LAST week’s column sought the identity of the only North-East born footballer to feature among the “100 game” men invited to Arsene Wenger’s Emirates farewell.

Answers ranged from Lol Brown, Geoff Strong and George Armstrong – all of whom are dead – to Gateshead boy and former Wrekenton junior Tommy Baldwin, now 72, whose 17 Arsenal appearances 50 years ago were followed by more memorable days at Chelsea.

The answer was Hartlepool lad Andy Linighan, best remembered for ignoring a broken nose to head the Gunners’ last minute winner in the 1993 FA Cup final replay against Sheffield Wednesday.

David, one of his four brothers – all of whom captained Hartlepool Boys – also had a lengthy professional career, chiefly at Ipswich Town. Brian, their late dad, was another centre half who scored on his Darlington debut – a 3-3 draw with Workington in November 1968 but, inexplicably, was never picked again.

Now 55, Andy made 110 appearances in six seasons at the Vic before a journey which embraced Leeds, Oldham, Norwich City, Arsenal and, finally, Crystal Palace.

The incorrigible Jack Charlton discovered that his great grandfather was from Cork, decided that he was emerald eligible but was rebuffed. Andy won England B recognition, instead.

The column once went to Norwich to see him. “It’s not a glamour club but I’m not a glamour player,” he insisted.

At Hartlepool he’d served his time as a plumber and these days runs a plumbing company in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. “A profound love for plumbing,” insists his Twitter account.

Sadly, he has not been able to return the column’s call.

THE Ebac Northern League’s finals day at Consett last Saturday went very well, save for a slight identity crisis at the start. Presenting himself at the gate, league president and former World Cup referee George Courtney was told that there were no tickets in his name. George had finally extracted his wallet – a process reputedly akin to the removal of a particularly troublesome wisdom tooth – when, in an answer to the unspoken question “Don’t you know who I am”, someone finally said that they did.

ALLAN Barkas’s funeral was held in Whitley Bay last Friday. When a shopkeeper in St Helen’s Auckland he’d become chairman of Easington Colliery FC – commuting between the two – and had also been on the committee at Bishop Auckland, West Auckland and Whitley Bay.

Through her company, skilltrainingltd, Allan’s wife Ann had also been Northern League sponsor – which was how, on a cold night in October 2009, the three of us found ourselves outside Thornaby’s ground. The fixture against Guisborough had been in the morning papers, after all.

The gates were locked, not another soul to be seen. We went to the pub and rang Tony Golightly, the league secretary.

Thornaby v Guisborough, said Tony, was scheduled for April 5 2010. Believing all that we read in the papers, we were precisely six months early.

AT Willington last Saturday. The Masons Arms from Middlestone Moor won the Crook and District League’s Norman Wright Cup for the second successive season, beating Wolsingham 4-0. It was the Masons’ ninth Norman Wright final, the remarkable thing that Matthew Levitt has kept goal in every one of them. Safe hands, is that a record?

FORMER Tow Law Town chairman Harry Hodgson’s funeral last Tuesday was the day before the 20th anniversary of the Lawyers’ FA Vase appearance, reminding long serving club secretary Bernard Fairbairn of the big match briefing, also at Wembley.

Peter Shilton, then 48 but having made the last of his 1,005 league appearances just the previous season, was an FA guest. Stuart “the Monopod” Dawson, Darlington polliss and Lawyers’ goalkeeper, was carrying a long-term injury.

Recalling the Tow Law adage about shy bairns, Bernard asked the record breaking England international if he might fancy a special guest appearance. Sorry, said Shilts, but he’d finally hung up his gloves.

A REMINDER that a memorial service for former Crook Town winger Jimmy McMillan – the only man ever to claim four FA Amateur Cup winners’ medals – will take place at St Catherine’s church in Crook market place at 11am this Saturday. If they have them, those attending are encouraged to wear Crook Town scarves, or anything else of an amber-and-black nature. All very welcome.

DOMINOES news (of which there’s been precious little of late.) Geoff Johns, one of the column’s colleagues in the Brainless Britannia B team, clinched on Monday night the award for most individual games won in Division C of the Darlington and District 5s and 3s League. There isn’t a division D.

Known universally as Geoff the Ref, responsible for junior football appointments across Darlington, he’d also won £500 on a betting shop bingo game the previous Saturday. “It’s been a canny couple of days,” he said.

….AND finally, Martin Birtle today seeks the identity of the manager with strong North-East connections who, on August 21 1965, sent on the Football League’s first sub.

Accept no substitutes, the column returns next week.