Neil FRANKLIN | 1946-1948 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)

FRANKLIN PES STATS | 1946-1948

Brezza Cornelius 'Neil' Franklin Neil FRANKLIN | 1946-1948 Club: Stoke City Number: 5 Position: CB* Nationality: English Era: 1946-1948 Age: 24-26 Foot: R Side: B Length: 180(?) Weight: Attack: 65 Defence: 92 Balance: 88 Stamina: 83 Top Speed: 82 Acceleration: 84 Response: 92 Agility: 78 Dribble Accuracy: 80 Dribble Speed: 73 Short Pass Accuracy: 80 Short Pass Speed: 81 Long Pass Acc: 75 Long Pass Speed: 76 Shot Accuracy: 67 Shot Power: 76 Shot Technique: 69 Free Kick Accuracy: 66 Curling: 68 Header: 92 Jump: 88 Technique: 80 Aggression: 66 Mentality: 78 Keeper Skills: 50 Team Work: 90 Injury Tolerance: B Condition/Fitness: 7 Weak Foot Accuracy: 5 Weak Foot frequency: 5 Consistency: 7 Sliding D-Line The career of Neil Franklin can be considered as one of English footballs' saddest wastes, even though in his prime it provided the nation with arguably its' greatest ever all-round centre half. Franklin really came to prominence in the war years when selected in a series of representative games, playing for FA XI's before graduating to the unofficial England side in 1945. So although Franklin did not make his league debut until he was 24 Stoke City had a ready made star on their hands when he did. When football resumed Franklin began to demonstrate to a wider audience the qualities which had already assured his standing within the game during the war. He won his first official England cap in the first international after the war, a 7-2 defeat of Northern Ireland in September 1946. His right to the England number five shirt was already undisputed. Neil Franklin was a radically different centre half to those who had gone before him, to his contemporaries and to most of those that followed him. In a time when almost every team in England possessed a raw boned, battle hardened centre forward and an even more raw boned, battle hardened centre half to combat them Franklin was a gloriously refined exception. He was a stopper alright. He could match the best in the air and never shirked a challenge. It was what he was besides that made him special. Franklin did not confine himself to looking after the centre forward. His anticipation and positioning was uncanny. He could intercept danger with so little fuss that most observers were probably unaware that any had existed. On top of that, Franklin was an outstanding footballer. He viewed the hoofed clearance with disdain, except when strictly necessary, and believed the responsibility of ''playing football'' was as much his as anyone elses in the side. Therefore a dangerous centre into the Stoke City penalty area was as likely to lead to a counter attack as a chance on goal. Even under the severest pressure Franklin was loath to desert his principles. His performances helped Stoke to challenge strongly in the first season after the war. They reached the 5th round of the FA Cup before losing at home to Sheffield United 1-0. It was their league form that was really exciting the Potteries, however. Despite enjoying a fantastic season it was evident that all was not rosy within the Stoke camp. Astonishingly Stan Matthews was allowed to leave for Blackpool with the championship still in the balance, with rumours saying he was unpopular in the dressing room By the end of the following season Franklin himself would be seriously unsettled at the Victoria Ground. At club level, however, the situation deteriorated tand by 1950, he was ready to leave Stoke - he was unhappy with the £20 a week maximum wage limit imposed by the FA, and felt the local air was not conducive to healthy living, as the local pottery kilns continually belched out their smoke and fumes. He wanted to move his family away to a cleaner climate, but what no-one envisaged was that would mean not just another club, but another continent. In the summer of 1950 Franklin broke his contract with Stoke City and left the country for Colombia, to play for Independiente Santa Fe of Bogotá. He was on a £5,000 per year contract, with £35 win bonuses - a small fortune in the 1950's. However, Colombia was outside FIFA jurisdiction and their FA was considered a rebel authority. Political and social unrest in Colombia made it hard for Franklin and his family to settle, and they returned to England after just four weeks. Back home the former England stalwart found himself in exile. Franklin was immediately suspended by the FA and later refused permission by his club to train with them. Eventually he would be free to play again at the end of January 1951 at which point Stoke granted him the transfer he had wanted all along. He eventually moved to hull for an then world record fee for a defender. Despite the fact that most observers quickly felt his performances had not suffered from his unhappy adventure there would be no England recall despite the fact that the centre half position would not be nearly adequately filled until 1954, and even then only by deploying Billy Wright, the countries finest wing half, in the position. So what should have been one of the greatest, most recognised careers in English football descended into a sad, shambling mess. It should never be forgotten that Franklin was a true great of English football, however. Bobby Moore had many of his attributes, his poise and ability on the ball, but Moore was essentially a half back and would have played alongside Franklin if they had been of the same generation. Franklin had those assets but was an imperious stopper as well with good pace. Quote: Stan Mortensen, Football is My Game (1949) Neil Franklin is my ideal centre-half. Of course he plays as a stopper, in the modern fashion, but he also uses the ball cleverly. Note, for instance, how he uses the pass-back to the goalkeeper. I have already told you how Frank Swift developed the trick of starting attacks from his own goal-line, and with Neil he built up a set of sequence moves. Neil would check a raid, hold the ball long enough to ensure complete control of both ball and his immediate surroundings, noting the placing of every opponent, and then if all was clear, slip the ball back. It must have been galling to Scotland's supporters, as well as players to see this apparently simple move so often exploited to keep the home side at bay. Like all good things, it isn't as simple as it looks. To be able to carry out this play successfully the centre-half must have ball-control equal to that of an inside-forward. Another way in which Neil appeals to his teammates is that he rarely gives a free kick away. The modern centre-half, trained to stop, is often penalised through being just clumsy, with arms flying as he goes into the tackle, not through any vicious intent. Neil, tidy and competent, always plays the ball, and so avoids giving away those dangerous free kicks on the fringe of the penalty area. Quote: Stanley Matthews, The Way It Was (2000) The greatest centre-half I ever had the privilege of playing with, the incomparable Neil Franklin. At the time, Neil was widely considered to be the best centre-half in Britain. He had played in ten wartime and victory internationals for England and in this season went on to win the first of his 27 caps. Neil won everything in the air, tackled with superb timing and when the ball was at his feet possessed the nous to pass it with all the guile and intelligence of the most cerebral of inside-forwards. An erect physique belied tremendous mobility and breathtaking speed over four or five yards. When it came to heading he was as dominant in the air as a Spitfire, and such was the timing of his tackling that when sliding in, his backside and tackling leg would touch the ground only momentarily before he rose majestically with the ball at his feet. Neil oozed class and self-control in equal measures. When his legs were kicked from under him he would rise to his feet, look pityingly at the perpetrator of the shabby assault and with a gentle, disapproving shake of the head, turn and trot away to take up his position. He used his physical strength sparingly, preferring to rely on the skills he had been blessed with. In an era of bruising, granite-like centre-halves, he was a model of restraint. _________________ Paddy wrote: Thomas, infected clunge is still clunge Neil FRANKLIN | 1946-1948 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)