City days among best of Frank Worthington’s life
Former Leicester City correspondent Rob Tanner remembers Frank Worthington, a genius on the football pitch with an insatiable love of the good life
FRANK Stewart Worthington. If ever there was a definition for a cult footballing hero, it has to be the maverick from Halifax who was way ahead of his time. In an era when sweat and endeavour dominated English football, Worthington played with a sublime touch and talent that was more continental than English.
He was a genius on the pitch, playing with a swagger that was replicated off he field with his flamboyant dress sense, insatiable love of the good life and sense of humour; every football fan wanted to be the original Super Frank.
Worthington played for 23 clubs, professionally and in non-league, from his debut for Huddersfield Town in 1966 until his eventual retirement following a stint as player-manager of Hinckley United in 1992. He racked up 828 games, scoring 260 goals.
He arguably played his best football when he was at Leicester City between 1972 and 1977, when he made 239 appearances and scored 78 goals.
In an interview with the Leicester Mercury in 2011, he described playing under Jimmy Bloomfield as the favourite time in his career.
“It was an absolutely iconic time,” he said. “Fantastic.
“I had a brilliant time with brilliant players. Jimmy Bloomfield was a brilliant man and an excellent manager.
“He gave us licence to express ourselves. He was one of my favourite all-time managers.
“It ranked right at the top as one the best times during my career.
“There were some of my favourite characters down there.
“Alan Birchenall is my all-time favourite.
“Then we had Keith Weller, Jon Sammels and Steve Earle, who all joined from London clubs, because there was a connection between Leicester and London at that time.
“And then Dennis Rofe signed from Leyton Orient, and he was a really tough full-back.
“We called him Sid James out of the Carry On films, because he looked so much like him.
“We had a great time on and off the pitch.
“We were good enough to win a trophy.
“We wanted to entertain but you need that underlying hunger to win, not just entertain.
“But that wasn’t for the want of trying. We wanted to win.”
Worthington admitted he liked an active social life away from football but said ultimately the football always came first, despite his reputation.
“When I first went to Leicester I stayed in the Holiday Inn in St Nicholas Circle and it was absolutely amazing,” he said.
“I was there for about nine months because they couldn’t get me out of there. I loved it.
“All the stars from Bailey’s nightclub all stayed there.
“We got to meet these guys and they would come down to watch our games, and it was reciprocal between us footballers and the stars of entertainment.
“Nothing came before football. It was the be-all and end-all of everything.”
For a player blessed with such natural talent, it is almost criminal that he earned only eight England caps, which all came during his time with
City. But Worthington said he does not hold any grudges about his limited international career, although he does blame the man who cast him aside for setting England back years.
“I established myself in the England team and scored a winning goal for my country, and we did really well and then Don Revie took over and destroyed it all,” he said.
“There were players like myself and Tony Currie, who was another superb player, who were pushed out as he got rid of the skill and went for the workers.
“They were good club players but weren’t international players.
“Revie took English football down a couple of grades.
“In my time, Sir Alf Ramsey and Joe Mercer were iconic figures.
“Jim Bloomfield should have been made an England manager.
“He had all the credentials and the background to manage his country. He was a brilliant guy to play for.
“I don’t think about not winning more caps because I have never dealt in negativity.
“I concentrated on positivity and that is why Leicester was such a great time in my career because we only dealt in positivity.”
He possessed a natural talent that stood him out from other players and he admits he feels blessed. “As I grew up in Halifax, my two brothers, Bob and Dave, both defenders, played professional football for 20 years for Halifax, Notts County, Middlesbrough, Southend United and Grimsby,” he said.
“I was the lucky one because I was given the talent to get to the top of English football.
“I was blessed with attacking skill and that was all to do with control of the ball. Not ball control, but control of the ball. I learned at a very early age you never let the ball do what it wants to do.
“You make the ball do what you want to do. It was bred into me.
“I used that to get to the top of English football, and I did that through Leicester City. I was so lucky.
“You know that Kylie Minogue song, ‘I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky’? I adore little Kylie. She is fabulous.”
■ This article was taken from the LeicestershireLive series of cult heroes pieces looking at the players that have endeared themselves to the Blue Army the most over the years.
They were all good players, some great and a few were exceptional, but they all have one thing in common, the City fans took them to their hearts.