Flamboyant Frank Worthington and his forgotten Brighton spell
Flamboyant Frank Worthington rattled through 24 different clubs in six different countries, so it is no surprise really that the single season he spent with Brighton often gets overlooked when people remember a remarkable 25 year football career.
The phrase “they do not make them like that anymore” was reserved for Worthington. His off-the-field antics were nearly as famous as what he could do on the pitch as a skilful, free-scoring centre forward who notched 236 goals in 757 professional games in English football.
Worthington once said: “I’ve squandered fortunes on booze, birds and gambling – it’s better than wasting it.” It was his fun attitude and his carefree approach to life which made him popular with supporters wherever he went.
If there was one drink involved, Worthington wanted to have 10. If there was a casino, he wanted to know more about the game supplier and chance his arm on the roulette table. And if were women involved, he wanted to woo them.
Without Worthington’s love of the female species, he may never have ended up at the Goldstone Ground. ‘Birds’ were heavily involved in the tale of how Frank Worthington arrived at Brighton in the summer of 1984, and we are not talking about Seagulls.
The forward had spent the 1983-84 season with Southampton as part of a potent front line alongside young goal getters Steve Moran and Danny Wallace. It was an attack good enough to fire Lawrie McMenemy’s side to second place in the old Division One and the semi finals of the FA Cup.
Five games before the end of the campaign and Southampton went to Stoke City. The night before the game, Worthington was caught in the hotel room of two female Southampton supporters.
No prizes for guessing what he was doing in there… having a cup of tea, as he told McMenemy. The Saints boss did not buy it and a furious McMenemy told Worthington to make his own way home from the Potteries as his Southampton career was over.
Their loss was Brighton’s gain. Having played with Worthington at Huddersfield Town, Albion boss Chris Cattlin offered his former teammate a one-year contract as he sought to inject some experience through the spine of his Brighton team.
Even after playing in a few exhibition matches for the mighty Manchester United following his departure from the Dell, Frank jumped at the chance to sign for a club sponsored by a brewery.
Worthington was 35 at the time. His performances in Brighton blue though defied his age and the Goldstone crowd immediately took to him for his extravagant ball skills, his cunning flicks and the way he could see things that very few other players could.
The modern-day equivalent to the impact Worthington had would be Vicente. Just like the Spaniard, Worthington was a class above anything else on the pitch. He would waltz around players half his age with the air and grace of a ballerina.
He scored the winner on his home debut, a 2-1 success over Notts County. Victory against the Magpies was made all the more impressive as Brighton played for much of the second half with only 10 men.
Future Albion striker Justin Fashanu had hospitalised both Brighton centre backs Eric Young and Jeff Clarke early on in the days of only one substitute, not that it mattered to Frank who still found a way to win the game.
It was the start of enjoyable time for Frank Worthington at Brighton with highlights both on and off the pitch. A cold December day when Wimbledon came to the Goldstone was warmed up markedly when Worthington peeled away from his marker to hit a deft lobbed volley over Dave Beasant. It hit the bar, bounced into Beasant’s back and rolled into the goal.
48 hours after his heroics against the Dons and Brighton went to Charlton Athletic on New Year’s Day. Worthington did not play at the Valley; two games in three days would obviously be too much for a man of his vintage.
Instead he could be found going for a piss in the gents toilet, head against the wall with a massive bottle of scotch poking out of his coat pocket.
It was not unknown for Worthington to start doing keepy ups in the middle of the pitch, much to the annoyance of opponents. He would treat the pre-game warmup with utter disdain, jogging around as if he had just rolled up from a night out. In reality, he probably had.
Off the pitch, you can only imagine the fun Worthington had in a city like Brighton. Pop into certain nightclubs in town on a Saturday night and Worthington would be leaning against the bar with a couple of women on his arm. Supporters reported seeing him stocking up in supermarkets with essentials – a trolley full of beer with a single packet of bacon on top.
It was during his time in Sussex that he had the biggest bet of his life, skipping along to Folkestone to put £100 on a horse in a five furlong sprint.
A sizable wager for 1984, Worthington described his nag as: “Giving the others about a 20 yards start as it never got out of the stalls. Finished about fourth and we had done our money. It was a lesson well learned.” Whether anyone believes that Frank actually learned the lesson is another matter entirely.
Frank Worthington ended the 1984-85 season having made 30 starts for Brighton and five substitute appearances. He weighed in with eight goals to finish second in the scoring charts behind Terry Connor.
Brighton finished the campaign just two points shy of promotion back to the top flight, an excellent achievement given the financial troubles which would go onto cause untold problems over the next 20 years had already begun to rear their ugly head.
Cattlin wanted to keep Worthington at the completion of his year with Brighton, offering the veteran another one-year contract. The Albion boss would later say: “Frank did a good job for me at Brighton. He wasn’t only a great player, but a great bloke as well, a dedicated trainer and a great bloke to have around a club.”
Unfortunately for Brighton, Tranmere Rovers offered Worthington the chance to move into coaching as their player-manager. It was an offer he could not refuse and so he was off to Prenton Park, where he remained for two years, later revert to being only a player as part of cost cutting when Tranmere slipped into administration.
Had things worked out a little differently, then Worthington may have arrived at Brighton before the twilight years of his career. Rumour has it that Alan Mullery was offered the chance to sign Worthington in 1977 as his five year association with Leicester City came to an end.
Mullery instead opted to spend a club-record £238,000 on Teddy Maybank from Fulham. Worthington subsequently moved to Bolton Wanderers for £90,000.
He fired the Trotters to the Division Two title two points ahead of Brighton in the 1977-78 season and then finished as the leading scorer in England’s top flight in 1978-79 with 24 goals. Imagine for a second Worthington and prime Peter Ward as a front two… phwoar.
Worthington’s time with Bolton was good, but he is probably best known for his spell at Leicester. He scored 72 times in 210 games for the Foxes, earning eight England caps in 1974.
It should have been far more, but the FA and the national team have long distrusted anyone they consider a maverick. His initial Three Lions call up did not go well either, Worthington meeting Alf Ramsey and his teammates for the first time at Heathrow Airport wearing high heeled cowboy boots, a silk shirt and lime velvet jacket.
Just like with his move to Brighton 12 years later, Worthington ending up at Filbert Street involved the fairer sex. Bill Shankly looked set to take him to Liverpool from Huddersfield for the sum of £150,000 in 1972 – until Worthington failed his medical due to high blood pressure.
That was put down to the recent death of his father. Shankly decided to pay for Worthington to go to Majorca for a week to relax in the sun, after which he could return to Anfield much calmer and able to pass the medical.
Frank instead opted to make the most of his unexpected holiday and by the time he was back on Merseyside, his blood pressure was even higher than it had been for his first medical.
Liverpool’s doctors subsequently told Shankly to pull out of the deal because Worthington was “sexually hyperactive”, a description that Frank would wear like a badge of honour from that point onwards.
As well as Huddersfield, Leicester, Bolton, Southampton, Brighton and Tranmere, Worthington also played for – deep breath – Philadelphia Fury, Birmingham City, Mjällby AIF, Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Leeds United, Sunderland, Preston North End, Stockport County, Cape Town Spurs, Chorley, Stalybridge Celtic, Galway United, Weymouth, Radcliffe Borough, Guiseley, Hinckley Town, Cemaes Bay and Halifax Town.
Fans of all those clubs no doubt have their own stories about Worthington, just as Albion fans do. Speaking during his time at Sunderland two years before he came to Brighton, Worthington said: “Football is a wonderful way to make a living. I still think it’s a game to be enjoyed, a game where the individual can express himself and entertain the public.”
Frank certainly did entertainment, on the pitch and off it. His time at Brighton may have been brief and passed unnoticed by much of the football world, but Seagulls supporters who witnessed him are not likely to forget flamboyant Frank Worthington.
