Geoff Hurst And Telford United  

It had been ten years since England won the World Cup and Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of English football, was now player-manager at Southern League Telford United.   

It was an ambitious appointment by the midlands club celebrating their centenary year.  Hurst was, and still is, a living legend; a scorer of over 200 goals in 500 league matches and 24 goals for England from 49 games. 

Hurst arrived in Shropshire after being released by West Brom and spells in Ireland and America with Telford being his first managerial appointment.  Taking the job at Bucks Head signalled Hurst’s intention to start at the ‘bottom’ and work his way up the ladder in football management.   

He was quoted as saying, “People ask why Telford as though I have done something odd in coming here instead of getting myself a Football league club to start with.  It was a question of starting somewhere where I could see a way of going up rather than in the poorest League clubs where they want you first of all to stop them sliding any further down.” 

Unfortunately, being a player-manager in NonLeague Football isn’t easy and Hurst only lasted two seasons at Bucks Head.  The first was a season of disappointment for both club and the former World Cup winner.   

Telford finishing only 19^th in the Southern League Premier Division, being dumped out of the FA Trophy in the First Round and failing to make the First Round proper of the FA Cup after being thumped 5-2 at home by Matlock Town in the Fourth Qualifying Round.   

Perhaps the transition from professional to NonLeague Football was too much for Hurst though his fitness, even at just 34, was a huge question mark.  Being released after just ten games by West Brom was an obvious sign that things weren’t right and during his short stay at Bucks Head Hurst struggled with injury.   

Certainly Hurst struggled with the physical nature of the game though, since the famous hat-trick, he must have been used to being a target for opposition players but he did say, “The only real frustration is with myself.  I wind up for a shot I would have buried ten years ago and mis-kick.  Or I scoot past someone and he comes tanking back to catch me.  That hurts.” 

Off the pitch Hurst’s popularity in Telford took a knock at the end of the 1976/77 season when he announced that Telford legend Jack Bentley was being released.   

If Geoff Hurst was a national hero than Bentley was the Telford equivalent.  In a fourteen year career at Bucks Head Bentley scored 431 goals in 835 matches and was still only 35, and scoring regularly, when Hurst showed him the door.   

Ironically Hurst very quickly followed Bentley out of the club by calling an end to his brief stint in NonLeague management.  Hurst would go on to assist Ron Greenwood with the England team and to manage Chelsea taking over from Danny Blanchflower in 1979 and being succeeded by John Neal after being sacked in 1981.  Hurst was knighted in 1998 for services to football.