 Aldridge in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John William Aldridge | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-09-18)18 September 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1979 | South Liverpool | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1984 | Newport County | 170 | (69) |
| 1984–1987 | Oxford United | 114 | (72) |
| 1987–1989 | Liverpool | 83 | (50) |
| 1989–1991 | Real Sociedad | 63 | (33) |
| 1991–1998 | Tranmere Rovers | 243 | (138) |
| Total | 673 | (362) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1996 | Republic of Ireland | 69 | (19) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1996–2001 | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a formerfootballer and manager. Nicknamed"Aldo",[2] he was a prolific, record-breakingstriker. His tally of 329Football League goals is thesixth-highest in the history of English football.[3]
During his early career, he worked his way up through the lower leagues, playing in every league from the oldFourth Division to the oldFirst Division. Initially signed as a replacement forIan Rush, Aldridge spent over two successful seasons atLiverpool, winning the league andFA Cup once, and narrowly missing out on a second league title. Aldridge spent two seasons atReal Sociedad, becoming the first non-Basque player to sign for the club in several decades as they abandoned theirselective recruitment policy. In 1991, he returned to England to play forTranmere Rovers, becoming their player-manager in 1996. He retired from playing in 1998 and resigned as manager in 2001 and has not managed since.
A Liverpudlian by birth, he was recruited to play for theRepublic of Ireland as part ofJack Charlton's"Granny Rule" policy: his great-grandmother was fromAthlone, and travelled to Liverpool to settle in the 19th century.[4][5] His career with Ireland coincided with their most successful period in international football, and he played at twoWorld Cups.[6][7]
Aldridge took a long time to reach the top level of the English game. He began his career in the mid-1970s at non-leagueSouth Liverpool, before getting his break in the professional game when, aged 20, he signed forNewport County in theFourth Division on 2 May 1979 for £3,500.
While atSomerton Park, he played 198 times scoring 87 goals, a goal every2+1⁄4 games, including seven goals in twelveFA Cup matches. He partneredTommy Tynan andDave Gwyther for four years at Somerton Park, helping Newport to promotion from the Fourth Division andWelsh Cup glory in his first season, and to reach the quarter-finals of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup in his second.
His first season with County, the1979–80 season, saw him score fourteen goals from 38 games as his side won the Welsh Cup and gained promotion to the Third Division. A year later, he featured in the side that achieved a notable European run. In the league, he scored seven goals in 27 league games. He scored eleven goals in 36 games in the1981–82 season, but in the1982–83 season, he did better still with seventeen goals from 41 games as County narrowly missed out on promotion to the second tier.[8]
In the1983–84 season, with Tynan having departed, Aldridge had scored 26 times by the end of February, and County were still in theThird Division.[9]
Aldridge was sold toOxford United on 21 March 1984,[10] when the club was preparing for their Third Division promotion run-in under the management ofJim Smith. He made his debut on 7 April 1984, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win overWalsall atFellows Park. His first goal was in the 5–0 home win againstBolton Wanderers on 20 April 1984.
He was used sparingly in the run-in to the Third Division title but the following season forged a partnership withBilly Hamilton and became the first Second Division player for nineteen years to score 30 goals. His 34 goals (30 in the league) in 1984–85 broke the club's goalscoring record for a single season,[11] as Oxford gained promotion to the oldFirst Division for the first time. Aldridge also picked up a Second Division title medal.
In his 27th year, Aldridge finally had the chance to play in the First Division. He was the third-highest scorer in the division (only surpassed byGary Lineker andFrank McAvennie) and netted six goals in United'sLeague Cup-winning run in 1986 which culminated in a 3–0 victory overQueens Park Rangers in the final at Wembley. This is Oxford's only major trophy to date. His 23 goals from 39 games also assisted in Oxford avoiding relegation.
Aldridge ended up playing 141 times for Oxford, scoring 90 goals[10] – a goal every 1.5 games – including fourteen League Cup goals in 17 ties. He scored four goals againstGillingham in the League Cup on 24 September 1986 and three hat-tricks, the first in the 5–2 victory overLeeds United on 24 November 1984. He also scored one of the two Oxford goals that defeatedManchester United inAlex Ferguson's first game as manager, on 8 November 1986, maintaining his fine form into the1986–87 season.[12]
In early 1987, Liverpool were losing strikerIan Rush toJuventus at the end of the1986–87 season and needed a proven and experienced replacement. He signed forKenny Dalglish's side on 27 January 1987 for £750,000 and was initially used as a partner for Rush (filling a position previously occupied by player-manager Dalglish and fellow strikerPaul Walsh) and as an occasional substitute. Dalglish had been interested in signing other strikers, includingChelsea'sDavid Speedie andArsenal'sCharlie Nicholas, for a number of months before settling on Aldridge.[13] By the time of his transfer to Liverpool in that1986–87 season, Aldridge had already scored fifteen goals for Oxford in 25 games.[8]
Liverpool ended the season trophyless, including a Wembley defeat to Arsenal in theLeague Cup final, for which Aldridge was ineligible.
Aldridge made his debut for Liverpool on 21 February 1987, when he came on as a 46th-minute substitute forCraig Johnston in a 2–2 league draw withAston Villa atVilla Park.[14] His first goal for his new club came a week later on 28 February, in the 60th minute, the only goal of the game as Liverpool beatSouthampton in a league match atAnfield.[15]
Aldridge scored 26 goals in a successful season for Liverpool, including a strike in each of the first nine games, forming a 10-match scoring run as he had scored in his final league appearance of the previous season.[16]
He linked up with new signingsPeter Beardsley andJohn Barnes as Liverpool lost only twice in theleague season and went unbeaten for the first 29 matches. Liverpool won the 1988 league title with a nine-point lead over their nearest rivalsManchester United, although the gap between Liverpool and their nearest contenders was considerably wider for much of the season.
Aldridge scored both goals in the club'sFA Cup semi-final againstNottingham Forest.[17] WithWimbledon 1–0 up inthe FA Cup final at Wembley, midway through the second half, Liverpool were awarded a spot-kick when Aldridge himself was fouled, and he took the resulting penalty. Aldridge had scored all eleven of his penalty kicks that season, but goalkeeperDave Beasant noticed that he always placed the ball to the keeper's left. Aldridge did, as predicted, place the penalty to Beasant's left, and the keeper sprang across to save it.[18] He became the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in a Wembley FA Cup final. Aldridge's failure was his first penalty miss for Liverpool. He was substituted shortly afterwards as Liverpool lost 1–0.
Thefollowing season was tough and eventful for Aldridge. Rush failed to settle in Italy and Liverpool paid £2.8 million to bring him back to Anfield just before the season started. Dalglish played Aldridge and Rush together. In theCharity Shield match against Wimbledon at Wembley, Aldridge started the match and scored both Liverpool goals in a 2–1 win. Aldridge maintained his scoring streak, often playing alongside both Rush and Beardsley in attack, while Rush missed a number of games or started games on the bench due to injuries. In the first league game of the season a week later, Aldridge scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win atCharlton Athletic.[19] He scored another league hat-trick on 14 March, in the 5–0 home win overLuton Town, which took his league tally for the season to fifteen goals. He reached the twenty-goal mark on 13 May in a 2–1 win at Wimbledon, and finished the season as the club's top scorer with 22 goals in the league, eight in the FA Cup, two in the League Cup, and two in the Charity Shield, amounting to 34 in all competitions.[19]
In the1989 FA Cup final at Wembley, againstMerseyside rivalsEverton, Aldridge scored after four minutes with his first touch of the ball. Rush, who replaced Aldridge as a substitute, scored twice inextra time to earn Liverpool a 3–2 victory. Aldridge scored 21 league goals, and 31 in all competitions, putting him among the highest scorers in the first division that season. The League and FA Cupdouble, achieved by Liverpool in 1986, was again possible, with adeciding game against Arsenal to come at Anfield. Aldridge played in a game which would guarantee Liverpool the title as long as Arsenal failed to win by two clear goals. 1–0 down in injury time, Liverpool conceded another goal toMichael Thomas with virtually the last kick of the season, thus losing the League title.
Aldridge played 104 times for Liverpool, scoring 63 goals, 50 of them in the league.[20]
Thefollowing 1989–90 season, Kenny Dalglish reverted to a 4–4–2 formation with Rush and Beardsley as first-choice strikers. Liverpool accepted an offer of £1 million fromLa Liga sideReal Sociedad in early September 1989, with Aldridge having played twice in the league for Liverpool that season.
This transfer made Aldridge the first non-Basque player to sign for Sociedad in several decades as they changed their selective recruitment policy.[10][21][22]
Aldridge scored 40 goals in 75 appearances for Sociedad over two seasons,[21] with the club encouraged to make more signings from English football in 1990, namelyDalian Atkinson andKevin Richardson. Despite his success, some Sociedad fans initially did not accept him because he was a non-Basque. Insulting graffiti was written on the stadium, a fan spat on the ground when Aldridge passed in the street, and his family found it hard to adapt to the different lifestyle in the Basque country.[23] Aldridge handed in a transfer request in 1991 to the newly appointed managerJohn Toshack – another former Liverpool striker.[24]
Aldridge returned to Merseyside on 11 July 1991 withTranmere Rovers, in a £250,000 deal. While there he scored a club-record 40 goals in hisfirst season atPrenton Park – scoring his 40th goal against former club Oxford United. Tranmere, who were playing in the Second Division for the first time in more than fifty years, achieved a mid-table finish in the league.
He made his debut for Rovers, aged 32, on 17 August 1991, scoring both the goals in a 2–0 victory overBrighton & Hove Albion at theGoldstone Ground. In seven years as a Tranmere player, he amassed a total of 294 appearances, scoring 174 goals, an average of one goal every 1.7 games, including 22 goals from 25 League Cup ties. Aldridge retired at the end of the1997–98 season, scoring a brace in his final game as a professional againstWolverhampton Wanderers.[25]
Aldridge's goals helped Tranmere reach their highest position ever in the league – top-six finishes in the second tier in 1993, 1994 and 1995 – which delivered playoff places each time, but all of them ended in semi-final defeats. He also came close to winning another major trophy as Rovers took Aston Villa to a penalty shoot-out in the1993–94 League Cup semi-finals before bowing out to the eventual competition winners.
During his career in England alone, Aldridge played 739 games, scoring 411 times – an average of one goal every 1.8 games.
On 12 March 1996, with the resignation ofJohn King after nine years as manager, Aldridge became player-manager of Tranmere, before finally giving up playing and concentrating on the management side two years later. In his first season in charge, Rovers finished the1995–96 season in thirteenth place in Division One.[26]
Under Aldridge, Tranmere reached the2000 Football League Cup final (which they lost toLeicester City) and consecutiveFA Cup quarter-finals in 2000 and 2001. During the 2000 League Cup final, Aldridge slapped the face of Leicester'sTheo Zagorakis after he applauded the referee's decision to send offClint Hill.[27] The slap was seen byFA officials and he was charged with misconduct.[28] Aldridge said of incident: "I felt he [Zagorakis] had disrespected Clint on one of the biggest occasions of his career so I slapped him".[27] Tranmere were relegated into English football'sthird tier in 2001. Aldridge resigned in March 2001, just before Rovers' fate was sealed.[29]
Aldridge had already been recruited to play for theRepublic of Ireland by the time he was approached by Liverpool at the start of 1987, qualifying through his grandmother, who was fromAthlone.[30] (When the Football Association of Ireland came looking for him they found out thatRay Houghton, who also played for Oxford at the time, was also eligible.) He made his debut, aged 27 on 26 March 1986 againstWales atLansdowne Road in a 1–0 defeat.[31] The match was the first under new managerJack Charlton.
That summer, Aldridge played for the Irish side which had qualified, under Charlton, forEuro 88 inWest Germany, their first-ever major finals. They duly beatEngland 1–0, and drew 1–1 with theSoviet Union, but went out of the competition after a defeat by eventual championsthe Netherlands.[32] Aldridge was struggling at international level at this time – he was playing well as a team performer, and Charlton was never unhappy, but it took him 20 matches to score his first international goal, which came againstTunisia at Lansdowne Road on 19 October 1988.[33]
Aldridge withdrew himself from Ireland's World Cup qualifying tie withSpain at Lansdowne Road on 26 April 1989, as he felt unable to participate in the game due to his grief over the Hillsborough disaster.[34] The game ended in a 1–0 win for Ireland.[35] Aldridge finally scored his first goals at competitive level when he scored twice in a 2–0 win away overMalta on 15 November 1989, which sealed Ireland'squalification for the1990 FIFA World Cup.[36]
Aldridge played a crucial role in Ireland's path to thequarter-finals of the1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Though he had finally opened his goal account for his country, he failed to score at the World Cup (although he had a goal disallowed in a 1–1 draw with the Netherlands) and Ireland lost tothe host nation in the last eight. Aldridge played every game but was substituted in all of his five appearances.
Ireland failed to qualify forEuro 92, despite going through their group unbeaten. Aldridge scored three times in qualification, all three goals coming in Ireland's opening 5–0 win overTurkey at Lansdowne Road. Despite this setback, Aldridge helped Ireland to qualify for the1994 FIFA World Cup: he scored six times in qualifying including a hat-trick in a 4–0 win overLatvia.
Aldridge's international career with Ireland is also remembered for an off-pitch incident at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Trailing 2–0 toMexico in agroup game inOrlando, Florida, Charlton tried to send Aldridge on as a substitute but was delayed by a perceived sluggishness from the officials. Manager and player both launchedexpletive-laden tirades which were clearly heard by television viewers, with Aldridge having to be restrained from attacking thefourth official and a FIFA representative. When Aldridge finally was allowed on, after six full minutes of trying, he scored a goal to give Ireland a chance to get back into the game. After the game Aldridge was fined $2,500 by FIFA for unsporting behaviour. Despite losing the game 2–1, Aldridge's goal was crucial in securing qualification for the second round.[37] All four teams in the group had finished with the same number of points and the samegoal difference, Ireland's qualification was at the expense ofNorway who had scored just one goal fewer.
Aldridge continued to play for Ireland in thequalifying stages ofEuro 96. Despite a strong start to the group, Ireland failed to qualify. Aldridge scored twice in a 3–0 win away to Latvia in Ireland's opening game and was also on the scoresheet in a 4–0 away win againstNorthern Ireland. In Ireland's final home game of the group, Aldridge scored twice against Latvia in a 2–1 win, but Ireland failed to qualify after finishing second and losing a subsequentplayoff to theNetherlands atAnfield in December 1995. Aldridge at this time was one goal short of the 20-goal record held byFrank Stapleton, but despite playing in the early stages ofqualifying for the1998 FIFA World Cup, he failed to score again to match the record and retired in 1996 to concentrate on managing Tranmere Rovers. His final game was a 3–0 win againstMacedonia on 9 October 1996, when he came on as a substitute.
Overall, Aldridge scored nineteen goals in sixty-nine matches spanning over a decade; eight of his nineteen goals came against Latvia.
Aldridge is now a pundit with various media organisations – most notably withRadio City 96.7 where he summarises on the station's Liverpool commentaries home and away. He also continues to play in the Liverpool veterans' team. In 1998, he asked Hyder Jawad to ghost-write his autobiography.John Aldridge: My Story was published by Hodder & Stoughton the year after.
In 2006, he gained media celebrity in Ireland by appearing inRTÉ'sCharity You're A Star competition. Despite not having a natural singing voice, Aldridge won the competition and in the process raised money for his nominated charityTemple Street Children's Hospital.[38]
Aldridge was a crowd favourite everywhere he went, especially onMerseyside where being a local lad helped his cause. This was confirmed when a poll conducted by theofficial Liverpool F.C. website during the summer of 2006 placed him in 26th position. 110,000 Liverpool supporters worldwide took part in the poll named100 Players Who Shook The Kop, where they were asked to name their favourite Reds of all time.
In March 2008, Aldridge took part in the autobiography audio CD series60 minutes with John Aldridge. He spoke in depth about his career with60 minutes presenter David Knight and later took part in a major signing session, signing 2000 copies of the CD in support of the Everyman appeal charity.[39]
Aldridge was allegedly involved in theNews of the World hacking scandal in the mid-2000s. "They tell me I was hacked five or six years ago. I have no idea why they should go after me. I'm not exactly high profile."[40]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other[a] | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Newport County | 1979–80 | Fourth Division | 38 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 44 | 16 | |||
| 1980–81 | Third Division | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 12 | ||
| 1981–82 | Third Division | 36 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 39 | 12 | |||||
| 1982–83 | Third Division | 41 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 55 | 21 | ||||
| 1983–84 | Third Division | 28 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 27 | ||||
| Total | 170 | 69 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 213 | 88 | |||
| Oxford United | 1983–84 | Third Division | 8 | 4 | – | 8 | 4 | ||||||||
| 1984–85 | Second Division | 42 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | – | 50 | 34 | |||||
| 1985–86 | First Division | 39 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 31 | ||||
| 1986–87 | First Division | 25 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 21 | ||||||
| Total | 114 | 72 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 142 | 90 | |||
| Liverpool | 1986–87 | First Division | 10 | 2 | 10 | 2 | |||||||||
| 1987–88 | First Division | 36 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 29 | ||||||
| 1988–89 | First Division | 35 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 47 | 31 | ||||
| 1989–90 | First Division | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| Total | 83 | 50 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 104 | 63 | |||
| Real Sociedad | 1989–90 | La Liga | 28 | 16 | 6 | 6 | – | 34 | 22 | ||||||
| 1990–91 | La Liga | 35 | 17 | 2 | 0 | – | 4 | 1 | 41 | 18 | |||||
| Total | 63 | 33 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 75 | 40 | |||||||
| Tranmere Rovers | 1991–92 | Second Division | 43 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | – | 49 | 30 | ||||
| 1992–93 | First Division | 31 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 31 | 21 | |||||
| 1993–94 | First Division | 34 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | – | 34 | 21 | |||||
| 1994–95 | First Division | 33 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 33 | 24 | |||||
| 1995–96 | First Division | 45 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | – | 45 | 27 | |||||
| 1996–97 | First Division | 43 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | 48 | 20 | |||||
| 1997–98 | First Division | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 243 | 138 | 9 | 3 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 275 | 161 | |||
| Career total | 673 | 362 | 47 | 24 | 62 | 44 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 811 | 444 | |||
| Republic of Ireland[41] | Year | Friendlies | Competitive | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| 1986 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 3 | |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 5 | |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 17 | 2 | 52 | 17 | 69 | 19 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 October 1988 | Lansdowne Road,Dublin, Ireland |  Tunisia | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 15 November 1989 | Ta' Qali National Stadium,Attard, Malta |  Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 17 October 1990 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland |  Turkey | 1–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||
| 6 | 5–0 | |||||
| 7 | 25 March 1992 |  Switzerland | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | |
| 8 | 26 May 1992 |  Albania | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 9 | 9 September 1992 |  Latvia | 2–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 10 | 3–0 | |||||
| 11 | 4–0 | |||||
| 12 | 9 June 1993 | Daugava Stadium,Riga, Latvia | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 13 | 8 September 1993 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 14 | 24 June 1994 | Citrus Bowl,Orlando, United States |  Mexico | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 15 | 7 September 1994 | Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Latvia | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 16 | 3–0 | |||||
| 17 | 16 November 1994 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 18 | 11 October 1995 | Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland | Latvia | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 19 | 2–0 |
Newport County
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