Bob Latchford

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Personal information
Bob Latchford
Full name	Robert Dennis Latchford
Date of birth	18 January 1951 (1951-01-18) (age 58)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Centre forward
Youth clubs
1967–1968	Birmingham City
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1968–1974 1974–1981 1981–1984 1984 1984–1985 1985–1986 1986 1986–1987	Birmingham City Everton Swansea City NAC Breda Coventry City Lincoln City → Newport County (loan) Merthyr Tydfil	160 0(68) 236 (106) 087 0(35) 016 0(13) 012 00(2) 015 00(2) 020 00(5)
National team
1977–1979	England youth England U23 England	004 00(?) 006 00(?) 012 00(5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Robert Dennis "Bob" Latchford (born 18 January 1951) is an English former association footballer who played as a centre forward. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, playing for Birmingham City, Everton, Swansea and Coventry City in the First Division, and won 12 full caps for England.

Latchford was the complete centre-forward: good in the air and on the ground. Despite his size - 6 feet (1,83m) tall - he was very fast over short distances, making him a great 'poacher' of goals and he also scored with some great diving headers.

Latchford was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham. He was transferred from Birmingham City to Everton for £350,000, a British transfer record at the time (Howard Kendall and Archie Styles were transferred to Birmingham City as part of the same deal, with Birmingham being paid just £80,000). At Everton, Latchford was the top scorer for six successive seasons, scoring 30 goals in the 1977–78 season. During the mid-seventies, Latchford was widely considered as one of the top English forwards of his generation. He earned his first full cap for England in a World Cup qualifier against Italy in 1977. In April 2006 a book was published telling the story of his 1977/78 season. Co-written with journalist Martin O'Boyle, the book supports Everton's former players charity.

The closest he came to a winner's medal at Everton was a finalist in the League Cup in 1977. Latchford made 268 appearances (3 as substitute) for Everton scoring 138 goals. He was a great inspiration to a whole generation of Everton fans in the 1970s. Latchford left Everton for top-flight Swansea in 1981, scoring a hat-trick on his debut for the Swans. He later also played for Dutch NAC Breda (15 Appearances - 13 Goals) and Newport County.

Latchford won 12 caps and scored 5 goals for England.

Honours

with Birmingham City
- FA Youth Cup runners-up 1967.
- Football League Second Division promotion 1972.
- Club's top scorer 1972, 1973.
with Everton
- Football League Cup runners-up 1977.
- Club's top scorer 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978.
with Swansea City
- Welsh Cup winners 1982, 1983.
- Club's top scorer 1982.
with NAC Breda
- Eerste Divisie promotion 1984.
with Merthyr Tydfil
- Welsh Cup winners 1987.

References

Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books, p. 105. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

External links

Bob Latchford England profile at Englandstats
Profile at Neil Brown's player database
Profile at Swansea City A.F.C.
Everton Giants at Everton F.C.

Awards
Preceded by Andy Gray and Malcolm Macdonald	First Division top scorer 1977–78	Succeeded by Frank Worthington

Persondata
NAME	Latchford, Bob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Latchford, Robert Dennis
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	1951-01-18
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kings Heath, Birmingham, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH