Everything about Mick Channon totally explained
| dateofbirth =
| cityofbirth =
Orcheston,
Wiltshire
| countryofbirth =
England
| position =
Forward
| years = 1966-1977
1977-1979
1979-1982
1982
1982
1982-1985
1985-1986
1986-
| clubs =
Southampton Manchester CitySouthamptonNewcastle UnitedBristol RoversNorwich CityPortsmouthFinn Harps
| caps(goals) = 391 (157)
Michael Roger 'Mick' Channon (born
28 November 1948 in
Orcheston,
Wiltshire,
United Kingdom) is a sportsman who enjoyed a career as a feared
football goalscorer with
Southampton and
England in the
1970s and later became a hugely successful
racehorse trainer.
Football
Southampton
Channon made his debut for Southampton as a 17 year old in 1966, scoring in the match against
Bristol City. Within three years he'd established himself as the club's main goalscorer and was consistent in front of goal at a time when Southampton were one of the more unglamorous teams in English football's
First Division.
Called up to make his debut for England by
Alf Ramsey in October 1972, Channon played well enough in a 1-1 draw with
Yugoslavia at
Wembley to be selected for the squads for two subsequent qualifying matches for the
1974 FIFA World Cup, though he wasn't eventually in the team for either. However, he won his second cap in a famous 5-0 hammering of
Scotland at
Hampden Park in February 1973, scoring his first goal in the process.
As the year progressed, Channon scored again in a match against
Wales and then added a brace in a 7-0 thumping of
Austria before he was picked by Ramsey for his first competitive match - a crucial and ultimately infamous World Cup qualifier against
Poland at Wembley. If England didn't win, they wouldn't qualify for the tournament.
Channon, in his tenth England outing, was in an attacking line-up which spent pretty much the whole match in the Poland half, trying to break the deadlock. Channon saw his own chances saved by the eccentric but inspired
goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski and the game ended 1-1. It went from bad to worse for Channon, as despite his record season tally of 21 goals for Southampton, the club were relegated to the
Second Division at the end of the season.
Channon stayed loyal to Southampton despite obvious concerns for his international chances. He played in a series of post-season friendlies for England, scoring in three of them and was kept in the side the following October as England began their campaign to qualify for the
1976 European Championships. Channon scored in the game against
Czechoslovakia as England won 3-0. Channon's next goal for England was a while coming - in September
1975 - as England beat
Switzerland in a friendly. England had two qualifying games left at the end of the year for the 1976 European Championships and Channon scored in both, but England lost 2-1 to the Czechs in
Bratislava and then only drew 1-1 with
Portugal in
Lisbon. England failed to qualify and the Czechs went on to win the tournament.
However, 1976 would still be a special year for Channon. Southampton were still in the Second Division but nevertheless enjoyed a dream run to the
FA Cup final where they'd play
Manchester United. Although Southampton were a lower division side, they were considerably more experienced and the occasion got to Manchester United's youthful team who underperformed substantially. Southampton won 1-0, with Channon playing a part in the winning goal scored late in the game by
Bobby Stokes. It was his first domestic honour in the game.
Channon was back at Wembley days later to score twice in England's 4-0 win over
Northern Ireland; he then scored again four days later against Scotland but England lost 2-1 at Hampden Park. There followed a summer tournament in the
U.S. for the
bi-centennial celebrations, and Channon scored twice in a thrilling game against
Italy as England came from two goals down to win 3-2. A fortnight later, Channon scored again as England defeated
Finland 4-1 in
Helsinki to get their qualification campaign for the
1978 FIFA World Cup off to a perfect start, though this would be tempered a month later by a defeat against Italy in
Rome.
In March 1977, Channon scored twice as England beat
Luxembourg at Wembley to get their World Cup campaign back on track; Luxembourg were the 'whipping boys' of the group and England would later need to demolish Luxembourg by a similar or better scoreline in Luxembourg to give themselves a chance of overhauling Italy and qualifying for the World Cup. Certainly Channon was in form, which promised much for England's chances of racking up a high total in Luxembourg, and he hit his 20th England goal in a 2-1 win over Northern Ireland in May 1977. A week later came another Channon goal against Scotland - this time from the penalty spot - but this proved an infamous England defeat as the Scots won 2-1 and their fans invaded the Wembley pitch in celebration, ripping up clods of souvenir
turf and pulling down one of the crossbars.
Manchester City
A month later Channon left his beloved Southampton - still in the Second Division - to join
Manchester City in a £300,000 deal. His new club were making progress, having just finished second in the First Division behind champions
Liverpool, but this was where they peaked and Channon struggled to settle. He scored 12 goals in his first season and 11 in his second, but the initial struggles with the move was such that his form prompted coach
Ron Greenwood to omit him from the starting line-up when England played the crucial World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg in October 1977. England 'only' won 2-0 and, despite victory over Italy in the last game of the campaign, the goals record was insufficient to take them to the World Cup. Channon wasn't selected for his country again; his international career ended with 46 appearances and a healthy 21 goals. He remains joint 15th in the all-time England scorers list, level with
Kevin Keegan.
Return to Southampton
Channon went back to Southampton (by now back in the First Division) in September 1979. Now in his thirties, he continued to play regularly though his goals ratio wasn't good in his second spell, with only ten coming in each of his first two seasons back at the club. He joined
Newcastle United in 1982 after playing 510 games for Southampton over two spells, scoring a total of 185 goals placing him top of the club's list of all-time goalscorers.
After Southampton
He lasted barely a month at Newcastle before joining
Bristol Rovers. His impressive career seemingly on the decline, he failed to score in nine games for Bristol Rovers before a sudden departure again, this time to
Norwich City where, at the age of 34, he found some of his old touch. He played 88 games over three seasons, scoring 16 goals, and suffered a mixed end to his Norwich career in 1985 when the club won the
League Cup - Channon's second and final domestic honour - with a 1-0 win over
Sunderland at Wembley, but were then relegated (with Sunderland) at the end of the same season. Channon joined
Portsmouth and
Finn Harps (External Link
) thereafter, before retiring from the game in 1986.
Throughout his long career, one constant stuck - Channon's method of celebrating a goal. He would make jubilant circles with his fully stretched right arm - this became known as the "
windmill celebration".
He has been honoured by having one of the luxurious hospitality suites at the
St Mary's Stadium named after him.
Horse racing
Channon always had an interest in
horse racing during his football career, and he began working as an assistant trainer after hanging up his boots, before becoming a licensed trainer in his own right in
1990. He initially had ten horses.
He then moved to the
West Ilsley stables near
Newbury, formerly owned by
the Queen and began to increase his number of horses, eventually ending up with almost 200.
In
2002 he ended the season with 123 winners, topping the 100-mark for the first time in his career. He is one of the sport's most respected trainers, though has yet to produce a winner of one of the
Classic Races.
Among owners who have had their horses with Channon are old colleagues and acquaintances from his footballing days, including Keegan,
Alan Ball,
Chris Cattlin and
Sir Alex Ferguson.
Group 1 wins
Great Britain
Honours
As a player
With
Southampton F.C.
FA Cup winner 1976
With Norwich City F.C.
League Cup winner, 1985
In 2002, Norwich fans voted Channon into the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.Further Information
Get more info on 'Mick Channon'.
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