Albion hero Ward puts pen to paper

SEVENTIES Burton Albion star Peter Ward flies in from Florida this weekend to promote his new biography.

Ward, who started his professional career with Albion in 1974 under the watchful eye of then-Albion boss Ken Gutteridge, went on to become Brighton’s record goalscorer with 36 goals in 1976/77.

He was signed at Brighton by another former Albion manager, Peter Taylor, and later left the Sussex club to be re-united with Taylor and Brian Clough at double European Champions, Nottingham Forest.

Before joining Forest, Ward made a solitary appearance for England just six years after completing his apprenticeship at Rolls Royce in Derby.

As a youngster, Lichfield-born Ward would watch Clough and Taylor’s Derby County with his dad, Colin, who still lives in Chaddesden with his wife Mavis.

Despite a promising start to his Forest career, Ward was never fully accepted by Clough, who regarded his signing as one of Taylor’s few examples of bad judgement.

During three up-and-down years at the City Ground, Ward spent a season on loan to the Seattle Sounders in the North American Soccer League.

Rediscovering his scoring touch, Ward led Seattle to the Soccer Bowl final where they were narrowly defeated by the New York Cosmos.

Ward’s manager at the Sounders was former Derby star Alan Hinton and his team-mates included Roger Davies and Gary Mills.

A brief loan spell back at Brighton ended with the club on the verge of reaching the FA Cup Final, but Ward’s request to return to the Seagulls for the remainder of the season was refused by Clough and the ensuing argument signaled the end of the player’s time at Forest and his career in England.

The book — He Shot He Scored, written by Matthew Horner — charts the ups and downs of Ward’s life and a career.

Ward still has many ties in the East Midlands and keeps in touch with a number of his former team-mates.

“I really enjoy myself when I come over,” he says. “I had a great start at Burton Albion, where I scored a hat-trick on my debut and then had a fantastic spell at Brighton where we went from the Third Division to the First (Premier League) in three years.

“I am touched that people like Ian Storey- Moore, Viv Anderson, Gary Mills, Mark Lawrenson, Rodney Marsh, Alan Hinton and Ian Wallace have taken the time to share their memories for the book.”