Southport FC is a club steeped in history, with deep connections to clubs around the local area. However, these connections have gone even further, with Southport FC having played a part in creating some illustrious players that have gone on to represent England in their careers.
However, which stars have played at Southport in their career and also had the honour of representing their country?
Peter With
Peter Withe became an integral part of one of the most famous sides in British sporting history later in his career. But, right at the very beginning when he first started, he played his first three competitive games of his career for Southport FC. Withe made his debut for Southport aged 18, but at the end of the 1970-71 season, he moved to Barrow. He eventually made his name at Nottingham Forest, before moving to Aston Villa in 1980.
He would go on to win the club’s only European Cup in 1982, while the Midlands side added the Super Cup to their collection a few months earlier. In the previous season, Withe was integral as Villa won the First Division, and his performances saw him awarded with an international call-up in 1981. He made eleven appearances for his country and scored one goal. Withe was also called up for the 1982 World Cup, which made him the first Villa player to be selected in an England squad for the World Cup.
Bill Perry
Billy Perry enjoyed an excellent season as Southport FC in the 1962-63 season. He made 26 appearances for the club during his stay, before moving onto Hereford United and South Coast United. Of course, he made his name in football during his days with Blackpool, as he made 394 appearances and scored 119 goals.
The most important of those goals came in the FA Cup final of 1953, which was called ‘The Matthews Final’. His first England cap came two years after that cup final, and he went on to make three appearances for the Three Lions and scored two goals.
Luther Blissett
There aren’t many names in the world of football that are spoken about as greatly as Luther Blissett. He enjoyed a short loan spell at Southport in the second half of the 1993-94 season, as he made five appearances and scored two goals to help Southport to a fourth-place finish in the National League.
That spell was towards the end of Blissett’s career, as he famously made his name at Watford. He scored 95 goals in his first spell with the club, before returning to the Hornets after a season with AC Milan.
In total, he enjoyed 14 years at Watford over the span of three stays. He played 584 times throughout his career and scored 213 goals. Though he was born in Jamaica, Blissett was Eligible for the Three Lions and was called up to the England squad for the first time in 1982, and he played 14 times for the Three Lions in two years and scored three goals.
Mark Wright
Though he didn’t play for Southport FC, Mark Wright has been an essential part in the club’s development. He managed the team in the 2000-01 season, as the club finished fourth. He has most recently moved back to the club and is now the Head of Development.
No player associated with the club has made more appearances for England than Wright, as he played for his country on 45 occasions and scored one goal. Wright had the stamina and strength of a stallion among the Kentucky Derby odds and he was a great player on his day.
Wright is most famously remembered for his importance in England’s routes to semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990 and the European Championships in 1996. The majority of his club career was spent at Liverpool, where the central defender made 160 appearances over seven years at Anfield.
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