By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter
@Siwri88
Recently, I wrote a couple of pieces for a new website called Football's Fallen - a site dedicated to those footballers who sadly get taken away on the football field. Set-up by my former colleague at Total Football Magazine and fellow football fan, Laura Jones, I have written pieces on one of Scotland's brightest hopes, Phil O'Donnell and this one about the ex-York striker David Longhurst.
Perhaps not
the most prolific of strikers but David Longhurst (pictured below) gave it his all and still
potentially had the best years of his football career ahead of him. He represented
all of his football clubs with great dignity. The Northampton-born attacker was
only 25 when he died on the pitch playing for York City on 8 September 1990.
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| David Longhurst was taken far too soon, only 25 when he collapsed in 1990 |
Parallels can
be drawn from the sudden collapse of Fabrice Muamba during the FA Cup
quarter-final match between Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers in March
2012. Like Longhurst, Muamba was a young, hard-working footballer who wasn’t
the most gifted but would be a vital cog of any team. In David’s case, that was
for the numerous Football League clubs he represented.
In terms of
strike rate for goals per game, Longhurst was far from the best. Just over 40
league goals in nearly 200 appearances, so around one goal every five matches.
He had the ability and the desire to improve on his weaknesses on the football
field though and it can’t be argued that he was taken far too young.
To continue reading this article, visit Football's Fallen
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