Peter Lorimer
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Peter Patrick Lorimer (born December 14, 1946 in Dundee, Scotland) was a footballer who formed part of the much-admired and feared Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s.
An attacking midfielder renowned for his vicious shooting, Lorimer was at the more cultured end of a Leeds side under Don Revie which was built on a platform of out-playing and out-muscling opponents.
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[edit] Boyish debutant
Lorimer's debut for Leeds came, astonishingly, when he was still 15 years of age. He had only signed professional forms in May 1962 but was thrown in for his debut in the September. He didn't feature in the first team picture again for two years (and again this was one isolated appearance), but a club record which will almost certainly never be broken was duly set.
[edit] A regular at 19
Lorimer came to regular prominence in the 1966 season, making 34 League Championship appearances and scoring 19 goals, more than any other player at Leeds managed that season. Thereafter his place and No.7 shirt was assured for the next decade and beyond. A skilful and industrious player who operated best in a drifting position either wide on the right (though not as an orthodox winger - he was more likely to cut in and shoot than stay wide and cross) or behind two main strikers (usually Allan Clarke and Mick Jones), Lorimer was a frequent and often spectacular goalscorer and earned himself several nicknames stemming from his powerful shooting - HotShot and Thunderboots were two of the more prevalent.
[edit] A player of honours
Leeds won the League Cup and Fairs Cup in 1968 - their first major trophies under Revie - and Lorimer scored a tremendous 30 goals during the season. He featured again prominently as they clinched their first League championship in 1969 and just before the end of the decade, won his first cap for Scotland.
In 1970, Lorimer was in the side which chased a dream "treble" of League championship, FA Cup and European Cup, though they ended the season famously with nothing. Lorimer ended that season with 19 goals again.
Leeds took the Fairs Cup again in 1971 and then finally won the FA Cup in 1972. Lorimer picked up winners' medals in both, scoring 29 goals in the Cup winning season, including his best seasonal League tally of 23. A year later, Leeds were back at Wembley to defend the Cup against Sunderland and Lorimer became part of FA Cup folklore after an incident in the second half.
Peter was renowned for his fearsome strikes, with his shots reaching speeds of up to 90 mph[1].
[edit] Words which would haunt
Unwisely, Lorimer had said in an on-pitch interview with the BBC in the hours before the game that he expected an exhibition performance from Leeds if they could score early. They didn't and as the second half reached its midway point it was Sunderland who led 1-0 and Leeds seeking to equalise.
Pushing men forward to support the strikers and find the equaliser meant that Lorimer was one of several Leeds players in Sunderland's area when the ball was laid back to full back Paul Reaney to put a high ball across to the far post. Fellow full back Trevor Cherry, making a late and fast run into the area, met the ball with a meaty diving header which was palmed out brilliantly by Sunderland goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery. The ball fell to Lorimer, six yards out and the open goal in front of him, and he hit his shot duly towards the target only for Montgomery, somehow, to react and spring back to his feet, extending an arm at the same time and diverting the ball on to the crossbar and away. Up in the commentary box David Coleman screamed, 'And Lorimer makes it one each!', but he and everyone else in the stadium was wrong. Lorimer and Jones had even begun to celebrate the goal before they realised the ball had not crossed the line. Sunderland held on to win 1-0. Leeds subsequently lost the European Cup Winners Cup final to AC Milan by the same scoreline.
[edit] World Cup finals and a European Cup final
In 1974, Lorimer had a fine season in a Leeds team which proved almost invincible. They started the season with an unbeaten run of 29 Lague games and coasted to their second title under Revie. Lorimer's season was crowned with a place in Scotland's squad for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, and he scored in the group game against Zaire.
Another eventful season with Leeds followed for Lorimer, as he continued to score goals, managing four as Leeds progressed to their first European Cup final. Held in Paris, they played Bayern Munich and lost 2-0, with Lorimer having a goal disallowed due to a dubious offside decision given against captain Billy Bremner.
That was the last major trophy for which the team built by Revie (who had left the year previously to manage England) would compete, and the ageing team began to break up. Lorimer, who also made his 21st and final Scotland appearance in 1975, was still not 30 and continued to play as an experienced head amidst a new generation of Leeds players. Mediocrity summed up the rest of the 1970s for Leeds and Lorimer left in 1979, no longer a regular player.
[edit] Moving on and moving back
He played for York City and then tried his luck in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Peter played for two clubs: the Toronto Blizzard (1979-1980) and the Vancouver Whitecaps(1981-83), before returning to a now-relegated Leeds, aged 37, in 1983. Amazingly, he played for three seasons under former team-mate Eddie Gray (more than a year his junior) and broke the club's goalscoring record in the process, ending up with 238 goals from 676 appearances by the time new manager Billy Bremner "retired" him just before his 40th birthday.Lorimer played on for a short time in Israel where he reportedly considered converting to Judaism.
[edit] Remaining in Leeds
Lorimer has remained a positive and dedicated spokesman on the club since retirement - he is always the first ex-player broadcasters and journalists turn to when the club is in the news. He has worked as a pundit at games for BBC Radio Leeds and as a columnist for the local paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post. His main source of income since retirement has been from running The Commercial Inn pub in the Holbeck area of the city.
[edit] Man of the fans
In 2004, with the club on its knees financially, Lorimer acted as a go-between who liaised between potential benefactors and supporters as a rescue plan for the club was launched. He is a fans' representative on the board of directors who also deals with the media on club issues. He was the only person to remain on the board after Ken Bates takeover of Leeds United in 2005 as Ken felt his role as fans' representative was important and would help with relations with the Leeds fans
[edit] Notes
- ^ Amazon (2002). Peter Lorimer: Leeds and Scotland Hero amazon.co.uk (accessed 23rd Sept 2006)
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Scotland squad - 1974 FIFA World Cup | |
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1 Harvey | 2 Jardine | 3 McGrain | 4 Bremner | 5 Holton | 6 Blackley | 7 Johnstone | 8 Dalglish | 9 Jordan | 10 Hay | 11 Lorimer | 12 Allan | 13 Stewart | 14 Buchan | 15 Cormack | 16 Donachie | 17 Ford | 18 Huchison | 19 Law | 20 Morgan | 21 McQueen | 22 Schaedler | Coach: Ormond |
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