45 Facts About Peter Shilton

1.

Peter Leslie Shilton was born on 18 September 1949 and is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

2.

Peter Shilton represented England at the FIFA World Cup in 1982,1986 and 1990, and the UEFA European Championship in 1980 and 1988.

3.

Peter Shilton was a 13-year-old pupil at King Richard III Boys School in Leicester, when he started training at schoolboy level with his local club Leicester City in 1963.

4.

Peter Shilton caught the eye of first-team goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who commented to the coach about how promising he was.

5.

In May 1966, a 16-year-old Peter Shilton made his debut for Leicester against Everton and his potential was quickly spotted to the extent that the Leicester City management sided with their teenage prodigy and soon sold World Cup winner Banks to Stoke City.

6.

Peter Shilton settled into first team life thereafter, even managing to score a goal at The Dell against Southampton in October 1967 direct from a clearance at the opposite end of the pitch; the Southampton goalkeeper Campbell Forsyth misjudged Peter Shilton's long punt upfield, which, instead of splashing harmlessly in the mud, spun off the pitch and flew over Forsyth's head into the goal.

7.

Peter Shilton reached the semi-finals with Leicester in 1974, but Liverpool won the match after a replay.

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8.

Peter Shilton was sold to Nottingham Forest in September 1977.

9.

Peter Shilton subsequently won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, voted for by his fellow professionals.

10.

Peter Shilton had another eventful season with Forest, reaching a third consecutive League Cup final, with Wolverhampton Wanderers the opponents at Wembley.

11.

Forest failed to continue their trophy-winning form while Peter Shilton began what would be a long-standing gambling addiction which would cause considerable strain to his family.

12.

Peter Shilton left Forest for Southampton, where his former international teammate Alan Ball was playing.

13.

Peter Shilton joined Derby County in the summer of 1987.

14.

Peter Shilton was the subject of This Is Your Life in March 1986 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Waterloo Station.

15.

Peter Shilton helped the Derby side of Mark Wright, Dean Saunders and Ted McMinn finish fifth in the league, and they only missed out on competing in the UEFA Cup due to the ban on English clubs in European competition arising from the Heysel disaster.

16.

In 1991, Derby were relegated and Peter Shilton started to consider his playing future.

17.

Peter Shilton was 42 years old and was ready to become a coach or manager.

18.

Plymouth were battling against relegation in the Football League Second Division but Peter Shilton's efforts were unable to save Plymouth from the drop.

19.

Peter Shilton joined Wimbledon in the Premier League for a short period, as injury cover for the first choice goalkeeper Hans Segers, but did not play a first team game for them.

20.

Peter Shilton subsequently signed for Bolton Wanderers, making a couple of appearances, including the Division One play-off semi final against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

21.

Peter Shilton then signed for Coventry City, where he failed to make a first-team appearance, before joining West Ham United, where again he never played a first-team game, although he was selected as a substitute on several occasions.

22.

Peter Shilton recovered from financial troubles caused by business decisions and gambling, and became a prolific after-dinner speaker.

23.

Peter Shilton ended up with over 100 caps compared to Clemence's 61.

24.

Against Scotland, Peter Shilton made a right handed save diving to his left from Kenny Dalglish's shot that Peter Shilton considered among his best saves.

25.

The result went England's way this time and they qualified for their first World Cup for a dozen years, with Peter Shilton appearing in the finals in Spain for the first time at the comparatively mature age of 32.

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26.

Clemence had played in the friendlies building up to the competition, but it was Peter Shilton who was selected for the opening group game against France in Bilbao.

27.

Peter Shilton was still the keeper for the qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup, which thus far had seen three wins from three matches and no goals conceded.

28.

The ball was skewed back towards the penalty area and Maradona, continuing the run from his initial pass, went after it as Peter Shilton came out to punch the ball clear.

29.

Shortly afterwards, Maradona scored a legitimate individual goal, taking on almost the whole England defence and Peter Shilton before shooting into an empty net.

30.

However, Peter Shilton continued to play for England, featuring in a straightforward and successful qualification campaign for the 1988 European Championships, which were to be held in West Germany.

31.

Peter Shilton's 100th was against the Netherlands, who had lost their first game at the finals.

32.

Chris Woods, longtime understudy to Peter Shilton was given a rare game.

33.

In June 1989, Peter Shilton broke his old England skipper Bobby Moore's record of 108 appearances for his country when he won his 109th cap in a friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen.

34.

Peter Shilton had, by this time, kept three clean sheets in three qualifying matches for the 1990 World Cup and would ultimately concede no goals at all as England qualified for the tournament, to be held in Italy.

35.

Peter Shilton was never booked or sent off at full international level.

36.

Peter Shilton was an intelligent and efficient goalkeeper, who was regarded above all for his physical presence, handling, positional sense, composure and consistency, as well as his ability to communicate with his teammates, organise his defence, and inspire confidence in his back-line.

37.

Peter Shilton possessed significant physical strength, which made him an imposing presence in the area, despite not being the tallest of goalkeepers.

38.

Peter Shilton stood out for his exceptional longevity throughout his career, which spanned four decades.

39.

Peter Shilton retired at the age of 47, having competed in over 1,000 professional matches.

40.

Peter Shilton married Sue Flitcroft in September 1970, and the couple have two sons, Michael and Sam, who later became a professional footballer.

41.

In December 2011, it was announced that Peter Shilton had split from his wife after 40 years of marriage.

42.

In March 2015, it was announced that Peter Shilton was to marry his second wife, jazz singer Stephanie Hayward, the pair having got engaged in 2014.

43.

Peter Shilton has expressed support of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

44.

In January 2020, Peter Shilton revealed that he had overcome a 45-year gambling addiction with the help of his wife, Steph.

45.

Peter Shilton was now working with the Government to raise awareness of associated issues including mental health problems.

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