Fred Else: Shrewd and courageous goalkeeper who shone for Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers
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Your support makes all the difference.By common consent, Fred Else was one of the best uncapped goalkeepers in the land during his prime in the second half of the 1950s with Preston North End, and then for five more seasons with Blackburn Rovers.
In an era when England was blessed with an abundance of high-quality custodians, the agile Lancastrian's path to full international honours was blocked by at least five major rivals.
When Else was shining as Preston finished third and second in the League championship races of 1956-57 and 1957-58 respectively, it seemed perverse to Deepdale regulars that he was never preferred by his country to Bolton Wanderers' Eddie Hopkinson, Alan Hodgkinson of Sheffield United or Burnley net-minder Colin McDonald.
Then, in the early 1960s, when excelling in the top flight with Blackburn, he was unfortunate to coincide with two even more formidable adversaries in Sheffield Wednesday's Ron Springett and, the ultimate challenge, future World Cup winner Gordon Banks of Leicester City.
In the end he had to be content with selection for England's B team against Scotland in 1957 and for a Football Association side which toured the world in 1961.
No giant for a 'keeper at 5ft 10in, Else was a thoughtful operator, specialising in shrewd and rapid positioning – and while not overtly spectacular, he was superbly athletic at need, while his courage in hurling himself among the flailing feet was beyond question.
It was while on national service in Newcastle that he was spotted by Preston, for whom he turned professional, aged 20, in August 1953.
Although utterly dedicated to the game – he played for North End reserves on the afternoon of his wedding day in 1955 – Else took three years to displace the consistent George Thompson from between the seniors' posts. Then, in a side featuring the revered Tom Finney, he blossomed brilliantly, proving particularly impressive as Preston finished title runners-up to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1958.
When North End were relegated in 1961, Else accepted a £20,000 transfer to Blackburn, where he did not look out of place alongside England men Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas.
However, his form dipped after he suffered a broken collarbone in 1964-65 – and when declining Blackburn were demoted in 1966, he was freed to join Fourth Division Barrow.
Voted player of the year as the Bluebirds earned promotion in 1967, he took his total of senior appearances for his three clubs well beyond 600 before retiring after Barrow, of whom he had been caretaker boss for a brief spell, sank back to the basement in 1970.
He later became a geography and maths teacher in Barrow-in-Furness.
Frederick Else, footballer: born Golborne, Lancashire 31 March 1933; died Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria 20 July 2015.
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