PETER SHILTON

The Greatest English Goalkeeper

It is testament to not just his extraordinary talent at the most tender of ages, but also tribute to his unswerving self-confidence that Peter Shilton – striding out for Leicester City’s first team at just 16-years-of-age - forced the sale of the man who spotted his skills four years prior, Gordon Banks, a recent World Cup winner with England. In 1963, Shilton, 13, was attending King Richard III Boys School when Banks noticed him in a coaching session for Leicester City schoolboys. “That lad’s a good’un,” Banks is reported to have told club trainer George Dewis. “Aye,” Dewis returned, before (correctly) prophesying, “He’ll have you out the first team soon enough.” Shilton became the youngest player to represent Leicester City at senior level when he made his first-team bow at 16, against Everton in May 1966. He received a professional contract at the start of that season on the condition that he would receive first-team football; a result of an ultimatum handed in by the youth himself. This rendered Dewis’ forecast true, and Banks, who had helped lift England’s only Jules Rimet trophy just one summer before, was sold to Stoke City in April 1967 for £50,000. Within a matter of years, despite his raw age and inexperience, Shilton had developed into a formidable line of defensive weaponry that was pivotal to the Foxes’ record breaking rearguard of 1970-71, a season in which his solid shot-stopping, his extraordinary agility and strong positional sense saw him keep 23 clean sheets. Again following in the path of Banks, Shilton transferred to Stoke City in 1974 for a fee reported to be between £275,000 and £325,000. By this time, Shilton had pushed himself into the plans of the England management and was vying for the No.1 jersey along with competitive-rival Ray Clemence, the Liverpool goalkeeper who Shilton regarded as a friend. The downfall that Shilton encountered playing for a club like Stoke was that, similarly to Leicester, he found himself in a club battle against relegation, something he was to experience in 1977 when the Potters plummeted into the Second Division. Shilton then signed for Nottingham Forest for £250,000 in a move that pleased both parties. Forest manager Brian Clough said of the deal, “He was worth twice the price.” While assistant boss Peter Taylor commented, “His maturity and technique were outstanding. He instinctively knew the tricks of the trade. Signing Peter in 1977 was the highlight of my career.” It was here where Shilton was to display the form that threw him into contention for the title of the 'World’s Best Goalkeeper'. His neat footwork and aerial strength outweighed his lack of physical presence (he was only 6ft), and he proved an admirable barrier in front of goal.

Forest’s opening season back in the top flight was triumphant. Shilton conceded just 24 goals in 42 games in his rookie campaign under Clough, keeping 25 clean sheets as the City Ground outfit bagged a monumental league title. Clough, never a man generous with commendation, attributed the success to his defence. “We had a firm belief that if we scored, there was no way we'd lose because they wouldn't score against our defence, and Peter, obviously, was a big part of that,” he explained.

Shilton arguably enjoyed his best national form under the paternal and professional tutelage of Sir Bobby Robson. He established himself as the first-choice shot-stopper throughout the 80s, but the period was not to be one marked by success for England. The European Championships were not kind to the Three Lions as they failed to qualify for the 1984 tournament and had exited by the first knock-out round in the 1988 competition.

In the 1986 World Cup, Shilton will forever go down in history for being on the receiving end of a contentious goal; Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ effort, one of two strikes that were to doom England in the quarter-final stage.

The turn of the decade was to prove kinder to England’s ambitions. During the run-up to Italia ’90, Shilton broke Bobby Moore’s international appearance record during a friendly match against Denmark; his 109th appearance in the nation’s iconic white strip. The competition itself perhaps served as the country’s greatest shot at international success since 1966.

Shilton was on-form throughout the group stages, ensuring a tied game with the Republic of Ireland in the first fixture, before keeping his sheet clean against the Netherlands in a 0-0 draw. This was then followed up with a 1-0 win over Egypt. In the first knock-out round, Belgium were beaten, again 1-0, an d a date with Cameroon was to await the English, in which they reached the semi-finals as they downed the West African side 3-2. England, though, were knocked of the final four on penalties - the West Germans progressed and ended up winning the tournament outright.

Shilton’s initial legacy was marred with revelations in his personal life. Upon the conclusion of his playing career, tabloid headlines bore sensational truisms. The Sun ran, “Peter Shilton may never get work with another club after his money troubles at Plymouth Argyle.” While The Mirror commented, “A love of gambling turned Peter Shilton into the goalkeeper who could save almost anything but money.”

However, with David Beckham playing his way into contention to be the most-capped England player (currently on 111), the focus has rightly returned to his career-highs. “I'm proud of the record, but if someone beats it, you hold your hands up. It's about how [Fabio] Capello uses [Beckham]. Maybe if he uses him as a super-sub he might get the caps. But he's still got a long way to go,” he recently warned.

Source : www.goal.com