Tag Archives: dave turner

Albion have never had it so hard

From the Evening Argus on Friday 24th July 1970:

Dave Armstrong (now with Dover) leading Howard Wilkinson up 'The Hill'

Dave Armstrong (now with Dover) leading Howard Wilkinson up ‘The Hill’

Albion players were unanimous: “We’ve never trained like it before… never.’ That was all they had breath for, and it was back to the start line for another race up a 90-yard one-in-four gradient at Stanmer Park, writes John Vinicombe.

This is what they call ‘The Hill.’ When manager Pat Saward first set them pounding up, many collapsed afterwards, several were physically ill.

This has been part of the training for several days now, and the times are getting faster. Some, like young Martin Tew and John Templeman, can make it in 12 seconds. Others take 15 – and several minutes to recover.

A session on ‘The Hill’ means six or seven dashes, and results are carefully noted and times posted for all the players to see.

Said Saward: “The lads are giving me 120 per cent. They’re putting everything into it, and training is going very well indeed.”

Geoff Sidebottom has collapsed, while Dave Turner (right) and Kit Napier sink to their knees.

Geoff Sidebottom has collapsed, while Dave Turner (right) and Kit Napier sink to their knees.

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Non-stop Turner is sure Brighton will go up

daveturner

From Goal Magazine, 1969/70:

Dave Turner is one of the unsung heroes of Brighton. He has played nearly 300 games for the club, been involved in a Fourth Division championship victory, and is now in the middle of another bid for glory.

Brighton are fighting to get into the Second Division and the 26-year-old midfield star is a key man in their battle.

Ever since he joined them from Newcastle in December, 1963, Turner has played a vital role in the Brighton set-up.

It is Turner’s consistency which is helping Brighton in their promotion struggle. And he thinks they can do it.

He says: “I’m pretty confident we can go up. But so can any of the top ten at the moment. We’ve been playing well all season, but early on we just couldn’t get the right results. Everyone was getting a bit disappointed. Then everyone started getting stuck in a bit more – it began to pay off. We had a long undefeated run in the League after November and conceded only one goal in nine games. Even that was a penalty. The defence has been playing very well, and the whole team has been coming back and doing its fair share of the work. It would be nice to score a few more goals, but if you don’t let any in, it means you have at least one point before you start.”

Turner’s ample power and energy in the middle of the pitch was a key component of Albion’s play in the 1960s. As the 1970s began, it looked all set to push Albion over the final hurdle. Indeed, Brighton were in top spot after a 2-0 win over Reading on 27th March 1970. However, the side under Freddie Goodwin limped to a fifth spot finish after a wretched run of four defeats in the last five matches.

By the time Albion were promoted, in 1971/72 under Pat Saward, Dave Turner was a squad player. He had been hampered by a knee injury during the previous campaign and faced heavy competition from the peerless Brian Bromley from November 1971 onwards. Sadly, he did not experience Second Division football with Brighton, joining Blackburn on a free transfer in the summer of 1972.

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