Liddle was born in Gateshead and at the age of 19 he was working as a miner at Washington Colliery also playing in the works football team along with Joe Mawson.[1] The pair were signed by Stoke City in January 1928. Liddle was a small, tricky, right winger and became a very likeable person both on and off the pitch. He scored on his debut in a 5–1 win over Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 1928–29 season however he did not fully establish himself in Tom Mather's side until the next campaign.[1] He was able to play in all forward positions and was more than capable of using both feet. This two footed ability saw Liddle play out of position as he played most of 1929–30 and 1930–31 at inside left.[1] He scored a career best of 15 in 1930–31 as he finished joined top scorer with Wilf Kirkham. The emergence of Mawson and Tommy Sale as natural goalscorers in 1931–32 gave Liddle his right wing position back and targets for which to aim his crosses which worked well as Stoke gained promotion in 1932–33.[1]
Being primarily a right flank player, Liddle established a good rapport with right back and long serving captain Bob McGrory and the two became good friends. When a young up and coming Stanley Matthews burst onto the scene and took Liddle's number 7 position, McGrory took offence.[1] McGrory became manager in 1935 and Liddle remained out of position but he regained his place during World War II with Matthews spending most of his time away with the RAF and making guest appearances.[1] He retired once the Football League resumed in 1946 after making 316 appearances scoring 64 goals. He was then appointed club trainer a position he kept until 1953. He then moved to Nottingham where he became a newsagent until his death in 1972.[1]
^"Stoke City. Record-breaking staff re-engaged for this season". Sunday Dispatch Football Guide. London. 23 August 1936. p. vi – via Newspapers.com.
^Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN0-9524151-0-0.
^Bobby Liddle at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
January 01, 1970
bobby, liddle, robert, liddle, april, 1908, april, 1972, english, footballer, played, football, league, stoke, city, personal, informationfull, namerobert, liddle, date, birth, 1908, april, 1908, place, birthgateshead, england, date, death12, april, 1972, 1972. Robert Liddle 11 April 1908 12 April 1972 was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City 1 3 Bobby LiddlePersonal informationFull nameRobert Liddle 1 Date of birth 1908 04 11 11 April 1908 1 Place of birthGateshead England 1 Date of death12 April 1972 1972 04 12 aged 64 1 Place of deathNottingham England 1 Height5 ft 6 in 1 68 m 2 Position s WingerSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1927Washington Colliery1928 1938Stoke City297 61 Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Career 2 Career statistics 3 Honours 4 ReferencesCareer editLiddle was born in Gateshead and at the age of 19 he was working as a miner at Washington Colliery also playing in the works football team along with Joe Mawson 1 The pair were signed by Stoke City in January 1928 Liddle was a small tricky right winger and became a very likeable person both on and off the pitch He scored on his debut in a 5 1 win over Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 1928 29 season however he did not fully establish himself in Tom Mather s side until the next campaign 1 He was able to play in all forward positions and was more than capable of using both feet This two footed ability saw Liddle play out of position as he played most of 1929 30 and 1930 31 at inside left 1 He scored a career best of 15 in 1930 31 as he finished joined top scorer with Wilf Kirkham The emergence of Mawson and Tommy Sale as natural goalscorers in 1931 32 gave Liddle his right wing position back and targets for which to aim his crosses which worked well as Stoke gained promotion in 1932 33 1 Being primarily a right flank player Liddle established a good rapport with right back and long serving captain Bob McGrory and the two became good friends When a young up and coming Stanley Matthews burst onto the scene and took Liddle s number 7 position McGrory took offence 1 McGrory became manager in 1935 and Liddle remained out of position but he regained his place during World War II with Matthews spending most of his time away with the RAF and making guest appearances 1 He retired once the Football League resumed in 1946 after making 316 appearances scoring 64 goals He was then appointed club trainer a position he kept until 1953 He then moved to Nottingham where he became a newsagent until his death in 1972 1 Career statistics editSource 4 Appearances and goals by club season and competition Club Season League FA Cup Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Stoke City 1928 29 Second Division 12 1 0 0 12 1 1929 30 Second Division 25 6 0 0 25 6 1930 31 Second Division 41 14 3 1 44 15 1931 32 Second Division 39 11 5 0 44 11 1932 33 Second Division 33 7 2 1 35 8 1933 34 First Division 33 6 3 0 36 6 1934 35 First Division 38 10 1 0 39 10 1935 36 First Division 33 4 5 1 38 5 1936 37 First Division 20 1 0 0 20 1 1937 38 First Division 21 1 0 0 21 1 1938 39 First Division 2 0 0 0 2 0 Career total 297 61 19 3 316 64Honours editFootball League Second Division champions 1932 33References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m Stoke City 101 Golden Greats Desert Islands Books 2002 ISBN 1 874287554 Stoke City Record breaking staff re engaged for this season Sunday Dispatch Football Guide London 23 August 1936 p vi via Newspapers com Matthews Tony 1994 The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City Lion Press ISBN 0 9524151 0 0 Bobby Liddle at the English National Football Archive subscription required Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bobby Liddle amp oldid 1183349563, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
