Joe Corrigan

[Lancet Fluke]

I was only a little kid when he left City and was certainly too young to really judge how good he was. I know lots of blues say he was a genuinely great keeper but then every time I ever see any highlights of City matches from the late 70s/early 80s, they usually involve Joe Corrigan more or less throwing the ball into his own net at some point in the game. How good was he?

 

[IOWBlue]

looked promising and came into the team, but started to have a bad time, and confidence went down so just got worse. Replaced by Macrae who wasnt brilliant. Joe was overweight but worked harder than almost any other player in football to turn things round. Came back a new player and would have been England's number 1 had it not been for Clemence and Shilton. Difficult to say great, imo, when compared to some of our great keepers, but very good.

 

[isab23502]

I loved big Joe when I started following City about 1977. For me he could do no wrong. However - having seen some of those highlights you have seen, he did let a few poor ones in too. One thing I have thought - in relation to the huge change in City's fortunes between late 1978 and 1980 - was whether the weather played a big part in our humiliations. The demotion of Tony Book and our big fall from grace from Autumn 1978 through to the clear out of 1979 was set against an incredible polar winter of playing on snow or bogs. Given our slick passing game, it is not impossible that the poor results we suffered that led to Allison's return were as much a symptom of those awful conditions than anything too much wrong with the players. Our big humiliations at Shrewsbury and Halifax both occured on unplayable pitches - the Halifax one being deliberately made unplayable by their groundstaff. Having said all that - the winter of 78/79 was fantastic otherwise - snow all the time/ weeks off school etc!

 

[Shirley]

I was only a little kid when he left City and was certainly too young to really judge how good he was. I know lots of blues say he was a genuinely great keeper but then every time I ever see any highlights of City matches from the late 70s/early 80s, they usually involve Joe Corrigan more or less throwing the ball into his own net at some point in the game. How good was he?

He broke into the first team as a youngster and was brilliant but unfortunately suffered a drop in form and confidence.
On his return he soon became England's number one albeit competing with Shilton and Clemence.

Btw, what highlights are you watching?

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I was only a little kid when he left City and was certainly too young to really judge how good he was. I know lots of blues say he was a genuinely great keeper but then every time I ever see any highlights of City matches from the late 70s/early 80s, they usually involve Joe Corrigan more or less throwing the ball into his own net at some point in the game. How good was he?

He didn't start too well. The worst example was when he kicked the ball out, turned round, trundled back to his line and saw the ball sail over his head into the net. He did improve! Someone must have taken him to one side, or we had a bloody good goalkeeping coach. At the beginning it was just his size that made folk think he could be a goalie! But he turned out right!

 

[Lancet Fluke]

I was only a little kid when he left City and was certainly too young to really judge how good he was. I know lots of blues say he was a genuinely great keeper but then every time I ever see any highlights of City matches from the late 70s/early 80s, they usually involve Joe Corrigan more or less throwing the ball into his own net at some point in the game. How good was he?

He broke into the first team as a youngster and was brilliant but unfortunately suffered a drop in form and confidence.
On his return he soon became England's number one albeit competing with Shilton and Clemence.

Btw, what highlights are you watching?

I was watching Chelsea at home from 1979, he let in a ridiculously soft freekick but I wasn't just basing it on that. I'm a bit sad and I do watch Big Match Revisited quite often and it honestly seems that every time City are on it, Corrigan drops a fairly significant bollock.

 

[nijinskybell]

At his best, Joe was as good as any (maybe Banks & Shilton apart) but he was inconsistent and 'accident' prone at times. He was competing with Shilton and Clements regularly for the England spot so he was at a very good level.

 

[ColinBellsjockstrap]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1h1-gJFo6w[/youtube]

 

[Vienna_70]

Going slightly off-topic, I couldn't help notice on Sunday what a giant of a man Big Joe still is.

He must have a really imposing figure in his prime.

 

[blue47766]

What about when he was doing his stretching excerises and would touch his toes with his elbows.

 

[Blue and Proud]

A true City legend. I remember being at the '81 final and he had a fantastic match, denied Garth Crooks time and again. The only way he was going to concede was by a fluke deflection and so it turned out.

A true gent as well, always ran out to the goal at the South Stand and gave Helen Turner a kiss. A real people's player.

Suggest you read his autobiography. Some useful insights to the football world around then.

 

[Lancet Fluke]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1h1-gJFo6w[/youtube]

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take from this apart from the fact pitches used to be outrageously bad and that Joe Corrigan could kick the ball quite far out of his hands.

 

[SaddleworthBlueRhino]

looked promising and came into the team, but started to have a bad time, and confidence went down so just got worse. Replaced by Macrae who wasnt brilliant. Joe was overweight but worked harder than almost any other player in football to turn things round. Came back a new player and would have been England's number 1 had it not been for Clemence and Shilton. Difficult to say great, imo, when compared to some of our great keepers, but very good.

Only thing to add to that - Still a blue.

 

[Blue Til Death]

Englands No1 as we chanted week in week out in the Kippax, better than Joe in my opinion and what i wouldnt give for him and my favourite City player of all time.... Colin Bell in the side at the moment pure class the pair of em!!!

 

[Lancet Fluke]

Englands No1 as we chanted week in week out in the Kippax, better than Joe in my opinion and what i wouldnt give for him and my favourite City player of all time.... Colin Bell in the side at the moment pure class the pair of em!!!

I'll be honest, from watching lots of those repeats of 70s highlights programmes, I don't think there are many keepers from that era that would get in any Prem team. Virtually every game you see on them includes a goal that nowadays would be classed as a keeper's mistake. The commentators rarely blame the keeper though which I assume means they weren't even considered errors at the time. Shilton looked like a modern day keeper but even Clemence who was supposedly as good, looked way short of what you get these days. I know that's simplistic though because those keepers didn't have the same ultra professional environment in terms of training, diet etc.

 

[Blue Til Death]

Englands No1 as we chanted week in week out in the Kippax, better than Joe in my opinion and what i wouldnt give for him and my favourite City player of all time.... Colin Bell in the side at the moment pure class the pair of em!!!

I'll be honest, from watching lots of those repeats of 70s highlights programmes, I don't think there are many keepers from that era that would get in any Prem team. Virtually every game you see on them includes a goal that nowadays would be classed as a keeper's mistake. The commentators rarely blame the keeper though which I assume means they weren't even considered errors at the time. Shilton looked like a modern day keeper but even Clemence who was supposedly as good, looked way short of what you get these days. I know that's simplistic though because those keepers didn't have the same ultra professional environment in terms of training, diet etc.

Well maybe Im wearing rose tinted specs regarding Big Joe?? Although I only have memories of being awesome. Colin Bell however would get into any team in the world,, pure genius and way way ahead of his time with his vision and passing ability..

 

[Fat Chance]

Englands No1 as we chanted week in week out in the Kippax, better than Joe in my opinion and what i wouldnt give for him and my favourite City player of all time.... Colin Bell in the side at the moment pure class the pair of em!!!

I'll be honest, from watching lots of those repeats of 70s highlights programmes, I don't think there are many keepers from that era that would get in any Prem team. Virtually every game you see on them includes a goal that nowadays would be classed as a keeper's mistake. The commentators rarely blame the keeper though which I assume means they weren't even considered errors at the time. Shilton looked like a modern day keeper but even Clemence who was supposedly as good, looked way short of what you get these days. I know that's simplistic though because those keepers didn't have the same ultra professional environment in terms of training, diet etc.

How many modern day goalies take crosses with aplomb...seen jennings take 'em one handed, then launch the ball with the same hand. i can remember Joe getting his hand upto the top corner and turning the ball over plenty of times when we were'nt doing well, funny folk don't chalk those moments up but if your scrapping to stay in the top division and it's 1-1 late in the game....

Always thought Shilton was over-rated...nobody ever mentions him in the hand of god fiasco...his feet did'nt leave the floor...sorry but even with JC getting ivolved thats shit play.

 

[the blue panther]

I agree with much of what's been said about Joe's career, but I class him a little higher than most.
Clemence and Shilton were both very prone to gaffes, though neither had Joe's misfortune to kick the ball out to someone like Ronnie Boyce and have it volleyed back into the net as he trundled back to his line. Anyway, is that really a 'goalkeeping' mistake? Sadly, that's what he is best remembered for as it's shown most often.
Once Joe had returned to the team as a confident keeper, he was great, and I certainly wouldn't have preferred Clemence or Shilton to him.
At a time when there were few foreign keepers to the best of my recollection in the first division, he was at the top level of his game for 80% of his career, and rarely made a mistake that I can remember, apart from in those early years.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1h1-gJFo6w[/youtube]

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take from this apart from the fact pitches used to be outrageously bad and that Joe Corrigan could kick the ball quite far out of his hands.

Another era, another game, another world.

I liked that commentator. Anyone got any idea what became of him?

 

[Rascal]

I thought Big Joe was a great keeper and so did my grandad who was a goalie in his youth and whose big heroes were Bert and Swifty.

Being a goalie today is very different. Good pitches, Gloves that work and the back pass rule has made goalies more technically adept with the ball at there feet.

I will always love Big Joe and its great to see him at games as he is obviously blue through and through.


Was it the Kop who sang "you need hands" to him after a mistake against them. But he always got a good reception off them as they recognised he was a great keeper and a good man.