Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Frederick Laidman [1] [2] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 20 June 1913||
Place of birth | Durham, England | ||
Date of death | 20 June 1987 | (aged 74)||
Place of death | Durham, England | ||
Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
19??–1934 | Crook Town | ||
1934–1935 | Burnley | 0 | (0) |
193?–1936 | Wigan Athletic | ||
1936–1938 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
1938–1942 | Bristol City | 10 | (1) |
1942–1945 | Sunderland | 0 | (0) |
1945–1949 | Stockton | ||
1949–1950 | Darlington | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Frederick Laidman (20 June 1913 – 20 June 1987) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Bristol City and Darlington. [2] He was on the books of Burnley and Everton without representing them in the League, was registered with Sunderland during the Second World War, and played non-league football for Crook Town, Wigan Athletic and Stockton.
Laidman was born in Durham in 1913. [2] He played football in the North-Eastern League for Crook Town, then, after a two-match trial, turned professional with Burnley, then a Second Division club, in December 1934. He played for the club's 'A' team, [3] and for the reserves in the Central League, [4] but was released on a free transfer at the end of the season without having appeared in the first team. [5] He played for Cheshire League club Wigan Athletic, and signed for Everton of the First Division in December 1936 for a £500 fee. [6] Laidman was retained for the 1937–38 season, [7] but by December, he was available for transfer. Amid interest from Stockport County and Chester, Everton's secretary was instructed to accept offers of £500 or better, [8] but none were forthcoming. At the end of the season, he was transfer-listed at £350. [9] He submitted a written request to be allowed a free transfer, [10] but in June 1938, joined Third Division South club Bristol City for a £250 fee. [11] He never played first-team football for Everton.
Laidman made his debut in the Football League on the opening day of the 1938–39 season in a 2–2 draw away to Watford. The Western Daily Press reported that he "showed up well towards the end". [12] By mid-September, we read that his "passing lacked precision and accuracy", [13] and an unnamed Bristolian in the Cheltenham Chronicle expressed his disappointment with the lack of understanding between the left-wing pairing of Laidman and George Willshaw, suggesting that Laidman needed to play higher up the field and nearer to his partner. [14] He scored in a 2–2 draw at Northampton Town, [15] but lost his place, finished the season with ten League appearances and that one goal, [2] and was listed as available for transfer. [16]
During the Second World War, Laidman served in the Durham Light Infantry. He played for their football team alongside such players as England internationals Walter Boyes and Bill Nicholson. [17] By October 1942, he had been promoted from private to corporal, was playing at right half rather than inside forward, [18] and had signed professional forms with Sunderland. [19] In December, the Sunderland Echo's "Argus" wrote "what a grand little right half he is – full of grit and enthusiasm, capable of running for the proverbial week, and capable of using the ball to the advantage of those in front of him", [20] but sometimes his enthusiasm was to get the better of him. A year of so into his Sunderland career, the same correspondent described him as "sometimes in a hurry to use the ball before he had it under control", [21] and feeding Johnny Spuhler with passes that were well-conceived but so overhit that "some of them Spuhler could not reach if he had a flying start on a Spitfire". [22]
Laidman scored 16 goals from 67 games in three seasons of wartime football for Sunderland, [23] and made one guest appearance for Queens Park Rangers in November 1944, [24] before signing professionally for North Eastern League club Stockton in 1945. He also played as a guest for Leeds United in the Football League North in 1945–46, [25] but the Football Association's ruling that clubs could only field their own registered players in the first postwar FA Cup made him ineligible to guest for Sunderland in that competition. [26] Laidman was a member of the Stockton team that reached the second round proper of the 1947–48 FA Cup, losing only after a replay to Notts County, who fielded Tommy Lawton in both matches. [27] He continued with Stockton until the summer of 1948, when he made a brief return to League football with Darlington. [25] He played just twice in the Third Division North before retiring from the game. [28]
Laidman went on to work on the railways, and died in Durham in 1987, on his 74th birthday. [25]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Frederick Laidman [1] [2] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 20 June 1913||
Place of birth | Durham, England | ||
Date of death | 20 June 1987 | (aged 74)||
Place of death | Durham, England | ||
Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
19??–1934 | Crook Town | ||
1934–1935 | Burnley | 0 | (0) |
193?–1936 | Wigan Athletic | ||
1936–1938 | Everton | 0 | (0) |
1938–1942 | Bristol City | 10 | (1) |
1942–1945 | Sunderland | 0 | (0) |
1945–1949 | Stockton | ||
1949–1950 | Darlington | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Frederick Laidman (20 June 1913 – 20 June 1987) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Bristol City and Darlington. [2] He was on the books of Burnley and Everton without representing them in the League, was registered with Sunderland during the Second World War, and played non-league football for Crook Town, Wigan Athletic and Stockton.
Laidman was born in Durham in 1913. [2] He played football in the North-Eastern League for Crook Town, then, after a two-match trial, turned professional with Burnley, then a Second Division club, in December 1934. He played for the club's 'A' team, [3] and for the reserves in the Central League, [4] but was released on a free transfer at the end of the season without having appeared in the first team. [5] He played for Cheshire League club Wigan Athletic, and signed for Everton of the First Division in December 1936 for a £500 fee. [6] Laidman was retained for the 1937–38 season, [7] but by December, he was available for transfer. Amid interest from Stockport County and Chester, Everton's secretary was instructed to accept offers of £500 or better, [8] but none were forthcoming. At the end of the season, he was transfer-listed at £350. [9] He submitted a written request to be allowed a free transfer, [10] but in June 1938, joined Third Division South club Bristol City for a £250 fee. [11] He never played first-team football for Everton.
Laidman made his debut in the Football League on the opening day of the 1938–39 season in a 2–2 draw away to Watford. The Western Daily Press reported that he "showed up well towards the end". [12] By mid-September, we read that his "passing lacked precision and accuracy", [13] and an unnamed Bristolian in the Cheltenham Chronicle expressed his disappointment with the lack of understanding between the left-wing pairing of Laidman and George Willshaw, suggesting that Laidman needed to play higher up the field and nearer to his partner. [14] He scored in a 2–2 draw at Northampton Town, [15] but lost his place, finished the season with ten League appearances and that one goal, [2] and was listed as available for transfer. [16]
During the Second World War, Laidman served in the Durham Light Infantry. He played for their football team alongside such players as England internationals Walter Boyes and Bill Nicholson. [17] By October 1942, he had been promoted from private to corporal, was playing at right half rather than inside forward, [18] and had signed professional forms with Sunderland. [19] In December, the Sunderland Echo's "Argus" wrote "what a grand little right half he is – full of grit and enthusiasm, capable of running for the proverbial week, and capable of using the ball to the advantage of those in front of him", [20] but sometimes his enthusiasm was to get the better of him. A year of so into his Sunderland career, the same correspondent described him as "sometimes in a hurry to use the ball before he had it under control", [21] and feeding Johnny Spuhler with passes that were well-conceived but so overhit that "some of them Spuhler could not reach if he had a flying start on a Spitfire". [22]
Laidman scored 16 goals from 67 games in three seasons of wartime football for Sunderland, [23] and made one guest appearance for Queens Park Rangers in November 1944, [24] before signing professionally for North Eastern League club Stockton in 1945. He also played as a guest for Leeds United in the Football League North in 1945–46, [25] but the Football Association's ruling that clubs could only field their own registered players in the first postwar FA Cup made him ineligible to guest for Sunderland in that competition. [26] Laidman was a member of the Stockton team that reached the second round proper of the 1947–48 FA Cup, losing only after a replay to Notts County, who fielded Tommy Lawton in both matches. [27] He continued with Stockton until the summer of 1948, when he made a brief return to League football with Darlington. [25] He played just twice in the Third Division North before retiring from the game. [28]
Laidman went on to work on the railways, and died in Durham in 1987, on his 74th birthday. [25]