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Post by alfieph on Jun 13, 2015 14:33:52 GMT
I know most of you are probably aware of Neil Franklin, but thought you might be interested in this article on his life & career. For those of you who don't know, Franklin was at Stoke from 1939-1950 and was regarded as England's finest defender when he decided to leave England for Colombia in 1950 because of the domestic wage cap and chose not to play in the 1950 World Cup. He played only six games in Colombia, hence the title, and his career crumbled upon his return to Britain. For those of you interested, the article is here: ahalftimereport.com/2015/06/12/neilfranklin/Cheers  |
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Post by stantheman on Jun 13, 2015 14:51:59 GMT
Great find, thanks.
Had the Colombian disaster not happened, Billy Wright would have been his understudy
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Post by capto on Jun 13, 2015 15:07:19 GMT
I think Sir Peter said he was his favourite player of all time?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 15:14:01 GMT
Great find, thanks. Had the Colombian disaster not happened, Billy Wright would have been his understudy I'm sure I've seen somewhere that Billy Wright acknowledged this. In the early 90's I stumbled across a Hull fanzine where they'd done a poll of their fans' favourite players. Given the time that had passed since he finished playing, I was amazed to see that Franklin was their chosen centre half. More importantly, my dad said he was the best. That's good enough for me |
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Post by spitthedog on Jun 13, 2015 15:17:13 GMT
Reading this you can understand why agents now play a more prominent role in football
Very sad tale
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Post by ParaPsych on Jun 13, 2015 16:07:39 GMT
A relative of mine was in the meetings that took place between the xlub and player, as a young lad taking minutes. Apparently it was Franklin's wife calling all the shots, she was a real force of nature he reckons.
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Post by wuzza on Jun 13, 2015 18:00:34 GMT
My old dad isn't prone to throwing around compliments especially with regard footballers but he is steadfast in his belief that Franklin was the best defender there ever has or ever will be!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 19:12:11 GMT
My old dad isn't prone to throwing around compliments especially with regard footballers but he is steadfast in his belief that Franklin was the best defender there ever has or ever will be! My grandad said exactly the same about him. |
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Post by roylandstoke on Jun 13, 2015 19:17:11 GMT
Great find, thanks. Had the Colombian disaster not happened, Billy Wright would have been his understudy Precisely what my old man said. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 19:20:58 GMT
My old man told me all about how good he was as you can tell.
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Post by numpty40 on Jun 13, 2015 19:32:29 GMT
What a very sad story that is.
You can't help thinking it would make a tremendous film though.
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Post by leicspotter on Jun 13, 2015 19:52:50 GMT
I worked with Neil when he was a "relief" manager for a brewery and covered the Wayfarer in Stone for a couple of weeks. Hell of a nice guy!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 19:54:20 GMT
My old dad isn't prone to throwing around compliments especially with regard footballers but he is steadfast in his belief that Franklin was the best defender there ever has or ever will be! My late father in law said the same. Although he was a bit of a thick and stubborn man, he knew his football (my father in law that is) |
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Post by lordb on Jun 13, 2015 22:00:58 GMT
I still think we should name a stand after him.
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Post by bassmaster on Jun 13, 2015 22:11:38 GMT
My old man's a dustman.
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Post by stantheman on Jun 13, 2015 22:16:36 GMT
I worked with Neil when he was a "relief" manager for a brewery and covered the Wayfarer in Stone for a couple of weeks. Hell of a nice guy! He ended up running the Dog and Doublet in Sandon, and like you say, he was a hell of a nice guy. |
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Post by mrcoke on Jun 13, 2015 22:54:11 GMT
I've posted this comment before:
Whenever I'm reminded of the Neil Franklin story, I think of my days at Ellison Street Junior School in Wolstanton in the 1950s and our sports master, Mr Green. He used to relate the story and teach us youngster's the importance of reading books to learn about the world and life. His lesson was that if Neil Franklin had gone to the library and read about Columbia, he and the other players would not have been so foolish. Funny how things stick in your mind for nearly 60 years.
Thanks for the post Alf.
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Post by mateybass on Jun 13, 2015 23:52:46 GMT
My old dad isn't prone to throwing around compliments especially with regard footballers but he is steadfast in his belief that Franklin was the best defender there ever has or ever will be! Same with my Dad, he named my brother after him. |
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Post by djduncanjames on Jun 14, 2015 0:06:20 GMT
What a very sad story that is. You can't help thinking it would make a tremendous film though. I was thinking the same thing. Although sad it's an amazing story really. |
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Post by crapslinger on Jun 14, 2015 7:56:02 GMT
My old man told me all about how good he was as you can tell. Same here the old man always said he was the best CH he has ever seen, I ended up buying a house on Ash Bank was very surprised when I saw the deeds the buyer when built new one Neil Franklin, I have been told that he owned or managed the Red Cow at one time, worked with a Wolves fan he said Franklin was a much better player than Billy Wright a compliment indeed from a dyed in the wool dog head. |
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Post by nonameface on Jun 14, 2015 8:19:42 GMT
Didn't realise what a great player he was and the cause of his demise. If the author reads this, its also a really well put together piece.
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Post by richardparker on Jun 14, 2015 9:20:37 GMT
Vague memories of my pop raving about Franklin. Another was Freddie Steele. His favourite of course the great Sir Stan.
The book, 'Stoke City - A Nostalgic Look at a Century of the Club' lists many of the legends that have graced our team, over the 20th century.
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Post by trigger on Jun 14, 2015 9:24:21 GMT
He drank in my local when I was younger, nice guy and on occasion came to watch our pub side, Christ knows what he thought of us and probably thought his Columbian disaster wasn't that bad after all, we were that bad.
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Post by elystokie on Jun 14, 2015 11:12:21 GMT
I'm (yet) another one whose Dad held Neil Franklin in the highest esteem, he rarely talked much about teams of old but did mention him.
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Post by wokinghampotter on Jun 14, 2015 11:33:22 GMT
Many thanks for that. My father really thought he was wonderful but he made no mention of Franklin refusing to play in 1950 and going to Columbia. Very interesting
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Post by mrcoke on Jun 14, 2015 12:20:05 GMT
Vague memories of my pop raving about Franklin. Another was Freddie Steele. His favourite of course the great Sir Stan. The book, 'Stoke City - A Nostalgic Look at a Century of the Club' lists many of the legends that have graced our team, over the 20th century. My dad didn't ever talk about football much, but he did speak reverently about the three you mention plus Frank Soo. |
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Jun 14, 2015 16:34:35 GMT
In the days when Franklin was playing,the pitches could be mud heaps during the winter,it is said that Neil was instantly recognisable, as he was the only player who had a clean strip as he read the game so well and stayed on his feet when tackling.
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Post by alfieph on Jun 16, 2015 10:07:26 GMT
Thanks for all the positive feedback fellas, glad you enjoyed the article. Like most of you, I never had the chance to see Franklin in the flesh but my Grandad considers him our second best ever player, behind only the great Raich Carter.
The article and website are my own and if there are any other ex-Potters with great stories or great ex-players that get little media attention, please let me know. Cheers.
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Post by lordb on Jun 16, 2015 12:08:29 GMT
Thanks for all the positive feedback fellas, glad you enjoyed the article. Like most of you, I never had the chance to see Franklin in the flesh but my Grandad considers him our second best ever player, behind only the great Raich Carter. The article and website are my own and if there are any other ex-Potters with great stories or great ex-players that get little media attention, please let me know. Cheers. When you say 'our' do you mean England? |
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Post by alfieph on Jun 16, 2015 12:23:14 GMT
Thanks for all the positive feedback fellas, glad you enjoyed the article. Like most of you, I never had the chance to see Franklin in the flesh but my Grandad considers him our second best ever player, behind only the great Raich Carter. The article and website are my own and if there are any other ex-Potters with great stories or great ex-players that get little media attention, please let me know. Cheers. When you say 'our' do you mean England? Apologies, should have pointed out that I'm from Hull. I'm sure he'd consider them two of England's greatest as well, mind. |
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