The King is Dead … Long Live the King
Alan Suddick 1944-2009
Gerry Wolstenholme
It is with very great sadness that we report the death of former Blackpool player Alan Suddick who died in Manchester Royal Infirmary on 16 March 2009 after a long battle against illness.
Alan was born in Chester-le-Street on 2 May 1944 and joined Newcastle United from school where he developed into a talented inside forward. When he made his League debut for Newcastle United he was the club's youngest League debutant at 17 years 158 days and he went on to play 152 games for the club, scoring 43 goals, and won a Second Division championship medal in the 1964/65 season. He also won two England Under-23 caps while at Newcastle, appearing against Belgium when he scored one of the goals in a 6-1 victory and against Yugoslavia when England won 4-2.
Blackpool had seen Suddick at first hand when he played for Newcastle against the Seasiders at Bloomfield Road on 22 October 1966 and although his side lost 6-0 he played a good game and impressed the Blackpool management. The club were then interested in signing him in early December 1966 and manager Ron Suart together with one of the Blackpool directors spoke with Newcastle United chairman Lord Westwood who commented, "I told both of them that we could seriously consider a move for Suddick only when we had a replacement for him lined up. His transfer depends on three things, that the price is right, that we have a replacement lined up, that the player himself wants to move." Suart said, "We have obviously been interested in this player for some time, but all along we have been told by Newcastle that he was not for sale."
A few days later Suart was saying, "There have been no further developments. The next move is with Newcastle." Blackpool had offered £55,000 but Newcastle were holding out for over £60,000. On 17 December Blackpool drew 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday and the after-match Gazette headline was "'Pool needed a 'General'", which could have been the spur that Suart needed to convince him that Suddick should become a Blackpool player. And on 20 December 1966 Ron Suart received the green light to go ahead with the transfer. In an hour and a half discussion, terms were finally agreed, because in a secret meeting two weeks earlier in Chester-le-Street Suddick had agreed to join Blackpool providing the terms were agreeable. Ron Suart commented, "He is a very useful player and I am sure he could do us a lot of good."
On his arrival at Bloomfield Road he was described as "a fine shot and an intelligent reader of the game, he can and has played in every forward line position except centre forward and has been used both as a striker and a midfield player." Suddick commented, "I will be staying in Blackpool over Christmas to train with the Blackpool team. I never wanted to leave Newcastle. I was very upset when they were prepared to sell me. Having heard this I decided that the best thing was a move and I am very happy to be joining Blackpool."
Blackpool's manager said, "I have read reports about his inconsistency but he is a real footballer who can play in any one of four positions and this is very important. Having talked with him and having seen him play it would appear that his best role is to give him freedom to roam anywhere with free expression and this is probably what we will do."
The £63,000 spent on Suddick was a club record, eclipsing the £34,000 paid for Pat Quinn in November 1962, and it meant that almost all the Alan Ball transfer fee, £110,000, had been spent on two players, £35,000 for Alan Skirton in September 1966 and then the fee for Suddick. Suart, believing quite rightly that it was money well spent, commented, "Every club likes to be in the black rather than in the red but we are not broke and it is more important to have assets on the field than in the bank."
Suddick had "a promising game" on his debut against West Ham United on 26 December 1966 and "shoved a good ball through to Charnley, who was tripped by centre half Brown". Charnley got up and scored from the resultant penalty but the 26,901 who were at Bloomfield Road saw Blackpool lose 4-1. Suddick's second game was no better as a result for Blackpool because, in the return with West Ham United the following day, they lost 4-0 despite "some excellent individual enterprise from Suddick, Charnley and Lea". The Gazette report the next day read, "It is obvious that Suddick's role must be decided. He cannot be a fetch-and-carry man, architect and finisher too, and Blackpool are much too dependent in defence on the praiseworthy talents of Tony Waiters who saved them from an even heavier hammering when WH recovered from their slipshod spell." It continued, "Suddick, shirt dangling, had a hard job to shake off Moore and when he did the watchful Bovington was forever in attendance. Suddick banged his fists on the turf in annoyance when denied a possible penalty but of his four clear attempts at goal, two had the hallmark of a thoroughbred."
However, playing in a more unusual outside left position, he scored his first goal for the club in his third game, a 5-1 drubbing of Southampton on 31 December 1966 when Alan always remembered that Ray Charnley scored three and Hughie Fisher the other one. He quickly became a crowd favourite at Bloomfield Road and it was not long before his raking passes, silky midfield skills and in particular his famous trademark bending free-kicks had him known as "The King of Bloomfield Road", adored by all the fans.
Having missed only one game in the 1968/69 season, he was an ever-present in the 1969/70 season, playing in all Blackpool's 42 League games, three FA Cup ties and three League Cup ties. Along the way he was at the centre of one of the club's greatest ever comebacks from 2-0 down to Arsenal in a third round FA Cup replay on 15 January 1970. He scored the first goal and then saw Pickering and Burns add two more to give Blackpool a 3-2 win.
But it was in the 1971 close season that he had one of his greatest moments when starring in Blackpool's Anglo-Italian Cup triumph. The style of play suited him and he masterminded Blackpool's route to the final, scoring one stunning goal against Verona in a 3-3 draw on 26 May 1971. He then played an integral part in the 2-1 victory over Bologna on 12 June 1971. He regarded his goal against Verona as the best he ever scored and in the introduction to a book entitled The Italian Job he wrote, "I well remember the first game against Verona for I scored one of the best goals of my career. Dave Hatton had the ball on the halfway line and I made a diagonal run to the edge of the penalty area and called for a pass. Dave picked me out as the centre half and the sweeper closed in on me. I back headed the ball over the centre half and that took him out of the play. As the sweeper approached I flicked the ball over his head as he committed himself, ran round him and then volleyed the ball into the net from the angle of the six-yard box. We eventually drew the game 3-3 but then threw away much of our good work by losing [our next home game] 3-1 to Roma."
On a personal note, one of my favourite Alan Suddick goals was when he curled in a tremendous curling free kick at Crystal Palace on 24 September 1969 when we drew 2-2 in the League Cup third round; it was a delightful goal made all the more so because my wife and I had been invited there as guests of friends who were avid Crystal Palace supporters and we were sitting amongst a whole host of them!
It was a feeling of utter dismay when Blackpool fans heard that on 27 October 1971 Charlton Athletic had made a surprise move to sign Suddick and offered their 22-year-old midfield player Bobby Curtis in exchange but Blackpool manager Bob Stokoe refused to comment on the situation and, to the delight of everyone connected with the club, no deal took place. At the end of that same season he received the Wilf Wells Trophy as Player-of-the-Year from former Blackpool captain Jimmy Kelly at the supporters' social club at Bloomfield Road on 19 April 1972. He was a popular choice after an excellent season and he said, "I am delighted to receive this award. It's a great honour, and I would like to thank the fans who voted for me and all the Blackpool supporters for their support of the team throughout the season." Jimmy Kelly commented, "As far as this award is concerned it is always difficult to choose a player from a successful team, although it is easier to play in a successful team." He added that the award had been won by skill and remarked, "for Alan is a tremendously skilful player".
He enjoyed Blackpool's participation in the Anglo-Italian Cup competition once again in the summer of 1972 and he was always in the headlines such as following the 2-0 victory over Lanerossi Vicenza in Italy on 4 June 1972 when the newspapers proclaimed "Suddick and 'Hutch' Shine". In the game he "worked hard in midfield" and his goal came when he "strode into a gap in the Italian defence, which was pierced so many times, to sidefoot home a lovely pass from Burns from 12 yards in the 52nd minute". And he was the architect of the 10-0 annihilation of Lanerossi Vicenza in the return game on 10 June 1972, also scoring one of the goals.
He was usually the first name on the team sheet for a number of seasons and was named as Blackpool captain for the League Cup tie against AFC Bournemouth on 6 September 1972. Manager Bob Stokoe commented, "Alan is quite happy to accept the task of skipper and is looking forward to it." And at the end of that 1972/73 season he had his final foray into Europe when Blackpool went undefeated, but dismissed by not scoring enough goals, in the Anglo-Italian tournament.
His last three years at Bloomfield Road were blighted with injury and he played fewer games but even so many fans were very sad to see his name go on the transfer list and circulated to other clubs in mid-October 1976, especially as it was to be his testimonial year. And he played what was to turn out to be his final completed League game for Blackpool in a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 October 1976.
He returned to action from a much needed doctor-advised rest to play in the Central League side against Everton reserves on 20 November 1976 when he earned the headlines with Suddick stars in Reserve as "The Blackpool midfield trio of Suddick, Curtis and Chandler had a decided edge over their opponents" in a game that Blackpool won 2-1. Second team coach Derek Armstrong commented, "Suddick's contribution to the game was just what the side needed, and it brought the best out of players who had been struggling a bit recently." Suddick himself said, "I think I helped our youngsters along and my confidence was given a boost and I really enjoyed it. Obviously I want to get back in the first team but the manager cannot be expected to change a winning team. I am delighted all is going well for the club."
He did make one final League appearance against Hereford on 11 December 1976 but after 59 minutes the game was abandoned because of fog with Blackpool leading 1-0. And what turned out to be his final game for Blackpool was in the Central League side against Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves on 18 December 1976 when the game ended in a 1-0 defeat for Blackpool. In all he played 371 League and Cup games for Blackpool, scoring 81 goals, many of them classics, and in addition he played 30 Central League games, scoring 10 goals.
It was indeed a sad day when he was transferred to Stoke City for a fee of £12,000 on 31 December 1976 but he played only nine League games for Stoke, scoring one goal, before he was loaned to Southport in August 1977. At Southport he played six games before, in September of that year, he was transferred to Bury where he played 30 League games, made four substitute appearances and scored two goals before he ended his League career at the close of the 1977/78 season.
After doing some coaching with Blackpool, Barrow player-manager Brian McManus, based in Blackpool, persuaded him to try non-league football in August 1978 and he turned out in a pre-season friendly game for the club against Manchester United. He went on to sign for Barrow and played 38 games, scoring three goals. Thereafter he kept fit by playing some local league football in the Blackpool and Fylde Combination before joining Lancaster Town on 2 November 1979, teaming up at Giant Axe with former Blackpool team-mate Keith Dyson. After final retirement from football he remained in Blackpool and ran his own business.
The line at the head of this obituary is one that has been used on a number of occasions but it is entirely fitting for Alan Suddick. He has sadly passed away, was indisputably the King of Bloomfield Road and there is no doubt whatsoever that his memory will live on forever in the annals of Blackpool Football Club.