Fred Potter - His Career And That Game

Fred Potter, Third From Left, At Edgar Street In February 2022.

Fred Potter, who sadly has died, spoke to Halesowen News about his career in 2016.

Potter kept goal for Hereford against Newcastle in the FA Cup in 1972.

Here's what he told them.

"I always felt sorry for Newcastle's goalkeeper Iam McFaul. We scored four times against him and three of the goals he simply had no chance of saving.

"I was right behind Ronnie when he fired in his famous goal and I thought at the time as soon as he'd hit it, Iam was never going to get to it!"

Fred started his career as an inside right at Halesowen but later moved to Aston Villa. He became a goalkeeper after the two regular keepers in the Villa third team were injured.

 "We were playing Lye Town on an icy cold Boxing Day when our Scottish international goalkeeper Billy Beaton broke his shoulder. I volunteered to go in goal and we went onto win 1-0.

"On the same day, reserve team goalkeeper Kevin Keelan, who later made his name with Norwich City, also got injured. I went straight into the reserves as goalkeeper and signed professional forms for Villa.

"We were due to be playing Burnley Reserves at Villa Park. I travelled early to the ground by bus. When I arrived, everyone was in a flap and wanted to know where I'd been. First team goalkeeper Nigel Simms had picked up an injury and I'd been drafted in to play against Wolves at Molineux that afternoon. I was rushed to the ground with a police escort.

"We lost the game 2-1 and I gave away one of the goals. Ted Farmer, the Wolves striker that day, told me later that Wolves manager Stan Cullis had told his players to get stuck into me."

Fred played seven times for Villa's first team but was released by the club 12 months later.

"Villa decided I'd got no future at the club and I left on a free transfer and joined Doncaster Rovers.

"I spent four years with Doncaster and made 123 appearances for them. They were a poor side when I arrived but then former Manchester City player Bill Levers came in as manager. He transformed the place and we won promotion to Division Three.

"When I left Doncaster, I came back to the area and lived in Lea-Vale Road, Stourbridge. I had a season playing part-time for Burton Albion and got a job erecting fencing for a Birmingham company. It was long hours, plenty of travelling and I didn't see much of my family.

"Then John Charles signed me for Hereford. He actually came to the house and I remember my children looking up at him at the time, he was so big!

"John was a lovely man and lived up to his nickname 'The Gentle Giant'. But he was replaced as manager by Colin Addison and we never looked back." 

That season Hereford United had their FA Cup run that saw them defeat Newcastle United. But before that game it had taken them three games to defeat Northampton. And they were so far behing with their fixtures that they knew who they might play in the Fifth Round when playing the third game against Northampton which took place at West Brom's ground. England manager to be Ron Greenwood watched the game.

 "At the time, we were quoted at 1,000000 to 1 to beat Newcastle. But we should have gone on to beat West Ham as well.

"In the very last minute of our first meeting, Brian Owen fired a shot which hit and rolled along the West Ham crossbar. Any other day, it would have dropped in the goal, but this time it just kept on rolling!" 

Back to the Newcastle game at Edgar Street
  
"Supporters were climbing up trees to get a better view of the game. England striker Malcolm MacDonald broke clean through but I managed to save at his feet. If we had gone a goal down then, we could have got swamped."

The run came to an end when they were defeated 3-1 by West Ham. The following season Hereford were elected into the Fourth Division and a year later they were in Division Three. The first game was away at Grimsby in which Fred was badly injured.

"I was in agony with my knee, " claimed Fred, " It turned purple and blue. The knee would turn altogether. I sought specialist advice and credit to Hereford who continued to pay me for the next 12 months. But it was obvious what would happen.
"I spent 12 months in rehabilitation and saw a specialist from the Football League, who told me that if I'd been a car, he'd have me scrapped.

"I couldn't kick a ball anymore and I had to accept that at 32 years old, my career was over and I never played again.

"The irony is that after we'd beaten Newcastle, they played Manchester United the following Saturday with the same side at Old Trafford and won 3-1."