Peter Withe

Lore & Background

Withe began his career at Southport and later played for Barrow, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Portland Timbers of the NASL, where he was nicknamed 'The Mad Header' and 'The Wizard of Nod'. At Nottingham Forest he formed a strike partnership with Tony Woodcock, winning promotion and the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1976–77, then the First Division and League Cup in 1977–78. After a spell at Newcastle, he joined Aston Villa as their record signing, winning the First Division in 1980–81 and the European Cup in 1982. He played 11 times for England, scoring once, and was in the 1982 World Cup squad.

In Their Own Story

The November rain had turned the touchline into a brown river, and the floodlights at Goodison were slicing through the mist in pale blue shafts. Withe stood at the edge of the box, ball at his feet, the opposing centre-back tracking him with a desperate half-step. He didn't look up. He never needed to. The crowd noise was a single, sustained roar—two and a half thousand voices pressing behind his back like a physical force. He swung his right leg through the wet leather, and for one suspended instant the ball seemed to hang in the air, a small white sphere against the grey sky. Then it was gone. The net shuddered. And the Big Cat simply jogged back to his mark, as if scoring from thirty yards was the most ordinary thing he'd done all week.

Reader's Guide

Withe was a big, tall, strong, powerful and imposing centre-forward, dangerous in the air and adept at shielding the ball. His biggest successes came when paired with a sharp, quick strike partner such as Tony Woodcock or Gary Shaw. He scored 39 goals in 99 competitive games for Nottingham Forest, 25 in 76 league games for Newcastle, and 90 goals in over 200 games for Aston Villa.

Did You Know?

• Withe scored the only goal in the 1982 European Cup final for Aston Villa against Bayern Munich.
• He was the first Aston Villa player selected in an England World Cup Finals squad (1982).
• His nicknames at Portland Timbers were 'The Mad Header' and 'The Wizard of Nod'.
• Withe won the ASEAN Football Championship as manager of Thailand in 2000 and 2002.