look at linﬁeld - linfield fc

v.CarrickWindsor Park, BelfastSaturday,13 March, 2021Kick-off: 3.00 p.m.

v.

Windsor Park,BelfastTuesday,16 March, 2021Kick-off: 7.45 p.m.

Dungannon

Danske Bank PremiershipSeason 2020-2021

Look atLinfield

Official Matchday Programme: £3 l Volume 50, No.10

DanskeBank

PremiershipChampions2019-20

Look at Linfield l 03

what’s thewordfromwindsor?

T H E V O I C E O F L I N F I E L D F OO

T B A L L C L U B

n Linfield will aim to complete a sequence offour consecutive home league games in poleposition in the Danske Bank Premiershiptable, but with five other leading clubs in hotpursuit. The coming months are going toproduce a major battle to secure thePremiership title and European qualifyingplaces and Linfield must aim to hold off thechallenge of the contenders to retain the topposition in the league table. Consistency andmomentum will be the key over the busyschedule of the coming months.

n Results in the past week have been verypleasing, with a hard fought 2-0 home winagainst Cliftonville followed up with acomfortable 5-0 home win againstWarrenpoint in midweek. Linfield must aim tomaximise home advantage, by building onthese positive results, ahead of an upcomingrun of four consecutive away games againstCrusaders, Ballymena, Portadown andDungannon.

n A warm welcome to Windsor Park to theplayers, management, directors and staff ofCarrick Rangers and Dungannon SwiftsFootball Clubs. In the previous games againstCarrick, Linfield won 5-1 at Windsor Park butthe East Antrim team earned a point in therecent 1-1 draw at Taylor's Avenue. Linfieldwon a County Antrim Shield tie 2-0 inCarrickfergus. In the previous home gameagainst Dungannon, Linfield emergedvictorious by a 4-0 margin. Carrick andDungannon enter these fixtures in the bottomtwo in the league table, but with theirPremiership places already assured for nextseason. With both clubs free from relegationworries, their challenge cannot beunderestimated.

n Linfield's game at Seaview, originallyscheduled for Saturday March 20 has beenbrought forward to Friday March 19 and will bebroadcast live on BBC2. Linfield's game awayto Portadown on Saturday March 27 will havea delayed kick-off time of 5.30pm and thegame will be streamed live by BBC online.

n Linfield tv in partnership with 247.tv will livestream today's home league game against

Carrick Rangers and Tuesday's home gameagainst Dungannon Swifts. Members, seniormembers and life members will have freeaccess to the live streams. The cost for non-members remains £7.50 per game.Commentary on the games will be provided byJonny Martin, with expert analysis by MichaelGault and Philip Mitchell.

n Today's game against Carrick Rangers wasoriginally scheduled for April 17 but has beenbrought forward to today's date because thisdate cannot be used for Irish Cup fixtures, dueto the current government restrictionsaffecting clubs designated as non-elite.Linfield have been drawn at home to AnnaghUnited in the Irish Cup opening fixture.

n The weekend marks the 135th anniversary ofthe formation of Linfield Football Club in theLinfield mill in the Sandy Row area of Belfastin March 1886. This club, while proud of ourhistory, is firmly focused on the future and onMonday, will outline details of our strategicplan to take the club forward over the next fiveyears.

n Today's issue of the match day programme isagain being featured in full on Linfieldfc.com,thanks to the cooperation of our long-timeprogramme printers at Edenderry Print. Onlya limited number of copies have been printedand these have been reserved by regularcollectors. The absence of spectators atgames and the unavailability of ourSuperstore, due to the current NI ExecutiveCovid restrictions, have caused majordifficulties for programme production andsales.

n Exactly a year ago this weekend, this club’shome league game against Larne waspostponed and the season was unavoidablycurtailed, due to the unprecedentedcircumstances of the corona virus pandemic.It’s been a long and difficult year and hopefully,it won’t be too long until a form of normalitycan return, including the return of greatlymissed spectators to games.

n In accordance with the club rules, nominationsfrom members for positions on the club’sboard of directors, or business motions mustbe submitted by the end of this month.


DungannonSwifts

Sam Johnston 01 Conner Byrne 13 Stuart Addis 18 Roy Carroll 33 Caolin Coyle 02 Alan Teggart 03 Douglas Wilson 04 Dylan King 05 Callum Byers 06 Caolan McAleer 07 Daniel Hughes 09 Oisin Smyth 10 Rhyss Campbell 11 Lorcan Forde 12 Mark Patton 14 Ben Gallagher 15 Michael Carvill 16 Cahal McGinty 17 Ryan Mayse 19 Shane McGinty 21 Fra Brennan 22 Dylan O’Kane 23 Terry Devlin 24 James Convie 25 Adam Glenny 26 Ethan McGee 27 Shea Conway 28 James Teelan 29 Odhran Smyth 30 Harry Evans 31 Matty Smyth 32 Nathaniel Ferris 34 Rory Patterson 35

CarrickRangers

Geoff McKinty 01 Aaron Hogg 18 Connor Friel 28 Kurtis Forsythe 02 Reece Neale 03 Mark Surgenor 04 Chris Rodgers 05 Caolan Loughran 06 Lee Chapman 07 Jonny Frazer 08 Daniel Kelly 10 Alexander Gawne 11 James Ferrin 15 Michael Smith 16 Steven Gordon 17 Liam McKenna 19 Kyle Cherry 20 Reece Glendinning 23 Jordan Gibson 24 Jack Millar 26 Lloyd Anderson 42 Jordan Jenkins 43 Corey McMullan 44 Gérard Storey 48 Chris Ramsey 55 Cathair Friel 99

visitorsteamline-ups


by Linfield manager David Healy

Over the course of this weekend, we will face two more formidable hurdles againstteams that will come here with no fear and with nothing to lose. Both sides may be in the bottom two at present but even without the fear of thedreaded relegation, they will be battling to gather points, to move away from theircurrent basement positions in the league table. Carrick showed in their recent 1-1 draw against us at the Loughshore hotel arenaand in their subsequent 3-1 win at Seaview, that they are more than capable ofsecuring impressive results against the leading sides in the league. Dungannon have also recorded several impressive results and with Roy Carroll ingoal and a new manager in Dean Shiels in charge, they will be determined to makea significant impression on their return to a stadium they know well. I was delighted with our recent wins (2-0) against Cliftonville and (5-0) againstWarrenpoint. The clean sheets were most welcome and I've also been very pleasedwith the positive contributions of our new signings, Cameron Palmer and MichaelNewberry. Both lads have settled in well in their new surroundings and I'm surethey will make a significant contribution during the course of their time with us. We are in the middle of a tough schedule of Saturday / Tuesday fixtures and theplayers have responded well to the demands placed on them. Several playersmissed the midweek game due to injury - Christy Manzinga, Stephen Fallon, MarkHaughey, Mark Stafford and Ross Larkin. They will be joined on the doubtful list for this weekend's games by two others wholimped off injured in the midweek game against Warrenpoint. Kyle McClean had justreturned to action after a one game suspension, when he picked up an injury earlyin the Warrenpoint game and later in the game, Conor Pepper had to be withdrawn,due to a knock he sustained.As a result, it's been a busy time for our medical team of Patrick Noble (doctor),Terry Hayes (sports therapist) and Paul Butler (physio) and hopefully, they will havegot some of our injured players back into the squad for these important games thisweekend. It's not just players who we've been missing, as we've really been missing our loyalsupporters, home and away at all of our recent games. We really hope it won't betoo long until we can play in front of our supporters again, as we know they canreally make a huge difference, especially in tight games.Congratulations to everyone at one of my former clubs Rangers on their 55th leaguetitle success and we will be working hard over the coming weeks to try and equalthat tremendous achievement.


Shayne LaveryAge: 22Position: Forward Squad number: 14Previous clubs: Gle

navon,

Everton and on loan at Falkirk

Appearances: 59 (11 as sub)

Goals: 31

who’swhoat

‘The Park’Linfield striker Shayne Lavery is a manin form. On Saturday he banged in twogoals in a 2-0 win over Cliftonville, theweek before that he did the same in a2-1 win over Larne and during theweek against Warrenpoint Town hescored one, assisted two and wasnamed ‘Man of the Match’. Speaking to‘Look at Linfield’, Shayne told us he’sthriving with regular starts and wantsto keep up his good form.“The two goals against Cliftonville tooka while coming but we kept getting intothe right areas and putting balls intothe box and we believed it would pay offand the midfield and defence wereexcellent to see the win out. It was adeserved three points as I thought wewere the better team.“For a striker it is beneficial to have arun of starts like I have recentlybecause if you’re playing and scoringyou just want to keep going, keepplaying 90 minutes and hopefully getmore goals and more wins.“This has probably been my bestseason league-wise in terms of goals. Idon’t really set myself targets but Ialways aim to perform better because Ifeel if I am performing well then thegoals will come for me. Holding up theplay, passing and crossing are all a partof that. I work hard at all of that and Iknow that I can get in the right position


to score goals after that.”Last season was Shayne’s first full season in senior competitive football and he netted17 goals in 38 appearances, second only to Andy Waterworth who scored 19 in 42.Shayne already has 14 goals for this season and looks sure to better last season’s tallyin the remaining games and he told us about some of the factors behind theimprovement.“During the first lockdown – about a year ago now – I gave Personal Trainer, JonnyPierce a ring because I thought I needed to get leaner and sharper on the pitch. I thinkthat is paying off at the minute but still a long way to go.“I was probably more self-critical last year. If I had a bad game I didn’t know how to dealwith that as I was more inexperienced but now I know you’re going to get the odd gamewhere you’re not performing well but you just need to make sure that isn’t a recurringthing.”The former Everton and Falkirk striker played a big part in a never to be forgottenEuropean journey in 2019, scoring against Sutjeska and then twice at home to Qarabagin the group stage play-off win at Windsor Park. What he did on that memorable nightwas incredible and we asked was setting such high standards in his early days almost ahindrance because it leads to higher expectancy?“I suppose people maybe expected quite a lot after that, but I am able to do that so thechallenge for me is to do it on a more consistent basis and most importantly, help theteam win games. This is the biggest Club in the country, so the pressure comes with itbut I enjoy that and I know Andy Waterworth says the same thing. It’s brilliant when youget the goal or two goals to win the game, that’s what we do it for.”At the start of the season it was Andy Waterworth banging the goals in and at timesShayne has had to be patient, but he says his fellow striker is a massive help both onand off the pitch.“Andy Waterworth is a massive influence for me. He would talk to me about otherdefenders that he’s played against over the years, he knows the league and has beenone of the best strikers in the league for the last five or six years, so he’s great as yousaw on the pitch against Cliftonville because if you watch his run for the opening goal, hetakes defenders away to give me the space to get the goal.”After a spell of a few disappointing results, The Blues are hoping to continue to buildform and momentum now that they’ve bounced back with back-to-back wins overCliftonville and Warrenpoint Town. Shayne says it’s important to keep doing the basicswell and making Windsor Park a fortress with consecutive home games looming againstCarrick Rangers and Dungannon Swifts.“It’s been a bit stop-start in terms of our form lately but we had a chat after the Glentorangame and we want to hopefully put a run of form together, but to do that you must take itone game at a time and we need to make sure we are hard to beat. We want teamscoming to Windsor Park scared. If we play the way we know we can, creating chancesand being hard to beat then we will string wins together. We are good enough to beatanyone on our day so it doesn’t matter who comes here, we aim to win every game. If wecan keep picking up maximum points we will see where that takes us.”It’s great to see the 22 year-old in such fine form and everyone associated with the Clubwill commend Shayne for it and hope that it will continue for the rest of the season andbeyond.


Date Opponent H/A Comp. ResultAugust 8 Tre Fiori (N) CL 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 11 Drita (awarded 3-0 win) (N) CL 3-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 18 Legia Warsaw (A) CL 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nSeptember 17 Floriana (H) EL 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nOctober 5 PSNI (H) CAS 6-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 13 Carrick Rangers (A) CAS 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 17 Carrick Rangers (H) Prem. 5-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 24 Ballymena United (A) Prem. 3-2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 30 Crusaders (H) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nNovember 3 Larne (A) CAS 1-4 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 7 Portadown (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 14 Coleraine (A) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 21 Glenavon (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 24 Glentoran (H) Prem. 3-3 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 28 Warrenpoint (A) Prem. 1-2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nDecember 5 Cliftonville (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 11 Larne (A) Prem. 1-3 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 19 Dungannon (H) Prem. 4-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nJanuary 2 Glenavon (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 23 Warrenpoint (H) Prem. 6-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 26 Cliftonville (A) Prem. 3-4 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nFebruary 2 Portadown (H) Prem. 3-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 6 Crusaders (A) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 9 Carrick Rangers (A) Prem. 1-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 20 Coleraine (H) Prem. 0-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 23 Glentoran (H) Prem. 0-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 26 Larne (H) Prem. 2-1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nMarch 2 Glentoran (A) Prem. 1-3 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 6 Cliftonville (H) Prem. 2-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 9 Warrenpoint (H) Prem. 5-0 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 13 Carrick Rangers (H) Prem.

16 Dungannon (H) Prem.

19 Crusaders (A) Prem.

23 Ballymena (A) Prem.

27 Portadown (A) Prem.

April 3 Dungannon (A) Prem.

6 Coleraine (H) Prem.

10 Larne (A) Prem.

20 Ballymena (H) Prem.

24 Glenavon (A) Prem.

TBA Annagh United (H) IC

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Facts & FiguresA full round-up of the season so far!

n Starting Line-Up n SubstituteGoals scored are shown inside individual

boxes

Linfieldsquad


n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 3 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 7 P n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 6 C n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 9 C n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 2 n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

2 G n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 6 C n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 9 W n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 1

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Chris Johns 01 Alex Moore 40 David Walsh 51 Mark Stafford 02 Ross Larkin 03 Michael Newberry 04 Mark Haughey 05 Jimmy Callacher 06

Andrew Waterworth 07 Christy Manzinga 09 Jordan Stewart 10 Kirk Millar 12 Shayne Lavery 14 Navid Nasseri 15 Matthew Clarke 16 Kyle McClean 18

Stephen Fallon 20 Jamie Mulgrew 22 Ryan McGivern 23 Conor Pepper 25 Niall Quinn 31 Cameron Palmer 35 Joel Cooper 99


Wishing Linfield FC every success for Season 2020/2021!

PETER DORNAN & COMPANYSOLICITORS

Personal Injury Compensation, Road Traffic Accidents,Accidents at Work, 24HR Criminal Practice,

Conveyancing, Wills and a full range of other legal services

Belfast Office:72 High Street, Belfast BT7 2BE • Tel: 028 9023 4559

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Test your knowledge!1. Which former Spanish player and manager played for Bolton Wanderers

for one season in 2004-05?2. Former Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross signed for which MLS side

in February 2021? 3. Which player has made the most UEFA Champions’ League

appearances?4. Which Scottish side plays home games at Cappielow Park?5. Joachim Low is the current manager of Germany. Who was his

predecessor?6. Against which side did Andrew Waterworth score his first hat-trick of

the 2020-21 season?

Answerson page

21


Linfield Appearances

& Goals 2020-2021

App.

Goals

Kirk Millar 27 (2 as sub) 5

Niall Quinn 26 (1 as sub) 5

Jimmy Callacher 26 (1 as sub) 6

Jamie Mulgrew 26 (2 as sub) 1

Chris Johns 25 –

Jordan Stewart 25 (5 as sub) 10

Kyle McClean 24 (2 as sub) –

Andrew Waterworth 24 (12 as sub) 12

Mark Haughey 22 (2 as sub) –

Shayne Lavery 22 (3 as sub) 13

Navid Nasseri 21 (6 as sub) 3

Conor Pepper 18 (1 as sub) –

Matthew Clarke 17 (2 as sub) –

Stephen Fallon 17 (5 as sub) 2

Bastien Hery 11 (7 as sub) 1

Joel Cooper 9 (1 as sub) 1

Mark Stafford 9 (1 as sub) –

Christy Manzinga 9 (8 as sub) 1

Ross Larkin 8 (1 as sub) 1

Daniel Kearns 6 (3 as sub) –

Ryan McGivern 6 (4 as sub) 1

Ethan Boyle 4 –

Matthew Shevlin 4 as sub 1

David Walsh 3 –

Brandon Doyle 3 (2 as sub) –

Cameron Palmer 3 as sub –

Michael Newberry 2 –

Alex Moore 1 –

Joshua Archer 1 as sub 1

LINFIELD PLAYING RECORD 2019-20 P W D L F ADanske Bank Premiership 31 22 3 6 71 24Co. Antrim Shield 2 1 1 0 7 3League Cup 4 3 0 1 10 7UEFA Champions League 2 0 0 2 0 6UEFA Europa League 6 4 1 1 12 9UTU Champions Cup 2 0 1 1 1 7Irish Cup 1 0 0 1 1 2Total: 48 30 6 12 102 58

LINFIELD PLAYING RECORD 2020-21 P W D L F ADanske Bank Premiership 23 15 3 5 54 25County Antrim Shield 3 2 0 1 9 4UEFA Champions League 2 1 0 1 2 1Europa League 1 0 0 1 0 1Total: 29 18 3 8 65 31

Follow, follow Linfield!Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLinfieldFCTwitter:@OfficialBlues

all the facts & figures from 2020-2021 season

Friday Fixture:Coleraine ( ) Crusaders ( )Saturday’s Fixtures:Ballymena United ( ) Portadown ( )Cliftonville ( ) Glenavon ( )Dungannon Swifts ( ) Larne ( )Warrenpoint Town ( ) Glentoran ( )Tuesday’s Fixtures:Carrick Rangers ( ) Larne ( )Glenavon ( ) Glentoran ( )Warrenpoint Town ( ) Ballymena United ( )

by James Kennedy


playersfrom ourpast

Michael GaultFor former Linfield midfielder and captain Michael Gault,his journey as a Linfield 1st Team player started and endedagainst Glenavon.

“Well, that’s nearly right. I made my debut againstGlenavon in 2002, and my last match in 2014 should havebeen against the same side – but, of course, I wasinjured!”.

A young Michael played for Lisburn Youth, and it was oneof his managers there, Les King, who was his link to TheBlues.

“Les was also a Linfield scout. We had a decent side, DavidHealy and Ryan McCann were teammates, and we had afew trips to tournaments in Blackpool and Germany”.

Aged 16, a number of the players from Lisburn Youthmoved to Lisburn Distillery, but for Michael it wasdestination Windsor Park.

“I started with the Under 18s and wasn’t always a starter. We had a small squad, I played invarious positions, then I ended up in the centre of midfield on a regular basis”.

An enthusiastic and confident Michael was soon called up to the Linfield Swifts squad for aSteel and Sons Cup tie against Shorts. Another player failed to appear, and Michael wasthrown into the side.

“That was my first experience of playing against a men’s team, and gave me a good idea ofwhat was to come”.

Dennis Shields made sure news of Michael’s form reached David Jeffrey, and his seniordebut came in April 2002.

“A lot of the regulars were rested as it was the Irish Cup final the following week. I played


alongside Pat McShane in defence, with Peter Thompson up top. We lost 2-0 but I must havedone something right as The Sunday Life picked me as Man of the Match!”.

2003/04 saw Michael firmly established in the team, and he picked up the first of 7 Leaguewinners’ medals that season.

“We were at the start of a golden era for the club. Winning the Setanta Sports Cup in 2005 setus up for the Clean Sweep in 2006, and the successful seasons that followed”.

That golden era also included 6 Irish Cup finals in 7 seasons, with Michael picking up 5winners medals. And it could have been 6 only for a foot injury picked up late in the 2011/12season.

“I got injured in the semi final and played a few games with pain killing injections. However,when Noel Bailie came to pick me up for the final I could hardly get my shoe on!”.

Michael was ruled out of the team, missing out on lifting the trophy in his first season ascaptain of the club.

The next couple of years weren’t so good, and David Jeffrey announced he would leave theclub at the end of the 2013/14 season.

“In football terms, I wasn’t convinced that was the right decision, but for David’s sake heneeded to step away from some of the stress of managing at the highest level”.

Michael also left Windsor Park that summer, signing for Portadown, and his new side got toanother Irish Cup final in his first season.

“We were beaten by what I can only describe as a diabolical refereeing decision. The incidentthat the officials got wrong had a huge bearing on the outcome, we lost out on Europeanfootball and the money that comes with it, and the team broke up”.

Short spells at Crusaders and Ballymena Utd (where he reunited with Jeffrey) ended withMichael retiring from the senior game. Although, he wasn’t finished completely, turning outfor Annagh Utd and Ballymacash Rangers before trying his hand at management at TheBluebell Stadium.

“And now my football life has come full circle with me becoming coach of the same LinfieldU-18s side I started out with! Hopefully the young players can learn from me and ChrisKingsberry, although they should probably learn not to get themselves injured as much as Idid!”.


Linfield chairman RoyMcGivern presents the RonnieMorrison sponsored Linfieldplayer of the match award toMark Stafford following lastweek's 2-0 win againstCliftonville.

Linfield vice-chairmanStephen Dickson presentsthe Discount BlindsDecember Linfield tv Goalof the month award toShayne Lavery.


ShayneLavery

CameronPalmer

JoelCooper

JimmyCallacher


Saturday, March 6, 2021Windsor Park, Belfast

Linfield 2 – Cliftonville 0Danske Bank Premiership

JoelCooper

ShayneLavery


WILLIAM COATESL I M I T E D

37 MALLUSK ROADNEWTOWNABBEY

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Linfield vice-chairmanStephen Dickson presentsthe Discount Blinds FebruaryLinfield tv Goal of the monthaward to Niall Quinn.

Linfield players feature in WebinarOn Saturday March 20 at3pm we will be hosting awebinar with players AndyWaterworth and ChrisJohns. This is open to allsupporters on a first come,first served basis and willbe capped at 200supporters. Eachsupporter who registers can ask a question and a number will be picked out atrandom on the day

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D544jKBGQbeDEBisex_NUw


by Dan Brown

Reading the past number ofprogramme editions online has nodoubt been an enjoyableexperience for those of us unableto attend matches in person. Inour present circumstances – whenwe are missing out on connectionsto which we have beenaccustomed – having access to theonline programme brings somesemblance of normality.

As with so many areas of our liveswe have adapted to deal with the difficulties we face. Adaption and meeting the challenges weface head on has been something this club has excelled in ever since our formation.

Last week this article considered the history boards in our club offices that will tell the storyof Windsor Park. That story is one of foresight and striving to be the best. From theestablishment of this club until today that aspiration has underlined everything we have done.

It was in this month of March 135 years ago – in 1886 – that Linfield was born. The story of aclub, which was formed by workers at the Ulster Spinning Company’s Linfield Mill, is a wellknown one. Chronicled both by Malcolm Brodie in “Linfield 100 Years” and Ivan Little in hisVHS production of “Weavers to Winners”, our club very quickly came to dominate thefootballing landscape of Ireland, then Northern Ireland.

When the first Irish League was contested in 1890/91, it was Linfield who took the title.Winning that first League Championship we edged ahead of our competitors, and ever sincethen we have never looked back.

Our domination of the local game has witnessed the Irish League trophy come to rest withour club on a staggering 54 occasions. What is more is that on some of the major milestonesof the club’s history, our 100th and 125th anniversaries we lifted the Gibson Cup to give thefans the perfect tonic to toast the important dates.

On the occasion of our one hundredth anniversary, Roy Coyle understood the importance ofsucceeding in that most special of seasons. Coyle boasted of his players’ exploits to thispublication. He explained, “their achievements have brought great credit to the club in this our

135 Years of Success


Quiz Answers: (1) Fernando Hierro; (2) Inter Miami; (3) Iker Casillas;(4) Greenock Morton; (5) Jurgen Klinsmann; (6) Carrick Rangers.

Centenary Year”. He furthermoremaintained: “it [was] particularly fabulousand particularly pleasing as it [was] ourcentenary year!”

The sentiments were echoed by clubcaptain, David Jeffrey, who also explained,“Given the anniversary, the players feltunder strain as well as pressure, so dearknows what Roy Coyle was feeling”.

As a player and a captain, Jeffreyempathised with his manager. He knewthe sort of pressure that Coyle was under,and twenty-five years later he wouldexperience similar feelings. Like Coyle,Jeffrey would lead this club as managerand do so with distinguished success.

Not only did both take the club to title after title, they both led the club during significantmilestones in the club’s history. Jeffrey was at the helm two-and-half decades later, when the125th anniversary was celebrated.

By the time the club were enjoying the celebrations during 2011, Jeffrey had establishedhimself on a par with Coyle as one of this club’s – and the wider Irish League’s – greatestmanagers. Going into the 2010/11 campaign, Jeffrey had won four League and Cup Doubles infive seasons.

He and his players would achieve the feat once again to complete a fifth double in sixseasons. It was fitting that one of the club’s most faithful servants – Noel Bailie – would bowout that campaign and leave on a spectacular high.

Incredibly the Doubles were not done that year of 2011, another would follow the next seasonto make it six Doubles in seven years. As with the players who represented the club in theprevious 125 years, theyunderstood and fulfilled theexpectation at the club.

Who knows how this 135thyear will pan out for the club,but those who went beforeset the highest of standards.Let’s hope our current cropof players can replicate andcomplete what would be amost impressive thirdstraight League title and aglobal record-equalling 55thtitle.


Tuesday, March 2, 2021The Oval, Belfast

Glentoran 3 – Linfield 1Danske Bank Premiership

KyleMcClean

DavidHealy

KyleMcClean

JamieMulgrew


Cameron Palmer, AndyWaterworth and JordanStewart celebrate Linfield’s5th goal at Windsor Park inmidweek.

n Happy Birthday to Linfield’s general manager Pat Fenlon who willcelebrate his 52nd birthday on Monday (March 15).

n This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of Linfield tv videocameraman Jamesy Robertson filming games on behalf of the club. Inthe past season Jamesy’s work has reached new heights in excellence,with the need for certain games to be live streamed on Linfield tv, dueto games being designated as behind closed doors or restricted inattendance figures, as a result of the corona virus pandemic.

n Congratulations to everyone at Rangers FC on their tremendoussuccess in securing their 55th league title in Scotland and with severalgames to spare. It’s been an incredibly consistent season, bothdomestically and in Europe for Steven Gerrard’s side and of course,everyone at Linfield hopes we can equal their 55th title winning successin the coming months.


Tuesday, March 9, 2021Windsor Park, Belfast

Linfield 5 – Warrenpoint 0Danske Bank Premiership

MichaelNewberry

JoelCooper

Shayne Laveryand Jordan Stewart

Conor Pepper


ShayneLavery

NiallQuinn

JordanStewart

AndrewWaterworth


Today’s visitors – Carrick Rangers

Carrick hoping for another goodperformance against the BluesJust weeks after Linfield were held to a draw by Carrick Rangers at the BelfastLoughshore Arena in front of the Sky Sports cameras in Carrickfergus, the twoteams meet again on Saturday, only this time at Windsor Park.

Linfield will need no lectures about what to expect from Niall Currie’s team, whowould certainly – you would imagine – be delighted with the same result andperformance that held The Blues in February.

On the night, Linfield were ahead within two minutes through Shayne Lavery’s goalbut failed to kick on and Carrick Rangers captain Daniel Kelly equalised late on for adeserved point, and they verynearly won it at the death whenLloyd Anderson fired just widefrom close range. David Healysaid his team didn’t win theirbattles and it’s something he willsurely remind his players of pre-match.

The last time Carrick Rangersgot a result at Windsor Park wasback in October 2015, just tendays into David Healy’s reign asLinfield manager, as MiguelChines put Carrick ahead fromthe penalty spot before AaronBurns slotted in a late leveller.

NiallCurrie


This afternoon’s officials:Referee: Ian McNabbLinesmen: Paul Robinson and Jamie Carnduff4th Official: Louise Thompson

The Amber Army pulled off a greataway win a few weeks ago whichcan give them belief, having beento Seaview where they beatCrusaders 3-1. Former Linfieldplayer Jonny Frazer – now on loanat Carrick Rangers from Glentoran– scored twice in their win atSeaview but picked up anunfortunate hamstring injury andis yet to return.

Today’s visitors had a slow start tothe season and were at the bottomat one stage, but it was a falseposition. Everything that couldhave gone wrong was going wrongat the beginning of the season.Due to weather and Covid-relatedprotocols, they played just fourmatches in 80 days, whichobviously isn’t ideal for a team

trying to build some momentum. They weren’t playing badly, and recorded 16 shotson goal away to Glentoran but they somehow lost. The staff believed that thingswould turn, and they have, with Carrick picking up results against the likes ofCrusaders, Linfield, Glenavon and Dungannon Swifts in recent weeks.

Although there is no relegation this season, Carrick have said they don’t want tofinish bottom regardless and they haven’t changed the way they play. They will wantto forget last week’s 5-0 defeat at home to Glentoran who scored all five in the firsthalf. On the night they changed to a back four from their familiar 3-5-2 system,possibly in part due to the absence of their leader and captain, Mark Surgenor at theback. He picked up a knee injury against Cliftonville in a 1-0 loss on February 27 andlike Frazer he is a sore miss. In their last game, Carrick Rangers battled hard butwent down 3-1 at home to Crusaders during the week and they will try to bounceback against Linfield

DanielKelly


New manager Dean hoping for aSwifts revival this seasonSaturday will begin a new era for DungannonSwifts as 36 year-old former Rangers,Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Coleraine attackerand Northern Ireland international DeanShiels will take charge of the Stangmore Parkoutfit at home to Larne, having recentlyreplaced former Linfield defender KrisLindsay as Swifts manager.Son of the experienced former BallymenaUnited, Coleraine, Kilmarnock, Derry City andcurrent Northern Ireland Women’s Nationalteam manager Kenny Shiels, Dean will thenbring his young Swifts team to Windsor Parkon Tuesday night to play Linfield.Although it’s a very young team at Shiels’ disposal, he does have some players whopossess a wealth of experience and they will need no introduction to the Linfieldsupport. Roy Carroll was a fan favourite at Windsor Park in his three seasons with TheBlues from 2016-2019, where he won two league titles, an Irish Cup, a League Cup and aCounty Antrim Shield. The 43 year-old joined the Swifts in January having recoveredfrom an ACL injury which ultimately ended his time with Linfield in 2019 and it is just apity that the Linfield supporters won’t be there to give Roy a warm welcome on hisreturn to Windsor.Michael Carvill is another who had a successful Linfield career, spending seven yearswith the Club, winning three Irish League and Cup ‘doubles’, as well as the CountyAntrim Shield.The Swifts also brought in 36 year-old striker Rory Patterson in January, having beenplaying in the Mid-Ulster league with Ballymacash Rangers since September 2019 and

Today’s visitors – Dungannon Swifts


Danske Bank Premiership League Table 2020-21 P. W. D. L. F. A. PointsLinfield 23 15 3 5 54 25 48Coleraine 22 13 4 5 35 22 43Crusaders 23 12 3 8 43 28 39Larne 22 10 7 5 35 23 37Glentoran 21 10 6 5 36 18 36Cliftonville 24 10 6 8 34 28 36Ballymena United 22 9 4 9 30 24 31Glenavon 21 8 7 6 33 35 31Warrenpoint Town 21 6 5 10 22 37 23Portadown 21 3 6 12 24 45 15Carrick Rangers 21 3 4 14 19 48 13Dungannon Swifts 21 3 3 15 14 46 12

This evening’s officials:Referee: Steven GreggLinesmen: Ryan Kelsey and Stephen Bell4th Official: Shane McGonigle

then signing for Belfast Celtic, however, their lack of football due to not being granted‘elite’ status in leagues below Premiership level meant he had to move to the Swifts toget playing football again.When Dungannon Swifts last visited Windsor Park in December – then under thestewardship of Kris Lindsay – they were stubborn and resolute and their gameplan wasworking to a tee until Andy Waterworth made a 66th minute breakthrough, before TheBlues added a few more to win 4-0. It was far from straightforward and Linfield had tobe focused and patient.The Swifts currently sit bottom of the table but even with no relegation this season theyare very much fighting, just as title challengers Coleraine found out last week when OranKearney’s men edged a dramatic five-goal thriller at Stangmore. In that game, Swiftscaptain Dougie Wilson showed his set-piece capabilities with a smashing free-kick goaland that’s something for Linfield to be wary of, whilst Rory Patterson showed he hasn’tlost with finishing touch with a fine headed goal.New manager Dean Shiels spoke upon his unveiling saying that he has clear views onhow he thinks football should be played and that he wants fans coming excited to seethe Swifts, so it will be interesting to see how they approach Tuesday’s game at WindsorPark.


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President:Peter Lunn M.B.E.

Chairman:Roy McGivern

Vice-Chairman:Stephen Dickson

General Manager:Pat Fenlon

Hon. Treasurer:Richard Johnson

Hon. Secretary:Andrew Conn

Board of DirectorsTrustees:

Jack Grundie, Richard Johnson,

Peter Lunn M.B.E., Dr. Cameron

Ramsey, Paul Weir, Stuart

Gilmore, Jonathan Wilson,

David Sales

Elected Members:Andy Conn, Stephen

Dickson,

David Strain, Stephen Shaw,

Irvine Woods, Roy McGivern,

Ronnie Morrison, Jonathan

Lamont, Drew McCoubrey.

Linfield StaffTeam Manager: David Healy MBE

Assistant Manager: Ross Oliver

Fitness Coach: Ricky McCann

Sports Therapist: Terry Hayes

Medical Officer: Patrick Noble

Kit Manager: Gary Eccles

Goalkeeping Coach: Johnny Williamson

Physiotherapist: Paul Butler

Academy Director: Glenn Ferguson

Hon. Vice-Presidents: Noel Bailie M.B.E.,Billy K

ennedy,

Jim Kerr

Vice-Presidents: Andy Kerr, M.B.E., Michael Jones,

Robert Neill, Glenn Meikle, Gary

Dickson, Jacky Stewart, Norman

Morrow

Hon. Trainer: Kenny McKeague

Hon. Team Attend: Andy Kerr M.B.E.

Official ProgrammeEditor: Andrew Conn

Publisher: Linfield Football Club

Printer: EPM., Unit 10B, Argyle Bus.

Centre, Belfast BT13 2AU.

Tel: (028) 9074 0192

Design & lay-out: Alan Kirkpatrick

Photographer: Colin McMaster

Linfield Football Club(Founded March 1886)Linfield Football Club, formed in March, 1886,by millworkers in the Sandy Row area ofBelfast, is the largest, most successful club inIreland. The Belfast Blues have a playing recordunsurpassed in Irish football and Windsor Parkstadium is the home of the Northern Irelandinternational team.

HONOURS:-Irish League Championship – 54 times• 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1897/98,1901/02, 1903/04, 1906/07, 1907/08, 1908/09,1910/11, 1913/14, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1929/30, 1931/32,1933/34, 1934/35, 1948/49, 1949/50, 1953/54, 1954/55, 1955/56, 1958/59, 1960/61, 1961/62,1965/66, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1974/75, 1977/78,1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84,1984/85, 1985/86, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1992/93,1993/94, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2005/06,2006/07, 2007/08, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12,2016/17, 2018/19, 2019/20.Irish F.A. Challenge Cup – 43 times• 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1897/98,1898/99, 1901/02, 1903/04, 1911/12, 1912/13, 1914/15,1915/16, 1918/19, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1933/34, 1935/36, 1938/39, 1941/42, 1944/45,1945/46, 1947/48, 1949/50, 1952/53, 1959/60,1961/62, 1962/63, 1969/70, 1977/78, 1979/80,1981/82, 1993/94, 1994/95, 2001/02, 2005/06,2006/07, 2007/08, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12,2016/17.

League Cup (City Cup): 30 times winners. Gold Cup: 31 times winners.Ulster Cup: 15 times winners. Co. Antrim Shield: 43 times winners.All-Ireland Cup: 4 times winners. Budweiser Cup:Once.Coca-Cola Cup: 3 times winners. Setanta Sports Cup: Once.

Linfield Football Club Limited2020-2021


European Record: Played Won Drew Lost For Against 122 24 32 66 116 220

• Linfield have competed in the European Cup over 31 seasons, in the European Cup Winners’ Cup over three, theEuropean Fairs Cup over two, the UEFA Cup in six and seven in the Europa League. In 1966/67 Linfield reachedthe quarter-finals of the European Cup, losing by the odd goal to CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria.

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