A lifelong Hartlepool United fan is seeking help to producea historical football book.
Dave Sutheran (59) aims to publish the book which will
chart the history of Hartlepool United Intermediates (under 19s) between the
years of 1977 to 1989.For most of this period, Dave's Dad, Kenny Sutheran, wasManager and was a popular figure in the North East footballing community.
The side played in the Northern Intermediate League,
punching well above its weight, winning the league title in 1980/81. Opposition
included the likes of Newcastle United, Leeds United, Sunderland,
Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United who were all topflight
clubs at the time.Dave (59), who is self-employed, said: “The late 70s and
80s was a great era for Hartlepool United's Intermediates side with many of the
players going on to carve out successful careers in the professional game. When
they won the league title in 1980/81 it was typical Roy of the Rovers stuff
fending off several top 1st Division sides at the time.“Most of the other clubs had full-time apprentices on their
books, whereas all of the Hartlepool lads were at college or had jobs and
trained just twice a week on a night.“Dad got involved in 1977 when Ken Hale was manager of the 1st
team and along with Bobby Lumley, Stan Lewis, Albert Kelleher and Ronnie
Harrison this heralded the beginning of the club's youth system.“Over the years, they enjoyed some great successes and had
some fun along the way, and it is this which I feel needs recording in the
book.“Dad sadly passed away in 2005 and I think the book would be
a great tribute to him, the fantastic team he had around him and the success
they achieved.“I've already made contact with lots of people, including
former players, but in particular I am appealing for old photographs, press
cuttings, programmes and anecdotes to help make the book an interesting read.”Players who were part of the 1980/81 title-winning
Intermediates side included Andy Linighan, who went on to play for Arsenal and
scored the winning FA Cup Final goal in 1997 Final and Kenny Lowe, who played
for Birmingham City and managed Perth Glory in Australia.Other former Intermediates' players include David Linighan,
who went on to captain Ipswich Town and Keith Houchen, who scored a famous
diving-header for Coventry City to help defeat Spurs in the 1987 FA Cup Final.If anyone thinks they can assist Dave Sutheran with his
research, they should email him davidsutheran1962@gmail.com or
call 07511 014769.