Gibby McKenzie and Billy Cush on the State of Irish Football

Gibby McKenzie and Billy Cush on the State of Irish Football

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Details

Location

Belfast, Havelock House, Portadown

Year

1963

Date

Production 18/12/1963

Length

04min 00sec

Audio

sound

Format

16mm

black and white

Source

Funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland under the Archiving Scheme 2

Courtesy

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Department for Communities, ITV, UTV Archive

Rights Holder

ITV

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

There was much discussion in Northern Ireland at this time about the failing quality of football. Was it the management? The players? The lack of support? Malcolm Brodie interviews Gibby McKenzie on leaving Portadown FC and his new job managing football in Johannesburg, South Africa and asks him his thoughts. Watch Gibby reconsider his words as he says it’s in a much worse state than when he arrived. McKenzie feels it’s in decline here due to disconnection between teams and youth players and blames supporters for not coming to games.  Wilbur Cush was appointed as player-manager at Shamrock Park in his place. He planned to change some things but didn’t commit too much, with his former boss sitting right there. 

Notes

Portadown FC was formed in 1887 as a junior team initially seeking to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup, with them eventually joining the Irish League with the support of other local clubs in 1924.  

They are based in Portadown in County Armagh and play their home matches at Shamrock Park. The club's colours are red and white; their home kit consists of red shirts, red shorts and red socks with white trim on all.  

Gibby McKenzie was manager 1957-1963 and again 1969-1977.  

Wilbur (Billy) Cush represented Northern Ireland at the 1958 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in their first ever final stages World Cup match, a 1–0 win over Czechoslovakia in Sweden. He played for a number of Northern Ireland teams and also captained Leeds United. 

Credits

An Ulster Television Production.

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