Geoff Twentyman

Geoff Twentyman (19 January 1930 – 16 February 2004) was an English footballer who is mainly remembered for his links with Liverpool Football Club as both a player and as chief scout.

Life and playing career

Born Carlisle, Cumbria, England, the left-half played for Swift Rovers as an amateur and Carlisle United before he was spotted, by Don Welsh who signed him for the Reds in the December 1953 for £10,000, he made his debut the same month on the 19th in a league match against bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. United won 5-1. His first goal came almost a year later on the 9 November 1954 in a 2-1 win over Hull City in a 2nd Division match at Anfield.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, Twentyman’s signature couldn't prevent them from being relegated by the end of his first season at the club, in fact all of Twentyman's Liverpool appearances were during the dark days in Anfield’s history when they struggled to get out of the 2nd Division, even though they were finishing consistently just outside the promotion places.

Twentyman stood 5’ 11” and was a strong, robust player who made his name at Carlisle as a Centre-Back having been switched there by the great Bill Shankly during his spell as Manager of the Brunton Park club.

Twentyman featured in 184 matches scoring 19 goals before leaving Liverpool, he went on to became Player/Manager of Irish side Ballymena Utd, ironically and maybe a little unluckily, he left the Reds just 9 months before the arrival of his former boss, Shankly. After his spell at Ballymena Twentyman returned to play for Carlisle for a second time, he also went on to represent Morecambe and Penrith F.C..

After his retirement Twentyman had a short 4 month spell as the boss of Hartlepool United before being replaced by a certain Brian Clough. He was then invited by Shankly to return to Liverpool in 1967 in the role of Chief Scout. It was in this role that Twentyman made his name at Liverpool discovering such talents as Ian Rush at Chester (£300,000), who became captain and ended up Liverpool's all time record goalscorer; Phil Neal at Northampton Town (£66,000), who became skipper and won the most medals by a single player in the Reds history; and Alan Hansen at Partick Thistle (£100,000), who also became club captain and was the most elegant of defenders, arguably the best the club has ever had,Fact|date=February 2007 to name but 3. He eventually spent 21 years in the role working for the likes of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, he finally left in 1986.

Twentyman went on to become Chief Scout for Rangers when former Reds Captain Graeme Souness came calling. Geoff died in Southport on the 16 February 2004 aged 74, he will not only be remembered as a strong and steady player but also having the eye for spotting quality young talent as his record suggest.

Career details

Liverpool F.C (1953 – 1959) – 184 appearances, 19 goals

External links

* [http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/twentyman/ Official player profile at Liverpoolfc.tv]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=431 Player profile at LFChistory.net]