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mr.watford · 23-01-2007, 05:19 PM

LUTHER BLISSETT

Luther Loide Blissett (born February 1, 1958 in Falmouth, Jamaica) is a footballer and coach. Blissett played as a striker for, amongst others, Watford, A.C. Milan and England during the 1980s.

He was one of the first black footballers to play for England, and scored a hat-trick on his first full international match - a 9-0 win over Luxembourg. This made him the first black player ever to score a hat-trick for the national team.

Blissett made 246 appearances for Watford, his first club, between 1975 and 1983, scoring 95 goals (including 27 goals in the 1982-3 season). Blissett moved to Milan for £1m in summer 1983, but he was not as successful as he had been in England, as he scored only 5 goals in 30 appearances (it has been suggested that scouts confused him with another black player at Watford at the time, John Barnes). Blissett was sold, at a loss, back to Watford for £550,000 after only one season at the Italian club.

Blissett played for Watford for a second time until 1988 (scoring another 44 goals in 127 appearances), then moved to Bournemouth for three years, back to Watford (for a third time), before finishing his career with short spells at West Bromwich Albion, Bury, Mansfield, Southport , and Derry City.

Following retirement from playing in 1994, Blissett rejoined Watford as a coach in February 1996, coming in with returning manager Graham Taylor. He left the club in June 2001, following the appointment of Gianluca Vialli as manager. Vialli wanted to appoint his own back-room staff, and thus Blissett was deemed surplus to requirements, to the anger of many fans.

Blissett holds the records for the most appearances (415) and scoring the most goals (158) for Watford.
He has worked as a television pundit, for Channel 4 and Bravo's coverage of Serie A.
Part of the set on Sky TV show Soccer AM is called "The Luther Blissett Stand"
Blissett ran the 2005 and 2006 London Marathons in aid of the Peace Hospice. In 2005 he completed the course in five hours and 46 minutes.

Luther Blissett (footballer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Never saw him play live but he is still regarded as the best player to play for Watford, 158 goals speak for themselves. He loves the club as well. I've met him too and he's a good guy as well.

23-01-2007, 05:19 PM	#17 (permalink)
mr.watford TS V.I.P. Member Favourite Team: watford mr.watford is Offline Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: watford Posts: 15,408 vCash: 11327 Rep: Rep Points: 2184 Country:	LUTHER BLISSETT Luther Loide Blissett (born February 1, 1958 in Falmouth, Jamaica) is a footballer and coach. Blissett played as a striker for, amongst others, Watford, A.C. Milan and England during the 1980s. He was one of the first black footballers to play for England, and scored a hat-trick on his first full international match - a 9-0 win over Luxembourg. This made him the first black player ever to score a hat-trick for the national team. Blissett made 246 appearances for Watford, his first club, between 1975 and 1983, scoring 95 goals (including 27 goals in the 1982-3 season). Blissett moved to Milan for £1m in summer 1983, but he was not as successful as he had been in England, as he scored only 5 goals in 30 appearances (it has been suggested that scouts confused him with another black player at Watford at the time, John Barnes). Blissett was sold, at a loss, back to Watford for £550,000 after only one season at the Italian club. Blissett played for Watford for a second time until 1988 (scoring another 44 goals in 127 appearances), then moved to Bournemouth for three years, back to Watford (for a third time), before finishing his career with short spells at West Bromwich Albion, Bury, Mansfield, Southport , and Derry City. Following retirement from playing in 1994, Blissett rejoined Watford as a coach in February 1996, coming in with returning manager Graham Taylor. He left the club in June 2001, following the appointment of Gianluca Vialli as manager. Vialli wanted to appoint his own back-room staff, and thus Blissett was deemed surplus to requirements, to the anger of many fans. Blissett holds the records for the most appearances (415) and scoring the most goals (158) for Watford. He has worked as a television pundit, for Channel 4 and Bravo's coverage of Serie A. Part of the set on Sky TV show Soccer AM is called "The Luther Blissett Stand" Blissett ran the 2005 and 2006 London Marathons in aid of the Peace Hospice. In 2005 he completed the course in five hours and 46 minutes. Luther Blissett (footballer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Never saw him play live but he is still regarded as the best player to play for Watford, 158 goals speak for themselves. He loves the club as well. I've met him too and he's a good guy as well.