Les Sealey (3 Viewers)

[Nonleagueherewecome]

Randomly, there was a brassy woman just on Real Housewives of Cheshire claiming that she moved up there from Essex "when my son signed for Manchester Utd". A bit of research, and we'd worked out that she was talking about Remi Sealey, who seems to be the son of (also in the show) Joe Sealey, who is of course the son of Les. Quite a lot of overstating her sons ability considering that he was just a youth player at Utd and is now at Huddersfield and not looking like making it...

Joe was quite funny, playing down the fact that he didn't make it as a player himself at West Ham due to injury only (and certainly not due to lack of ability) at every opportunity!


What are people's memories of Les? His first time at City was before I was old enough to go, but he was in goal for Luton for my very first City match, a 0-0 draw at Highfield Road. I had to get my dad to explain why there was so much aggro between him and the City fans, particularly those behind his goal one half. Les gestured to the City fans just as much as they jeered him, which stood out to a young lad at his first game. He seemed to love playing the pantomime villain!

My dad said that he'd been rubbish for City in his first stint and "always gave the fans crap" when playing against us. I think he called him "a wanker", ha! He tried to explain the following to me, as summed up by Stuart Linnell in his obit when he died-it probably explains why my dad hated him!:

"Les fell out with Coventry City quite publicly at the end of his time with the club and appeared to almost celebrate an end of season defeat just before he was transferred to Luton Town. That prompted some City fans to barrack him whenever he played against us thereafter, but he always maintained that his actions were misinterpreted."

So was it that blatant? Had he already agreed to sign for Luton at the time, or was it just "in the works"? What could Sealey mean by "misinterpreted"?

I also fondly remember him returning to City on loan when Oggy was injured. We gave him the business as per, and he gave as much back! But I seem to remember him smiling a lot, having a great time and gradually winning us over with some top saves and being cheered at the end-a nice redemption story.

 

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[Magwitch]

A lot of it started after what I think was his last game for city or home game, we played West Ham who were his club as a kid and we got beat 4-2 with a bloomer from Les, he always got stick after that whenever he came back, but I disagree that he was a poor, l thought he was a decent reliable keeper,certainly no Leigh Burge put it that way.

 

[Grendel]

It’s a bit unfair

He was a pretty good goalkeeper - always volatile but he was good

From memory the club at the time was falling apart. Fans were chanting for Hill to be killed and he I think had by then gone but sold Garry Thompson - he’s stupidly put most of the squad on the same years of contract so they all were expiring and refused to resign and Sexton was going to be fired

The last game was chaos. I think Ipswich and he did laugh at a goal going in and said some unpleasant things to the fans. Players like Hateley were chased after games and had to get to their car before being attacked - it was a real dire time but he was a good keeper

 

[LastGarrison]

Once stuck his middle finger up at us as he walked off the pitch at half time in a reserve game as we were giving him grief.

Kind of liked him for that.

 

[Sick Boy]

Fans were chanting for Hill to be killed

hahaha what the hell?!

 

[Grendel]

hahaha what the hell?!

“kill kill kill Jimmy Hill” during a pitch invasion forcing him out

 

[Terry_dactyl]

I loved the game he came back on loan for us. He played the role of pantomime villain to perfection.

 

[wingy]

“kill kill kill Jimmy Hill” during a pitch invasion forcing him out

Has anybody told the Sunderland fans yet

Curious that he's in the same company as Fisher

 

[Grendel]

Has anybody told the Sunderland fans yet

Curious that he's in the same company as Fisher

There is an irony as as a chairman he was a disaster

 

[oscillatewildly]

My old man (former copper) paid him a visit to his home at the time (Whitley flats) I remember asking him what it was about (thinking he'd maybe robbed all the trophies or spray painted 'West End Boot Boys' on a wall) Turns out it was over a 'minor' traffic offence.

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

I can tell you on that game last game of the season 1983/4 me and a couple of mates were stood right behind the goal at the spion kop end when the second goal went in we were in line with the shot and we thought it should have been saved. We said nothing to him.the next goal we were positive he should have saved it and when he come to pick it out of the net 1 of my pals asked the question "did you let that in" his answer was " yes and if you keep watching i'll let the next shot is as well" .Before the end he did let another 1 in no so obvious think the last 2 were scored by Tony Cottee from memory.When he come to pick the ball out of the net this time all he said was "told you". Plenty of fans round us heard it.The situation was Dave Sexton had been told he was being sacked and Sealey decided he was going to leave.We wrote to the club explained what we knew had happened .The chairman sent a typed letter back saying the situation would be sorted. That was the reason for the hostility towards him. We could not believe it when he came back on loan years later

 

[Legia Sky Blue]

He was a decent keeper, but that last game definitely left a bad taste and affected his reception by our fans thereafter. I thought it was the West End, that he let the soft goals in and where he made out that he was deliberately letting goals in (perhaps he did the same in both half's). While his heart was undoubtedly not in that match and he did let a couple of soft goals in I still find it hard to believe that if he did deliberately let them in, that he would have been stupid enough to boast about it. I suspect it was some misplaced bravado on his part that caused him to play the idiot. I remember part of the story at the time was that he was telling fans it was West Ham he was joining, although he obviously ended up at Luton in the end.

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

Legia Sky Blue no mention of any club to us.

 

[better days]

The mad thing was that when he joined West Ham (where his uncle had been a club legend) his first game was against Arsenal where he came on as sub playing up front due to an injury crisis

 

[fatso]

I never rated him as a keeper, he was an understudy at best, and should never of been first choice.
The club was in turmoil and I believe he wasnt the only one looking to get away, but I think some of his behaviour was unprofessional.
Unfortunately none of us will ever know the full story of what was happening behind the scenes.

 

[clint van damme]

I can tell you on that game last game of the season 1983/4 me and a couple of mates were stood right behind the goal at the spion kop end when the second goal went in we were in line with the shot and we thought it should have been saved. We said nothing to him.the next goal we were positive he should have saved it and when he come to pick it out of the net 1 of my pals asked the question "did you let that in" his answer was " yes and if you keep watching i'll let the next shot is as well" .Before the end he did let another 1 in no so obvious think the last 2 were scored by Tony Cottee from memory.When he come to pick the ball out of the net this time all he said was "told you". Plenty of fans round us heard it.The situation was Dave Sexton had been told he was being sacked and Sealey decided he was going to leave.We wrote to the club explained what we knew had happened .The chairman sent a typed letter back saying the situation would be sorted. That was the reason for the hostility towards him. We could not believe it when he came back on loan years later

He was a wanker and this confirms it
Absolute weapon.

 

[Calista]

Les Sealey was a very good keeper, a fine shot stopper but prone to the occasional bad error. He won some medals with Man United I think, and you don’t do that without talent.

As has been said he left at the same time as a lot of other good players as well as the manager Sexton, there seemed to be some bad mistakes with contracts etc., and the club shot themselves in the foot because we had the makings of a great young side.

The fans (including me) loved to hate him when he played against us later, and I remember a game against Luton when the biggest cheer of the entire match was when he put a terrible kick into touch. To be fair he took it all in good spirit.

When he came back on loan for a couple of games he gave it everything, marshalling the defence, making some great stops and (as I recall) very much celebrating us getting a vital point as a result.

I reckon Les just fancied himself as a bit of a cockney character, and I don’t think there was any malice in him whatsoever. He died tragically young, and I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt and remember him with a smile.

 

[Brylowes]

“kill kill kill Jimmy Hill” during a pitch invasion forcing him out

:emoji_thinking: Was this at the ‘Stadium of Light’ by any chance.

 

[Magwitch]

“kill kill kill Jimmy Hill” during a pitch invasion forcing him out

This is the part of Jimmy Hill’s ccfc career that gets conveniently brushed under the carpet, Jimmy Hill the manager second to none, Jimmy Hill the chairman,now that’s a different story.

 

[Legia Sky Blue]

Legia Sky Blue no mention of any club to us.

Yes never heard it myself, just remember people talking about it afterwards. I've got a book in front of me based on our 'elite' era which gives a brief precis of every game played in the top flight where it diplomatically reads 'Les Sealey's display is unsatisfactory'.

As an aside our team that day was Sealey, Thomas, Roberts, Hormantschuk, Butterworth, Gillespie, Whitton, Singleton, Hateley, Hendrie & Hunt. Only 3 of these players were still in the team when the following season kicked off at Watford.

 

[PCH]

I remember him coming here for West Ham and had they beat us we’d of been in deep trouble at the end of the season. However they didn’t and he was gutted when he let the winner in in front of the West End . I remember him punching the ground in disgust and me thinking what a wanker.

 

[Terry_dactyl]

All slightly before my time. When he came back on loan I remember him misplacing a kick to an opposition player (who were we playing?) and saving the resulting one-on-one...much to his obvious relief. I think he may have raised his arms aloft to the crowd and received a bit of an ironic cheer.
I had not heard the accusations about his previous time here. I’d assumed he just was an ex-player who wasn’t well liked. Like if we’d played against Bellamy.
While I don’t remember him at cov I thought he was a decent goalkeeper.

 

[Moff]

Aside from his shambolic last home appearance for us when he conceded four, Sealey made things a lot worse on one of his returns with Luton a couple of years later.

Admittedly we were poor and lost 1-0 but him and that other weapon Ashley Grimes who had just left us for Luton, celebrated at the end of the game in the centre circle like they had won the FA Cup. Looked like a pair of wankers that day.

 

[Adge]

I remember one match when he was at Luton and they must have needed something at HR and was doing cartwheels at the end?
Remembering him also when he came back on loan and took it all in good spirit the banter that came his way-one of footballs characters that died too early and second the comment that you don’t win trophies at the top level if you are not half decent.
Another thing I hadn’t realised about Les was he was Terry Gibson’s cousin.

 

[Adge]

Aside from his shambolic last home appearance for us when he conceded four, Sealey made things a lot worse on one of his returns with Luton a couple of years later.

Admittedly we were poor and lost 1-0 but him and that other weapon Ashley Grimes who had just left us for Luton, celebrated at the end of the game in the centre circle like they had won the FA Cup. Looked like a pair of wankers that day.

You beat me too it!

 

[Terry_dactyl]

Aside from his shambolic last home appearance for us when he conceded four, Sealey made things a lot worse on one of his returns with Luton a couple of years later.

Admittedly we were poor and lost 1-0 but him and that other weapon Ashley Grimes who had just left us for Luton, celebrated at the end of the game in the centre circle like they had won the FA Cup. Looked like a pair of wankers that day.

That might have been my first game! Brian Stein winner?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Once stuck his middle finger up at us as he walked off the pitch at half time in a reserve game as we were giving him grief.

Kind of liked him for that.

Did some reading on Keith Houchen’s time as Hartlepool manager where he seems to have done that a fair bit

 

[oscillatewildly]

This is the part of Jimmy Hill’s ccfc career that gets conveniently brushed under the carpet, Jimmy Hill the manager second to none, Jimmy Hill the chairman,now that’s a different story.

I remember late 1970's/early '80's when visiting supporters would chime up with "Jimmy Hill, what a wanker, what a wanker". The West End would not only applaud but then join in with the chant.