Tommy LAWTON | 1938-1939 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)

LAWTON PES STATS | 1938-1939

Brezza Tommy Lawton Tommy LAWTON | 1938-1939 Club: Everton Number: 9 Position: *CF Nationality: English Age: 21-22 Era: 1938/1939, Foot: R Side: B Height: 183 Weight: 78 Attack: 92 Defence: 35 Balance: 90 Stamina: 82 Top Speed: 82 Acceleration: 83 Response: 93 Agility: 83 Dribble Accuracy: 80 Dribble Speed: 82 Short Pass Accuracy: 72 Short Pass Speed: 73 Long Pass Accuracy: 73 Long Pass Speed: 69 Shot Accuracy: 92 Shot Power: 88 Shot Technique: 85 Free Kick: 67 Curling: 73 Header: 95 Jump: 96 Technique: 83 Aggression: 93 Mentality: 76 Keeper Skill: 50 Team Work: 83 Injury Tolerance: B Condition/Fitness: 6 Weak Foot Accuracy: 6 Weak Foot frequency: 6 Consistency: 7 Special Abilities: *Positioning *Scoring *Post Player Certain footballers straddle their eras like titans, their pre- eminence so palpable that any attempt to place them in a pecking order is meaningless. So it was with Tommy Lawton, the princeliest, the most complete, simply the best centre-forward in Britain as the 20th century approached its half-way mark. Lawton carried with him the unmistakable aura of stardom, radiating charisma and, even in quiet moments on the field, emitting a wholly distinctive brand of cool menace. Though a powerfully-built six-footer, he combined the physical strength expected of a big man with the nimbleness of a ballet dancer. His movement over the ground was graceful, seemingly languid at times, but that was an illusion. In fact, he was quick, often blindingly so, and he had a habit of pouncing with sudden venom to score goals seemingly out of nothing. His control of the ball was commendable and the power of his shot was ferocious, but it was in the air that Tommy Lawton attained his full and glorious majesty. Indeed, shrewd contemporary judges assert that no more brilliant header of the ball ever lived. His muscular legs and abdomen enabled him to spring to prodigious heights, and he was blessed with a sense of timing that verged on the uncanny. Indeed, such was his expertise that at times he appeared to defy gravity, creating the optical illusion of hovering while the ball homed in on that wide forehead, the sleek, dark hair and prominent beak of a nose intensifying the impression of some ravenous raptor closing on its prey. He played fair, too, being a dream to referee despite carrying all that muscle, reserving his occasional moments of tetchiness for less talented team- mates who failed to reach his exacting standards. The phenomenal sharp- shooting ability of the strapping Lancastrian first became apparent during his schooldays, when he netted some 570 goals in three seasons. Thereafter he started work in a tannery near his Bolton home and joined Burnley as an amateur in 1935, turning professional at Turf Moor a year later. He made his senior debut as a 16-year-old, then underlined his promise with a hat-trick at home to Tottenham Hotspur four days after his 17th birthday in October 1936. That was more than enough to alert the attention of bigger clubs to such a precocious talent and, sure enough, three months later he joined Everton for pounds 6,500. Now, briefly, Lawton found himself playing alongside Bill ''Dixie'' Dean, perhaps the most famous goal merchant of them all. Bill was nearing the end of his prolific career, but he was willing and able to pass on priceless knowledge to the callow colleague who was to inherit his mantle. Accordingly, Lawton became his club's marksman-in-chief in 1937/38, and topped the Football League's scoring chart with 28 goals. The following term brought even richer bounty: his 35 strikes, once again more than anyone else in the country, were hugely instrumental in Everton landing the League Championship, and he earned the personal accolade of an England call-up while still in his teens. Lawton strode on to the world stage with stupendous assurance, netting in each of his first six games, and there seemed no limit to what he might achieve. But then came the war - he served in the Army's Physical Training Corps - and though he shone in unofficial internationals alongside such luminaries as Stanley Matthews and Raich Carter, he was reduced to guesting for the likes of Aldershot, Tranmere Rovers and Morton at club level. Thus his early prime was lost to top-class competition. When life returned to something like normality in 1945, Lawton found himself at odds with Everton, and he was transferred to Chelsea for pounds 11,500. By then 26 and an awesomely formidable operator, he excelled in his one full season at Stamford Bridge, breaking the club's scoring record with 26 goals and netting twice for Great Britain against the Rest of Europe in 1947. However, later that year his relationship with his new employers ran into difficulties and an announcement that he was leaving precipitated a hectic chase for his services. There followed one of the sporting shocks of the age when the spearhead of England's attack was sold to Third Division Notts County for a then-record fee of pounds 20,000. It was an eccentric move, to say the least - a modern equivalent would be Alan Shearer throwing in his lot with, say, Crewe Alexandra - even though the maximum-wage rule then in force meant that he did not lose out financially. Whatever his reasons for accepting such a dramatic drop in status, the great man threw himself into his new club's cause with gusto, and in 1950 helped them lift the Division Three (South) title. By that time, though, he had lost his England place, the selectors unwilling to persist with a player out of touch with top-flight football, and many supporters felt he was doing himself an injustice. Aged nearly 34, Lawton joined Arsenal, the reigning champions, who had started the season badly and whose largely young, transitional side were sorely in need of his nous and maturity. It was a bold move which met with only qualified success. It was six months before he scored his first League goal, and he wasn't always sure of his place, but he was able to assist several youthful marksmen in the same way that Bill Dean had once helped him. Ironically, the Gunners had wanted to sign Lawton when he had left Burnley back in 1937, when they were in their all-conquering pomp and he had the world at his feet. Had they done so, club and player might have scaled unimagined heights together. In any event, he could be content in the knowledge that he was one of the finest footballers Britain has produced. His 231 goals in 390 League games, and his 22 strikes in 23 internationals were enough to prove that. Yet he was a performer who transcended mere statistics as surely as, in his pomp, he had soared above hapless defenders. He was an entertainer whom people would travel long distances to watch and part with hard-earned cash for the privilege. Above all else, Tommy Lawton was a star. _________________ I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best Tommy LAWTON | 1938-1939 | PES Stats Database (Golden Era Backup)