 Primus in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Linvoy Stephen Primus[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-09-14)14 September 1973 (age 51)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Forest Gate, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1992 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Charlton Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Barnet | 127 | (7) |
| 1997–2000 | Reading | 94 | (1) |
| 2000–2009 | Portsmouth | 198 | (5) |
| 2008 | →Charlton Athletic (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| Total | 433 | (14) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Linvoy Stephen PrimusMBE (born 14 September 1973) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as adefender.
Born inForest Gate, England, to Caribbean-born parents, Primus began his professional career atCharlton Athletic, where he made four league appearances. Primus moved on afree transfer toBarnet and established himself as afirst team regular in the lower divisions of English football before earning a £250,000 transfer toReading.
ABosman transfer to Portsmouth followed after three successful seasons at theBerkshire-based club. Initially, Primus struggled to break into the team and had his progress hindered by injuries. But the2002–03 season signaled a change in direction as Primus broke into the first team and won Portsmouth fan's player of the season as well as thePFA Fans' Player of the Year for his division. For the next three seasons Primus was in and out of the first team and worked under three managers:Harry Redknapp,Velimir Zajec andAlain Perrin. The2006–07 season was the last injury-free season for Primus as a career-threatening knee injury meant he would not make an appearance thefollowing season. Primus went out on loan to former club Charlton and made 10 appearances and one further appearance for Portsmouth before retiring through injury in December 2009. The Milton End stand atFratton Park was renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.
Primus, who is married and has three children, is known for his Christian charity work. He is involved in the Christian charity 'Faith & Football' and walked theGreat Wall of China to raise £100,000 for their cause. Other charitable causes he has been involved in are theAlpha course, a cinema advertisement about Christianity and the formation of aprayer group at Portsmouth. In 2007, he released his autobiography, titledTransformed, which details hisconversion to Christianity.
Primus was born the first child of Newton and Pauline Primus in Forest Gate Hospital,Forest Gate, Greater London on 14 September 1973.[3][4] His Jamaican-born mother worked as an orderly at Whipps Cross Hospital in nearbyLeytonstone. Primus' father, who was born inSt. Vincent and the Grenadines, worked for Thames Water as an engineer.[5] His parents are practising Christians who took Linvoy to church and Sunday school when he was young. In his autobiography he wrote that church was "a cold unwelcoming place" for him as a child but that it "instilled in [him] a very strong sense of right and wrong".[6]
Primus attributed his desire to become a footballer from watchingRicky Villa's winning goal forTottenham Hotspur againstManchester City in the1981 FA Cup Final Replay.[6] He played his first game of football two years later in a match between twoCub Scout groups and, because of his performance, he was offered a trial with the Newham District Schools under-11's by one of the Cub Scout leaders who was the manager of the Newham team. Primus was astriker orright winger at this time; in the team was future Portsmouth teammateSol Campbell who played inmidfield.[7]
In Primus' early teenage years he played for his localSunday league football club, Pretoria, based inCanning Town after being introduced by a school friend.Charlton Athletic arranged afriendly match with Pretoria and Primus was offered the chance to join the Charlton associate schoolboys which he took. For the last two years of his school life, Primus traveled toGreenwich twice a week to train with the team; in addition to this he played matches on a Sunday against the schoolboy teams of clubs such asMaidstone United andDover Athletic.[8][9] Primus initially struggled to cope; he cited the "dog eat dog" nature and the "ambitious and aggressive" parents as factors but nevertheless he decided to see it through later remarking that it was a "very strong character building experience".[10]
After finishing hisGCSEs, where he achieved three A grades,[11] Primus signed a two-year apprenticeship with Charlton. He also received an offer fromWest Ham United, who were in a higher division, but he rejected this because he felt his first team opportunities would be greater at Charlton.[9] Primus was playing in various positions until the club's youth team coach,Colin Clarke, decided that he should play as acentre back, "I see you as a centre back, that way you can see everything you want in front of you".[12]
Under theYouth Training Scheme, Primus was earning £35 a week while training with theyouth andreserve teams as well as having cleaning duties. He had to study Leisure Management at a nearby college which he disliked. Primus, along withJermaine Darlington, was chosen to travel to Charlton's temporary stadiumSelhurst Park to lay out the kits and the boots for the senior players. He admitted this may have earned him "Brownie points" with the youth management.[13] Primus began playing in the reserves under managerAlan Curbishley and, at the end of his apprenticeship, Primus was offered a one-year professional contract by the new youth team coachJohn Cartwright. Darlington was the only other apprentice who was offered a contract.[14]
Due to injuries to first team centre backsSimon Webster andDarren Pitcher, Primus made his professional debut againstBirmingham City. The match took place at their substitute stadiumUpton Park in November 1992 and Primus was awardedman of the match for his performance. Primus played the next two matches againstLeicester City andBrentford but was disappointed with his performances.[15] Primus made two further first team appearances in the1992–93 season but soon found himself lower in the pecking order after other players returned from injury and Primus got injured.[16] He felt that he had to leave the club: "I really felt as though I wasn't wanted and that my days were numbered."[17]
Despite this, he signed a one-year extension with the Greenwich-based club. However, he suffered another muscle injury, and with further competition for places in the form ofDean Chandler andRichard Rufus, he failed to make a single appearance for Charlton in the1993–94 season. He was released at the end of it.[18]
Primus first rejected a trial withCrewe Alexandra before accepting one withCardiff City. Just three days before his trial with Cardiff was set to beginRay Clemence, theBarnet manager, offered Primus a two-year contract with the club. It was later revealed that Clemence was told by his assistant, Terry Harvey, that he should sign him immediately: "Get in now and sign him, if he goes down to Cardiff and sees their stadium he will sign for them."[19] Primus was determined to prove Charlton wrong and says he "grew from a boy to a man" at Barnet. This was also a time when depression was common for Primus, and he became addicted toalcohol and drugs such asecstasy andLSD.[9][20]
In the second game of the1994–95 season againstLeyton Orient, Primus made his debut as asubstitute coming on for the injuredMark Newson. His next appearance for Barnet, againstScarborough, was described as the "worst performance of [his] career" in his autobiography. He went on to say that he was "weighed down by the burden of expectation" and heard someone say he was the "worst player we've ever had at Barnet". He was often nervous before matches and recited theLord's Prayer as a way of coping with hisanxiety.[21] At the end of the season, Primus was runner-up in the voting for the Player of the Season and was man of the match on several occasions.[22] Barnet had a poor start to thenext season and they were at the bottom of the table in mid-September. After beatingNorthampton Town 2–0, Barnet went on an 11-game winning streak which ended atColchester United despite Primus scoring a goal.[23] He would go on to score five goals in the season; more than any other season in his career.[16] Once again, he was runner-up in the Player of the Season award, this time to thegoalkeeperMaik Taylor.[24]
Histhird season for the club was an unsettled one. The club went through three different managers after the departure of Clemence:Terry Bullivant (twice),Terry Gibson andAlan Mullery. Nevertheless, Barnet narrowly avoidedrelegation to theConference and Primus was awarded the Player of the Season and given thecaptaincy after a season which saw him make 46 league appearances. After Bullivant left forReading, however, Primus became unsettled and said "[I was] hankering after a move to join Terry [Bullivant] and Pards [Alan Pardew] at Reading".[25]
Primus was signed for £500,000 at the start of the1997–98 season although he found himself being sued by the Stellar Sports Agency after the £8,000 fee was not paid because of difficulties with Primus' agent.[26] Joining him in Berkshire was Barnet teammateLee Hodges.[27] Primus partneredKeith McPherson in defence but Reading started the season poorly with just one point from the first six games despite Primus saying "I played well from the word go".[28] Due to an injury crisis, Reading lost their penultimate league match atNottingham Forest and were relegated fromDivision One. This was Primus' first experience of relegation.[29] Earlier in the season Primus had scored his first and what turned out be only Reading goal in the home match against Forest.[30]
In thenext season, Reading finished 10th and faced strong competition from new signingElroy Kromheer, but Primus became disillusioned at the financial situation he was in. He was on £1,500 a week and commented "[new signings were] on twice the wages I was being paid and I had seen the lifestyles they were enjoying".[31] Primus was promised an improved contract, however no such contract was given to him over the summer. By popular demand, managerTommy Burns was replaced byAlan Pardew. Fitness problems prevented Primus from getting much first team football at the start of the1999–2000 season until a change of diet helped him regain stamina. As the season progressed, the club offered Primus a new contract which he dismissed as "derisory" saying the club was "taking advantage of [his] good nature".[32]
At the end of the season, Primus was free to leave under theBosman ruling and received an offer fromLuton Town which he accepted.Lennie Lawrence, the manager who bidded for Primus was sacked soon afterwards, however, and the deal was cancelled to the dismay of Primus who said he felt as if "[his] whole world had collapsed". In the aftermath, Pardew put him in contact withPortsmouth managerTony Pulis and a trial was agreed.[33]
After friendly matches withDorchester Town andExeter City, Primus signed a contract with Portsmouth although he was disappointed with the low wages in comparison to other players.[34] He did not get his Portsmouth career off to a good start, scoring anown goal on his debut away atSheffield United.[35] Pulis was sacked early on in the2000–01 season after a poor start and was replaced by fans' favouriteSteve Claridge.[36] Portsmouth were still near the relegation zone after a poor run of form that also saw Primus beingsent off for the first time in his career for a foul onFulham'sLouis Saha.[37][38]Gilmore's groin ruled him out of action for five months from November of that season,[37] during which Claridge was replaced byGraham Rix,[39] this was after Primus formed a partnership with Jamaican internationalDarren Moore.[40] After a defeat toCrystal Palace (which Primus described as the "lowest point of [his] career"),[41] Portsmouth needed a victory overBarnsley to stay in Division One and they duly won 3–0 with Huddersfield being relegated after their final day defeat. After the conclusion of the season, Primus fell out with Rix as he was unsure about whether Rix thought he had a future at the club.[42]
Thenext season started with the death of goalkeeperAaron Flahavan and the departure of Primus' close friend Moore toWest Bromwich Albion.[43] Primus struggled to get a game under Rix but the appointment ofHarry Redknapp in March 2002 gave him a new lease of life and he ended that season with two league goals in games againstBradford City and Barnsley.[44][45]
Despite originally being told by Redknapp he was not ofDivision One standard, let alone suitable for thePremier League, Primus proved his manager wrong by seizing his chance when other players missed out through injury and suspension. By the end of the2002–03 season he had become a vital member of the side that won the Division One title, winning the Portsmouth fans' player of the season as well as thePFA accolade for Division One.[46][47] He scored once that season for Portsmouth in the League Cup againstPeterborough United.[48] Primus credits his renaissance to his conversion to Christianity after a friend of his wife's invited him to church.[49]
Despite the previous season's heroics, Primus was not used regularly in the early part of Portsmouth's first Premier League season. Harry Redknapp had ditched his 3–5–2 formation in favour of the more conventional 4–4–2 and partnered new record signingDejan Stefanović withArjan de Zeeuw. During December, Portsmouth were in a terrible run of form and Redknapp decided to bring one of his most reliable players back into his plans for thederby match withSouthampton. In spite of a 3–0 loss, Primus retained his starting place for the remainder of the season.
The following season saw Primus remain a regular member of the Portsmouth team under first Redknapp and then both his successors,Velimir Zajec andAlain Perrin. He scored his first Premier League goal at Crystal Palace onBoxing Day 2004.[50] He scored again on Boxing Day in 2006, when grabbing two headed goals againstWest Ham United.[51]
Although Primus was a regular member of Perrin's team at the end of the2004–05 season and captained the side on occasions during pre-season, he rarely featured until Perrin's sacking in November. The return ofHarry Redknapp, who had been won over by his performances and was now one of his biggest admirers, to Portsmouth lead to Primus' immediate return to the side, and he was ever present in the side that achieved Premiership survival in the last 10 games of the season. Primus remained a regular in the Portsmouth defence for the2006–07 season, partnering England internationalSol Campbell in the centre of defence,[52][53] and Redknapp hailed him as the unofficial Player of the Season; the official winner of the award wasDavid James.[53][54] He failed to make an appearance in 2007–08 due to a career threatening knee injury. He was treated with surgery performed by Dr.Richard Steadman who is known to have saved the careers of many footballers, includingAlan Shearer andRonaldo. After the operation, Primus commented "The difference between success and failure is what you do afterwards in your rehabilitation, not necessarily the actual operation."[55] Despite his injury, he still managed to earn a new one-year deal at Portsmouth in May 2008.[56]
In August 2008, Primus returned toCharlton Athletic on a loan deal, however the deal almost collapsed as negotiations broke down between Portsmouth managerHarry Redknapp and Charlton manager Alan Pardew. Pardew wanted the centre half for the whole of the2008–09 season, but Redknapp was only happy to loan him out until Christmas of 2008 to gain match fitness, and it appeared the deal would be called off by Portsmouth.[57] Finally Charlton agreed to the terms and Primus move to the Valley on a three-month loan days before the transfer window closed.[58] He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 5–2 home defeat to Sheffield United. The result ultimately led to the sacking of manager Alan Pardew.[59] He played 10 matches for theChampionship (new name for Division One) club before returning to Portsmouth for the rest of the 2008–09 season.[16] He was due to play in a crucial match againstDerby County, however the match was postponed bySky until after the expiration of his loan; Primus' loan had to be rearranged and a deal was agreed by both clubs for the loan to expire after the match against Derby.[60]
"He has been a great servant to the club and is loved by everyone here and in the city."
After a near two-year absence, Primus made a comeback to the Portsmouth first team on 18 May 2009, the penultimate game of the 2008–09 season, as a late substitute appearance againstSunderland at Fratton Park. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd and was cheered each time he touched the ball.[62]
Primus signed a one-year extension to his contract with Portsmouth in July 2009. Primus also agreed to take on an ambassadorial and advisory role to help guide emerging talent at Portsmouth, as well as a playing role.[63] On 8 December 2009, Primus announced his retirement due to a knee injury. Portsmouth's chief executivePeter Storrie confirmed that Primus would retain his ambassadorial role.[61]
Following histestimonial on 31 July 2010, Portsmouth announced that the Milton End Stand atFratton Park would be renamed the 'Linvoy Primus Community Stand' because of his outstanding services to the club.[64]
At the age of 17, Primus met future wife Trish through a mutual friend.[17] Much to the chagrin of Primus' parents, they decided to have a child after 18 months. The footballer said in his autobiography, "Up until then I had been the model son and had brought no trouble to their door, but now they were upset at what they saw as my rebellion".[65] In November 1993, their first son was born.[66] Their daughterAtlanta, born in April 1997, plays forSouthampton FC played in theFA Women's Championship.[67] She previously represented England at the youth level and played in the United States forCalifornia State University-Fullerton andChelsea Women[68] Primus and Trish married on 9 June 1999.[69] Their third child, and second son, was born in 2002.[70]
In 2007, he released his autobiography,Transformed, which was co-written by Peter Jeffs.[71] It received generally positive reviews:Christianity Magazine said the book was a "disarmingly honest account of Primus's triumphs and struggles on and off the pitch"[72] whileFourFourTwo described it as "an antidote to the 'me-me-me' tales that weigh down the shelves".[73] Rival football magazineWhen Saturday Comes was more critical, pointing out its "sometimes ungrammatical and often ponderous style" and going on to say "[the] book is also full of cliches".[74]
Trish suffered from depression and was introduced to Christianity by stable owners, Keith and Sam, who invited the Primus family to join them at church on a Sunday. Initially, Primus was reluctant but Trish convinced him. Primus remarked that it was a case of "well church is the last place we'd go, but why not?" The church was more "laid-back" than the one that Primus attended as a child and he, with the rest of his family, became regular churchgoers in 2001.[75] Trish's depression was lifted and Primusconverted to Christianity later that year. "In my heart I felt whole and complete, and I wanted to read the Bible at every opportunity."[9] According to his autobiography, Primus is able tospeak in tongues.[76]
"Having travelled to Africa and India to visit orphanages and hospitals, seeing abandoned, orphaned or disabled children living in such poverty makes you appreciate the things we take for granted, even merely having a roof over your head."
Primus, withDarren Moore, former footballerMick Mellows, and former Portsmouth playerJoel Ward[49][77] is involved with the Christian charity 'Faith and Football, and walked theGreat Wall of China in summer 2005 to raise £100,000 for Prospect Children's School inIbadan, Nigeria and a new medical centre, school and orphanage for a village inGoa.[77]
He was also involved in supporting theAlpha course, which is run all over the world, and is designed to explain Christian beliefs and promote discussion.[77] Primus appeared in a cinema advertisement for the movement, alongside the comedianLennie Bennett.[78] At his former club Portsmouth, he founded aprayer group which has included teammates such asNwankwo Kanu,Sean Davis andBenjani.[35] In December 2006, he took part in aFootball Focus feature on faith in the game presented by fellow Christian footballerGavin Peacock.[79] On 16 April 2013, Primus played for Portsmouth in a charity match raising money for the Portsmouth supporters trust.
Primus was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2015 New Year Honours for services to football and charity in Portsmouth.[80][81]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 1992–93 | First Division | 4 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Barnet | 1994–95 | Third Division | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 45 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 48 | 5 | |||
| 1996–97 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 51 | 3 | |||
| Total | 127 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 0 | – | 144 | 8 | |||
| Reading | 1997–98 | First Division | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 42 | 1 | |
| 1998–99 | Second Division | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 35 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 94 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | – | 109 | 1 | |||
| Portsmouth | 2000–01 | First Division | 23 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 2 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 43 | 1 | |||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 40 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2007–08 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 198 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 1 | – | 219 | 6 | |||
| Charlton Athletic | 2008–09 | Championship | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 433 | 14 | 22 | 1 | 32 | 1 | – | 487 | 16 | |||
Portsmouth
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |