Former Portsmouth winger Nick Jennings: Broken leg scuppered my move to Liverpool

The left-winger was a massive fans’ favourite at Fratton Park, later earning Hall of Fame recognition in 2014.

However, in Played Up Pompey Too, Jennings revealed the full damage of an injury against Blackpool in December 1967.

Jennings passed away in June 2016 at the age of 70 – and, in one of his final interviews, admitted of the Anfield giants’ interest.

‘Liverpool had lined me up for a switch away from Fratton Park and I have no reason to doubt otherwise. After all, the words emanated from their manager, Bill Shankly,’ he told Played Up Pompey Too.

‘The Anfield club, I was told, were seeking to replace Peter Thompson on the left wing, with the preference for a small player to fill the role rather than a big one, and I was targeted.

‘Apparently, and again I have no proof other than Shankly’s remarks, his assistant Bob Paisley watched me for most of the 1967-68 season.

‘Paisley was also present when I sustained the injury against Blackpool which ended that potential transfer to Merseyside.

‘At the time I was oblivious to what was occurring behind the scenes, nobody had mentioned anything to me about interest from other clubs, least of all Liverpool.

‘Granted, I was having a good campaign under manager George Smith, my first full season with Pompey.

‘By the start of December 1967, I had netted 10 times to help the Blues challenge at the top of Division Two.

‘Such was our encouraging form, 35,058 turned up for the visit of Blackpool, representing our biggest home crowd for almost a decade.

‘Everything was going well then, shortly after half-time, I was taken down by a bad tackle from their big winger, Alan Skirton, and had to be helped off the pitch.

‘I was done, not caught but done, quite blatantly. I sustained a hairline fracture of my right leg and when one of the Blackpool players entered our dressing room afterwards to check how I was, some of my team-mates had a right go.

‘While I would never go so far as to say Skirton did me on purpose, it was a very poor challenge. The ball was incidental, although he later denied it was intentional.

‘I was out for six weeks, yet it wouldn’t be until the end of February before I reclaimed my first-team place on a regular basis. Incidentally, I scored just once more that season.

‘During that enforced period on the sidelines, Liverpool decided to look elsewhere. My chance had been taken away.

‘I am not suggesting for one minute I was good enough to play in Division One – and I am not claiming the move would have definitely happened - but it was a fact they watched me.

‘The problem is I am never totally sure of the full story. It is all constructed from bits and pieces I was told, no-one from Pompey revealed anything like that to me.

‘It wouldn't be until after our 3-2 FA Cup fourth round replay defeat against Arsenal in February 1971 when I was told the tale of what could have been.

‘I was in the players’ bar at Highbury and our coach Bobby Campbell introduced me to Shankly. Bobby had previously played for the Anfield club under him, so the pair were well-acquainted.

‘Shankly informed me there and then of their interest three years earlier. It came as a shock, I didn't have a clue.

‘On another occasion, Bobby Campbell claimed they were going to sign me the night of that Blackpool match. Again, I am not sure of the accuracy, I was never in a position to say it definitely happened.

‘Funnily enough, during my seven-and-a-half years at Fratton Park, I didn’t get the chance to leave. I found out subsequently there were clubs who put offers in, but I never agitated for a move. I didn’t look for it, I was happy, I wasn’t ambitious like that.

‘Similarly, I had not instigated my January 1967 arrival from Plymouth Argyle for a Pompey club-record fee of £25,000. The Pilgrims wanted to cash in, just like they did with Mike Trebilcock before me and later Norman Piper.’

Nick Jennings made 227 Pompey appearances and scored 51 goals from January 1967 until May 1974.

Played Up Pompey Too, released in 2017, is still available from Amazon. While Played Up Pompey Three, which contains more of your favourite Blues players, is out in September.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.