farman_alfred
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| Name: Alfred Henry "Alf" Farman |
Nationality: England |
| Position: outside-right |
Signing Information: Transferred from: Bolton Wanderers, 02/1889, £ |
| Birthdate: 25-04-1869 |
Years at Club: 1889-1895 |
| Age: (155) |
Debut: 18/01/1889 v Preston North End (A) 1-6 (FA Cup 1st Round) |
| Birthplace: Kings Norton, Birmingham, England |
Previous clubs: Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers |
| Height: 5' 8" (1.73m) |
Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to ? , 04/1895, £ |
| Weight: |
Passed Away: 11/1926 |
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If Newton Heath thought they boasted a high scoring outside-right in William Tait, they had a pleasant surprise when they replaced him with Alfred Henry Farman. He was an even more prolific flankman, with a scoring rate to rival the very best of Manchester United's long line of celebrated wingers. It was all due to a thunderous shot that he once unleashed "from close to the touchline, the ball never rose higher than the knee, and was in the net in a flash".
A Brummie by birth, Alf rose to prominence with Birmingham Excelsior while still a teenager, eventually attracting Aston Villa's interest in the 1888 close season. As they contested the first Football League campaign, he was confined to the second string, bar a first team friendly versus Cambridge University in December 1888.
It was, thus, a great coup for Newton Heath when they signed Farman a few weeks later. He made his bow in a friendly against Walsall Town Swifts on February 21st, 1889, and notched one goal. It was not until the end of that season that he played in two more matches, and he scored in both of them! Alas, the authorities then decided that Alf had signed registration forms simultaneously with both Villa and Heath, and he was consequently suspended until November 1st, 1889.
And so it was not until November 9th that he took over the outside-right berth from Tait, and naturally he scored on his competitive debut - an Alliance fixture against Long Eaton Rangers. By the end of that season, he had tallied 18 goals and bagged a Manchester Cup medal after being on target in both the semi and the final.
Farman only got better - he totaled 30 goals in 1891-92 to power the Heathens into the Football League after creating history early on in September: against Blackpool, he converted the very first penalty in English football. In 1892-93, Farman was on target in Heath's inaugural League fixture, struck a hat-trick against Derby in December and, most importantly, he bagged another treble in the playoff versus Small Heath to preserve Heath's top flight status.
His very next game was the opening of Bank Street after Heath moved to a new ground in the summer of 1893. Farman marked the occasion with another hat-trick, and he actually finished as top scorer in Heath's final Division One campaign. Alf had earned a benefit from the club (a tussle with Ardwick in April 1893 in which he struck within the first 5 minutes!) but, when they dropped to Division Two in 1894-95, so was Farman inexplicably dropped to the reserve team. When that season ended, Alf opted to be reinstated as an amateur, never to play first class football again. He was only 26!
Regardless, his scoring feats put him fourth among Heath's all-time top marksmen and made him the only winger to reach a century of goals. He continued to live in South Manchester for years afterwards, running a beerhouse, first at 120 Oldham Road then at 116 Newcastle Street. Farman eventually moved back closer to his birth place and lived on Wilton Street in Lozells, Birmingham. Sadly, he lost his son (Rifleman Alfred Jr.) during WWI while he himself passed away ten years later in 1926.
Alf made history on Saturday 5th December 1891 by becoming the 1st player in club history to score a penalty kick during a 4-3 defeat to Blackpool in the FA Cup. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude. |
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| League |
League Cup |
FA Cup |
Charity Shield |
European Cup |
Europa League |
Super Cup |
Cup Winners Cup |
Inter-Continental Cup |
World Clubs Cup |
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| No |
Season |
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Season
Goals |
Season
Apps |
| 1 |
1889-1890 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| 2 |
1890-1891 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| 3 |
1891-1892 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
| 4 |
1892-1893 |
14 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
31 |
| 5 |
1893-1894 |
8 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
20 |
| 6 |
1894-1895 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| TOTALS |
22 |
54 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
61 |
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