| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Norman John Piper | ||
| Date of birth | (1948-01-08) 8 January 1948 (age 76) | ||
| Place of birth | North Tawton, England | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1964–65 | Plymouth Argyle | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1970 | Plymouth Argyle | 215 | (35) |
| 1970–1978 | Portsmouth | 313 | (51) |
| 1975 | → Lusitano (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 1977–1978 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 41 | (7) |
| 1978–1979 | Yeovil Town | ? | (?) |
| 1979–1980 | Columbus Magic | ? | (?) |
| 1979–1982 | Wichita Wings (indoor) | 182 | (98) |
| 1982–1983 | Pittsburgh Spirit (indoor) | ||
| International career | |||
| 1970–1971 | England U23 | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985–1988 | Wichita Wings (assistant) | ||
| 1989–1990 | Wichita Blue | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Norman Piper (born 8 January 1948) is an English former professional footballer who played in England for 13 years before finishing his career in the United States.
Playing career
Born in North Tawton, Devon on 8 January 1948 he joined Plymouth Argyle as an apprentice and signed professional terms in February 1965. Already an England Youth international, Piper made his debut for the Under 23 side in 1970 against Bulgaria, the year he left The Pilgrims- for whom he scored 35 goals in 221 appearances. That summer Piper had signed for Portsmouth, becoming their record signing at £50,000. Piper served Pompey with great distinction during the clubs increasingly tenuous hold on Division Two status, but eventually lost form after relegation to the third. He was dropped in February 1978, being replaced by his namesake Steve Piper. His contract, along with that of Bobby Stokes was terminated the following month.
Soon after his departure from Portsmouth, a move to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers followed. In 1979, Piper was the first player signed by the expansion Wichita Wings of Major Indoor Soccer League. He played for the Wings until 1982 when he was sent to the Pittsburgh Spirit.
Coaching career
Following his retirement from playing, he became and assistant coach with the Wichita Wings. He was fired on 30 January 1988. In 1989, he was hired to coach the Wichita Blue in the Heartland Soccer League. In 1990, the Blue moved to the Lone Star Soccer Alliance. He was fired mid-season. He coached the men's soccer team at Bethel College (Kansas) from 1988 to 1990. He now is a coach for a small travel soccer team in Southern California known as TVSA Hawks
Style of play
Piper was one of that generation who bridged the gap between terminological eras, beginning his career as a wing half and ending it as a midfielder despite playing a similar role throughout.
References
- "The PFA Premier League and Football League Players' Records 1946-98" Hugman,B: Harpenden, Queen Anne Press, 1998 ISBN 1-85291-585-4
- "Rothmans Football Year Book,1970-71" Peskett,R/Williams,T: Harpenden, QAP,1970 ISBN 0-362-00071-9
- All in all Piper played 4 times for the U-23s Hugman (Ibid)
- "Portsmouth, from Tindall to Ball" Farmery, C: Southend-on-Sea, Desert Island Books, 1999 ISBN 1-874287-25-2
- 313 games/51 goals scored
- Namesake, but not relation
- Farmery (Ibid)
- "FLS statistics". Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
- PIPER IS TOP YOUTH SOCCER COACH Wichita Eagle, The (KS) – Thursday 22 March 1990
- MISL WINGS FIRE BOTH COACHES St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) – Sunday 31 January 1988
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - As football moved from 1-2-3-5 to 1-4-3-3/1-4-2-4
- Only at the very end of his career was he tried as a full back: "The News", 14 November 1977, article by Mike Neasom Dickinson rings the changes for Vale
- "Norman Piper". ogol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 September 2016.
External links
- Talents unearthed by Argyle's scouts Archived 12 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Piper scores for Pompey in Cup game versus Boston
- Piper tracked down in the U.S.A
- NASL/MISL stats
| Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
- 1948 births
- American Soccer League (1933–1983) players
- Columbus Magic players
- England men's under-23 international footballers
- English men's footballers
- English expatriate men's footballers
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players
- Lone Star Soccer Alliance coaches
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
- People from the Borough of West Devon
- Plymouth Argyle F.C. players
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- Yeovil Town F.C. players
- Pittsburgh Spirit players
- Living people
- Wichita Wings (MISL) players
- England men's youth international footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- English football managers
- Lusitano F.C. (South Africa) players
- English Football League players