Luther Blissett

Watford

Blisset began his career at Kingfisher Youth of the Brent Sunday League. He was spotted and later signed by Watford in July 1975. At 17, Blissett turned professional for the 1975–76 season, making three appearances in the Football League Fourth Division and scoring one goal. His debut came on 3 April 1975 as a substitute in a 1–0 win at home to Barnsley. Four goalless appearances came in the 1976–77 season, the second season with Elton John as chairman, before he broke into the first team under new manager Graham Taylor in the 1977–78 season; his six goals in 33 games helped Watford win promotion to the Football League Third Division. 21 goals the following campaign played a big part in a second successive promotion, which took them into the Football League Second Division. Blissett remained among the club's top goalscorers over the next three seasons as Watford consolidated in the Second Division and finally reached the Football League First Division for the first time in their history in 1982. At the end of the 1978–79 season, he was part of the PFA Team of the Year for the Football League Third Division. In the 1981–82 season, he scored 19 league goals, showcasing his scoring ability. Blissett and his teammates made the headlines during the 1982–83 season as they surprised many by proving successful in the First Division. Watford briefly led the league in the autumn, before finishing second to Liverpool, and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In Watford's first…

Although born in Jamaica, Blissett chose to for England, having been eligible to play as he moved to the country at a young age. After making four appearances for England under-21s, Blissett became one of the first black footballers to play for the senior team. Aged 24 years 254 days, he made his debut at Wembley Stadium in a 1–2 friendly loss to West Germany on 13 October 1982. Blissett scored a hat-trick on his full international debut, which was a 9–0 win over Luxembourg, in doing so becoming the first black player ever to score for England. He never scored in any other international despite playing for England a further 13 times. In 1984, he made an appearance for England B. His last match was at 26 years 122 days on 2 June 1984, a friendly at Wembley Stadium between England and the Soviet Union, which ended 0–2. Between October 1983 and October 1984, he was the black English player with most appearances. Coming in with returning manager Graham Taylor, Blissett rejoined Watford as head coach in February 1996. He left the club in June 2001, following the appointment of Gianluca Vialli as manager. Vialli wanted to appoint his own backroom staff, and Blissett was among those deemed surplus to requirements. Taylor was publicly critical of the decision not to retain long-serving members of staff such as Blissett and Kenny Jackett. In May 2002, Blissett moved to York City to carry out a coaching role. He later left that post and on 15 February 2006 was appointed manager of…

Blissett was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, at that time still part of the British Empire as Colony of Jamaica, on 1 February 1958. He was given Luther as first name and Loide as middle name. In 2017, Blissett recalled his first meeting with Graham Taylor, who said his full name three times, before adding: "Well son, with a name like that you are going to have to be a star, aren't you!" Blissett moved to London, aged 5 or 6, and was brought up in the North London area of Willesden. In the summer of 1974, Blissett left Willesden High School to begin his career with Watford as an apprentice.

Assessment and player style

Blissett was known for his powerful running and aerial ability, despite his relatively short stature (for a striker) of 5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m), as reported in 1982. He was also known for his goalscoring ability, which won him the top goalscorer title in the 1982–83 season. As a result of his goalscoring ability, with over 200 goals in over 500 appearances of a 19-year career, as well as for his ability to take lowly teams to the top (most notably Watford, from the Fourth Division to the First Division), Blissett is widely considered among the best Jamaican and Watford footballers and of English football. For black English players, he was a trailblazer, as he was among the first, more specifically the fifth, the second forward after Cyrille Regis, and the 960th overall, to represent England at a senior level, and was the first black player to score a hat-trick. In 2003, he was inducted into Watford's hall of fame. Although best known for his successful stints at Watford, Blissett is well known (especially in Italy) for his stint at Milan, albeit disappointing. In an 1983 interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he famously said: "I'm an atypical Jamaican. I don't drink, I don't take drugs, and I don't go out with women." Of Blissett, Ilario Castagner (his head coach at Milan) said in November 2016 that he had arrived at Milan from Watford "with the Golden Boot award award, Europe's top scorer", and that his problem was that he had not…