 6 | 13 October 1982 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  East Germany | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification |
| 7 | 30 March 1983 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Switzerland | 1–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
