PRESS RELEASE
SPORTS EVENING WITH LIVERPOOL'S IAN ST.JOHN & EVERTON'S IAN SNODIN - 3rd February 2011
Plus Liverpool Comedian FRANKIE ALLEN
Date: Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Venue: Jack Rabbit Slims, Grosvenor Road, Hoylake, Wirral, CH47 3BS (Opp Hoylake Station)
Time: Doors 19.30 • Start: 20.00 / Price: Advance Ticket £10.00 (Reserved Seating) Price: On Door £10 (unreserved seating)
Box Office: from The Bar at Jacks TICKET HOTLINE 07970 990774 (for local collection)
IAN ST. JOHN - Scotland and Liverpool FC Football Legend
Ian was born in Motherwell on June 7th 1938 and began his career at boyhood favourites Motherwell, where he scored one of the fastest hat-tricks on record: 2 minutes and 30 seconds, against Hibernian in 1959.
Ian St. John made his international Scotland debut in May 1959, against West Germany, he went onto win 21 caps, and scored 9 goals
In 1961, he was purchased by Bill Shankley and transferring to Liverpool F.C. in 1961, for £37,500 more than double the previous highest transfer fee paid by the Anfield board. Ian made his debut against local rivals Everton. Although Liverpool lost 3-4, he announced his arrival in spectacular style by scoring all 3 of his side's goals. His contribution to the success that followed later in the decade was colossal.
He went on to score many vital goals for Liverpool, including a flying header that he put past Leed’s keeper Gary Sprake to win The FA Cup in 1965. A title Liverpool had been trying to win for 70 years.
Ian St. John played over 400 times for Liverpool's first-team and was without doubt one of the best buys the club ever made. At his peak he was one of the most inspired players in the country and contributed so much to Liverpool's domination of the domestic scene in the middle of the 1960's.
After playing 424 games and scoring 118 goals for Liverpool, St. John was sold to Coventry City F.C. for the 1971/72 season. He played for Coventry for just one season, before moving to Tranmere Rovers F.C. for the 1972/73 season, after which he retired. After retiring from playing he managed both Portsmouth F.C. and his former club Motherwell F.C. He then retired from club management after leaving Portsmouth, and became a football pundit.
His knowledge of and passion for football, coupled with a friendly and confident personality, enabled him to break into the world of television and for several years he was a popular figure on ITV in tandem with his former international adversary Jimmy Greaves. Ian is now an Entertaining After-Dinner Speaker and a Radio Presenter with IAN SNODIN on LIVERPOOL'S RADIO CITY 'TERRACE TALK' SHOW every Saturday 12-2pm
IAN SNODIN - Everton FC Football Legend
Ian Snodin is an almost unique figure in modern football in so much as he declined an invitation which few receive and virtually no one declines when he turned down the chance to join Liverpool in January 1987. to join Everton FC instead. Having established himself an aggressive, yet thoughtful, midfielder in a struggling Leeds United side during the mid-eighties, Snodin was pursued by several leading clubs but only two - Everton & Liverpool bid for him.
Ian signed for Everton in January 1987, in a deal which cost the Blues £840,000, and he is full of praise for the man who brought him to Goodison Park. “When I joined Everton the man-management from Howard Kendall was fantastic and I couldn’t have picked a better manager. Colin Harvey, too, is someone I have massive respect for as a person.”
Snodin began his career at lowly Doncaster Rovers, before making his name as a midfielder at Leeds. At both clubs he came into contact with the man he says influenced his career most. “Billy Bremner was an inspiration for me. He gave me my debut aged 16, just three weeks after I left school and then made me captain when I was 18. After my Dad, he’s my biggest inspiration. I remember sitting with my Dad when he got the phone call to say Billy had died. He just passed it to me without a word. I broke down with tears and was absolutely devastated. It hit me for a long, long time because he was everything to me.”
After being signed for Everton as a midfielder and picking up a league medal in his first season, Snodin began to flourish as a right back and soon came to the attention of England boss, Bobby Robson. “I believed I was the best full back in the country and people like Colin Harvey and Peter Reid told me I was, so I thought I had a chance of going to the World Cup in 1990. I remember being called up for the squad in 1989 for a game against Greece but I got a hamstring injury which just got worse and affected me for two years. It’s a massive regret for me because as a kid you dream of playing at Wembley, for a top club and playing for your country and I managed the first two.”
After leaving Everton in 1995, Snodin dropped down the leagues, turning out for Oldham and Scarborough, before ending up back at his home town club Doncaster, where he became manager in 1998. “When I arrived at Doncaster they were really rock bottom and were not even Sunday league class. We had 500 fans, no players, no balls or even goalposts. I had to put together a squad, get them fit and keep them up so luckily I was able to get some old mates in. Steve Nicol, Neville Southall, Mike Newell and John Sheridan all came to play and we were like the Harlem Globetrotters of the Conference!”
Snodin’s time at Doncaster was brief but his affection for the club is clear and he is obviously proud that the club has dragged itself back up to the Championship. “It’s great for the fans after years in the doldrums. A lot of so-called managers wouldn’t have taken it on but I had a great rapport with the public in ‘Donny’ and it’s a great buzz for me now to see so many kids walking around the town wearing Doncaster Rovers shirts. Managing that club was a chance to get the town up and running and it’s one of my biggest regrets that I only had 18 months there.”
Now he’s written a book which reveals all about life at Goodison Park during the Blues’ most succesful period
THE COVER of Ian Snodin’s new book says it all: a bloke in a pub, nursing a pint, unleashing yet another hilarious story about his career on and off the pitch.
He may describe himself as “just a normal working class lad brought up in a Yorkshire pit village”, but Snodin’s career was anything but average. It brought him into contact with some of English football’s biggest characters, from Paul Gascoigne to Neil Ruddock, via Billy Bremner and Sir Bobby Robson.
Now he’s collected these stories in a new book and will be recounting a few tales at this forthcoming Sports Evening. For Snodin, drinking was a way to bond with team-mates but also a way to mix with fans and friends, even those normally wearing red. “I was not an alcoholic!” he laughs. “Reading the book you might think I came close but really I just loved going out.”
'SNOD This For A Laugh' is out now, priced £14.99. To order a copy visit www.merseyshop.com
Ian is now a popular speaker at sporting and after dinner events, as well as being a Radio Presenter with IAN SNODIN on LIVERPOOL'S RADIO CITY 'TERRACE TALK' SHOW every Saturday 12-2pm
FRANKIE ALLEN - Liverpool Comedian
frankie allen, a well known international comedian, has had over 25 years experience on his way to becoming a top class, liverpool born and bred, comedian. his quick mind will have your audience in hysterics with his fast off
the cuff one liners and personality.
he gained his trade around the many clubs in the North of England following national exposure on the highly popular TV series, 'The Comedians'.
Frankie was a winner of 'Bob Monkhouse's - Opportunity Knocks' and co-hosted Central Television's Live Programme which broadcast all over the Midlands for over a year.
Frankie has entertained 'Her Majesty's Forces' in Germany, The Gulf and The Flalkland Islands.
Frankie now concentrates on performing at sporting and after dinner functions, where his popularity has rapidly grown.
Frankie is without doubt Liverpool's undisputed, Number 1 Comedian. No other Scouser comes close!
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