Sad news of his passing today. He came to us late in his career but the only other player I have seen in red and white on a level with MLT....even shared his work rate ethic! And he created THAT goal.
I can remember him playing for Saints and he was very typical of the old pros Lawrie would often recruit knowing he could get something out of them in the twilight of their career. I recall him being a flair player, very much in the ilk of Georgie Best and Stan Bowles and of an ilk that simply would not be possible today.. However, despite his prowess, I think most fans of my age will always remember him for the interview he gave to "Shoot" magazine where his responses to a set of questions of the back page were less than serious. The following week someone's mother wrote to the letters column of this magazine to complain that Worthington had been been frivolous.
Very very talented player and a clever buy from Lawrie. On his day he was definitely MLT standard. Sad news today - there’s quite a team being put together up in heaven now!
The last few weeks have seemed particularly tragic with Peter Lorimer passing too. It does seem like another world when you look at this generation of players and I feel that they were the first generation to enjoy the same kind of status as rock stars. I think Worthington thrived on his image as something of a bad boy. These days, players are nowhere as near as colourful as Frank Worthington.
Here's that interview from Shoot ....They don't make 'em like this anymore. 'Arry has a story about when he played for West Ham at Huddersfield back in the late 60s and Frank was an unknown 17 year old who went into the Hammers dressing room dressed in tight jeans with an Elvis buckle, cowboy boots and an Elvis t-shirt and a stetson hat. he cockily went straight up to the England captain Bobby Moore the biggest star in the game at the time and threw him a ball and said "hey Mooro sign this"..He later played a blinder and scored a goal. I can remember us wearing "Frankie goes to Fratton" shirts against Pompey in '84 when Frankie t-shirts were all the rage!.. R.I.P. Frankie..a true maverick....
Last time I saw him on a football pitch, he was supervising the halftime entertainment at the NPower stadium - which he did with his customary "Bingo Caller in a Workingman's Club" panache. A true legend in every way.
