The engine room

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A quarter of a century after Athletic’s League Cup final appearance, the Chronicle profiles the top 25 players to have worn the famous shirt since. Once the 25 have been profiled, you get the chance to vote for your favourites!

THE man who almost altered the game at the top level forever had a fair influence, too, for his own club Athletic during those glory days.

As one of Joe Royle’s midfield ‘yard dogs’, a scouser who came through the ranks at Boundary Park continually bit away at reputations far greater than Athletic’s own.

A tenacious midfield terrier, Nick Henry formed a dynamic midfield partnership with Mike Milligan and was a major player in the cup runs of 1990.

And he stayed on for a further seven years after that League Cup final at Wembley, the run-up to which he famously netted in a 3-1 defeat of Arsenal.

It could have been a double-date for Athletic at the home of football had Henry’s seventh-minute shot in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Manchester United been allowed to stand.

As the ball bounced down off the underside of the crossbar, television replays showed it had crossed the line — but no goal was given.

Had goal-line technology existed in those days, Athletic would have held a crucial advantage in a game which, had United lost, could have placed Alex Ferguson’s position as manager in doubt.

Ironically, Henry went on to become an unlikely hero for the Red Devils, netting the winning goal against Aston Villa in 1993 that rubber-stamped the Old Trafford club as champions for the first time in 26 years.

But it was at Boundary Park where the man who went on to manage Scarborough — later becoming a publican — made the real impact. At one stage tipped for international honours by Royle, former captain Henry spent a decade at the club.

He was an integral part of the side that won Division Two and which then stayed in the top flight for three years, playing a major role in the famed ‘great escape’ by netting that goal against Villa.

After joining at the age of 16, Henry went on to make 333 appearances for Athletic, scoring 22 goals, up until a £500,000 switch to Sheffield United in February, 1997.


MIKE MILLIGAN


“HE has been an inspirational captain and has given excellent service to this club,” said Athletic chairman Ian Stott, after Mike Milligan left to join Norwich in 1994. “We wish him well and hope it is the right move for him.”

That transfer to Carrow Road was worth around £800,000 and put an end to a career which saw ‘Spike’ play a major role in some of Athletic’s best-ever moments.

Manchester-born and once on the books at City, energetic midfield man Milligan enjoyed two separate spells at Boundary Park.

In the first, after making his league debut at Sheffield United in 1986, he went on to become one of Joe Royle’s top lieutenants. Milligan captained Athletic to the FA Cup semi-finals and was first player out on turf at Wembley in League Cup final.

After starring in the ‘pinch me’ season, personal ambition saw him leave for Everton and top-level

football for £1million — at the time a record fee for Athletic.

Injuries didn’t help Milligan at Goodison Park and after a tough first season struggling to nail down a place in an Everton side battling at the bottom half of the table under Howard Kendall, he came back to work with Royle again.

The £600,000 deal saw the midfield man step back into the limelight in Athletic’s first season in the top division for 68 years. He went on to be a major player in the engine room once again, playing in three straight seasons in the leading tier and almost making it back to Wembley for a second time when going so close to seeing off Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final of 1994.

A full Republic of Ireland international, Milligan turned down the chance to sign a new deal at relegated Athletic to stay in the Premier League with Norwich, where he went on to make 142 appearances prior to a short stint at Blackpool.