Top 100

20-October-02

This section of the website looks back at some of the great players to wear the bit o' red. If you would like to suggest a player we have missed send your suggestion to Sligo Town Supporters Club

Gary Hulmes Laim Patton Enda Scanlon Brenden Bradley Tommy Oates Mick Ferry Eddie Annand Kevin Mc Cool Freddie Dykes

Gary Hulmes: The Manchester born striker was brought to the club at the start of the 1976/77 championship winning season. He joined Rovers as a twenty year old after playing for Rochdale in the English league. He went on to form a lethal partnership with Mick Leonard which was one of the main driving forces behind Rovers championship run. Hulmes blistering pace got him into a lot of goalscoring position and with players of the class of Betts and Mc Gee in midfield he got plenty of service. He spent four years at the club and totalled 53 goals in all competitions during that time. He left Rovers in 1980 and joined Limerick City where he continued to bang in the goals. Hulmes is well up the list of the leagues leading goalscorers with a total of 106 goals in the League of Ireland. His record for Rovers is:

Liam Patton: Donegal born midfielder who was brought to the club by Patsy Mc Gowan in 1979. He stayed for three seasons making over 60 appearances for the club. His high energy performances meant that Rovers midfield always had their fair share of possesion. Always available to take a pass the midfielder usually covered every blade of grass between b oth boxes setting up chances for Brenden Bradley, Gus Gilligan and others. His goalscoring record was OK as well for a midfielder as Liam managed a respectable total of 11 goals in all competitions for the club. He left the club in 1982 to join Finn Harps and also had a spell at Bohemians.

Enda Scanlon: A local defender who joined Rovers during the 1982/83 cup winning season. Although he only managed to make two appearances for the club during his debut season he went on to become a regular in the team over the next six seasons. Comfortable on the ball and a solid defender Enda played at either left back or in the centre of the defence. His distribution of the ball was excellent and his cultured left foot was often the start of a Rovers attack. He made two appearances in the European Cup Winners Cup and although he came into the team during a famous season Rovers went on the slide in the subsequent years. Scanlon made 120 league appearances and he chalked up 160 appearances in all competitions. He was one of the best locals seen at the club in recent years and he shone at a time when the club was going through an extremely rocky period.

Brenden Bradley: If goalscoring is the measure of a good striker then Brenden Bradley can rightfully claim to be the greatest striker the League of Ireland has ever seen. Bradley is the leagues all time top goalscorer with a remarkable total of 235 league goals during a career which saw him excell at both Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers. Bradley joined Finn Harps from Lincoln City and set about forging one of the most feared strike partnerships the league has ever seen with Hilary Carlyle. He wasn't the quickest player in the league but in his mind he was always two steps ahead of the defenders. Good on the ground and exceptional ion the air he scored all sorts of goals. While he was with Harps Bradley knocked in six against Rovers in November of 1975 as Harps ran riot at Finn Park against their north west neighbours.

Bradley played most of his football at Harps under Patsy Mc Gowan and when Mc Gowan joined Rovers at the beginning of the 1979/80 season he brought some of his Harps players, including Bradley, with him. He may have been disappointed with his goalscoring feats in his first season at the club as the total of 11 was low by Bradley's standards. 40 goals in the following two seasons more than made up for the mediocre start he made to his Rovers career. When Mc Gowan returned to Finn Harps at the end of the 1981/82 season he brought Bradley with him. In his three years at the club Rovers fans were privilaged to see the leagues top striker banging in the goals at the Showgrounds. Hi Rovers goalscoring record is:

	League	FAI Cup	League Cup	Tyler Cup	Total
1979/80	11	0	0	---	11
1980/81	15	2	2	---	19
1981/82	18	0	0	3	21
Total	44	2	2	3	51

Tommy Oates: A local born goalkeeper who joined Rovers in the 1951/52 season. He struggled to get into the first team in his first years at the club and was restricted to filling in for regular goalkeepers Mick Howley and Frank Mc Morrow. He was restricted to just 9 appearances in his first three years at the club. He became the regular goalkeeper for the 1953/54 season and held on to that position for the next four years. He went on to make 131 appearances for the club during this period. His record in all competitions is:

	League	FAI Cup	City Cup	Shield	Total
Appearances	88	12	28	3	131

Mick Ferry: Donegal born full-back, Mick Ferry, joined Rovers at the beginning of the 1980/81 season from Finn Harps. He was a brother of Charlie Ferry the ex-Finn Harps winger who had been the final piece in Billy Sinclair's championship jigsaw. Mick was a solid defender and was always willing to get forward to support the midfield. His crossing was first class and his accuracy from the dead ball often set up goalscoring chances for Rovers. He played in two cup finals for Rovers and tasted both defeat and victory. His first cup final was the 1981 game against Dundalk when Rovers under performed and went down with a whimper to the Louthmen. Two years later he was on the cup trail again and this time he was to secure a winners medal as Rovers lifted the trophy for the first time against Bohemians, at Dalymount Park. Indeed it was Mick Ferry's long free kick which started the comeback in the semi-final third replay against Cobh Ramblers. The ball wa floated into the box from the Rovers half and was met by Chris Rutherford to bring Rovers back into the game. The rest, as thy say, is history. At the end of his third seaon with the club Mick left Rovers after the '83 cup final.

Eddie Annand: Originally joined Rovers on loan from Partick Thistle during the 1992/93 season and played four games for the club during that time. He returned the following season and scored against Galway United in the League Cup on the opening day of the season. He went on to score 17 goals in all competitions, the most important of which was the winner in the FAI Cup semi final as Rovers were on course to lift the trophy for the second time.

In his second season at the club, under Lawrie Sanchez, eddie rattled in another 17 goals in all competitions. Again he reserved the important goals for the Cup as his brace against Bohs in the quarter finals put Rovers into the semi's for the second year in a row. Good on the ground but not so good in the air his general play set up a lot of goals for others. He was a wiry dribbler and his strongest point was his set pieces. He never missed from the penalty spot and his accuracy from the dead ball set up the winning goal in the '94 cup final.

Eddie left Rovers at the end of the 94/95 season and joined Clyde where he formed a strike partnership with former Celtic and Arsenal great, Charlie Nicholas. From there he moved to Dundee where he scored from the penalty spot against Celtic in one game. His goalscoring record was:

 

	League	Cup	League Cup	FDS	ECWC	Total
1993/94	10	2	3	2	_	17
1994/95	12	2	3	_	0	17
Totals	22	4	6	2	0	34

Kevin Mc Cool: He was brought to the club at the beginning of the 1974 season, with his brother Liam, by "phantom" manager Johnny Crossan. From Derry he was a central midfielder who covered plenty of ground and scored a few goals for the club. He remained with the club until 1979 making a total of 85 appearances in all competitions. He didn't feature at all during the Championship winning season of 1976/77 but he did feature in both European Cup games against Red Star Belgrade during the following season. He left the club in 1979 to join North West neighbours Finn Harps.

Freddie Dykes: was a local right half who played with Rovers in the years before and after joining the league of Ireland. He made his debut in the Junior Cup game against Killybegs in January of 1929 and scored 4 of the goals as Rovers romped to a 10-1 win against the Donegalmen. He went on to score eight goals during this season. He was missing from the squad for the following season but he returned for the 1931/32 season and scored eight goals in the Sunday Alliance League which helped Rovers win the competition. The following season he scored 16 goals in total (14 in the leinster Senior Leagueand 2 in the Intermediate Cup). He was at his best during the 1933/34 season where he notched 28 goals in the Leinster Senior League, 7 in the Intermediate Cup and 3 in the Metropolitan Cup as Rovers went on to win all three competitions.

When Rovers entered the League in 1934 Freddie played in some early games scoring once before he left the club to join Athlone Town. He returned to the club in 1936 and was a regular until he sustained a serious knee injury against Bohemians. He missed a full season with the injury and returned again briefly in 1938. In total he scored 72 goals for Rovers in Junior football and one senior goal.

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