Gordon Astall

Gordon Astall ( born September 22, 1927 in Horwich, Greater Manchester ) is a former English footballer. He came here as a right winger both 1956 two international matches in the England team and in the B- team of his country and for a selection of the Football League action.

Sports career

Gordon Astall was initially active as an amateur for FC Southampton, before he was taken after an unsuccessful trial with Bolton Wanderers in November 1947 by Plymouth Argyle under contract. In the home game against Luton Town in February 1948, he came to his debut, became a regular player at the Home Side and led his club in 1953 to the championship in the third class Third Division South.

In October of the same year, the second-class league rival Birmingham City bought him for 14,000 British pounds, which Astall his teammate Alex Govan followed, which was also changed from Plymouth to St Andrews. Overall Astall had fired 42 goals in 188 games for Plymouth and replaced from now on in Birmingham the Scots Jack Stewart. He secured quickly where a regular place and 1955 was decisively involved in winning the championship in the second class Second Division and the associated rise in the top English league. He also reached the same year the final of the FA Cup and was defeated there at Wembley with Manchester City 1:3.

International recognition followed for the first time, when he came to his first international match on 20 May 1956. Six days after this game against Finland, where Astall the third English goal scored for a 5-1 win, followed before an audience of 95,000 at Berlin's Olympic Stadium just his second deployment against Germany, which should also be his last for the English national team, however,.

In July 1961 he moved to 57 goals in 235 games for Birmingham free transfer to Torquay United and made his debut there for the " Gulls " on August 19 in the 1-2 defeat against Crystal Palace. At the end of the season Astall had scored 10 goals in 27 games, but the relegation of his club into the fourth-rate Fourth Division can not prevent the the club suffered on the final day by the away defeat at FC Barnsley. After only six more games for Torquay Astall ended his active career as a professional footballer.

According to the newspaper " Herald Express" in Torquay from the May 2000 Astall lived after his resignation on in Torquay and was interested in from now on for the game of golf.