Milton Graham (born 2 November 1962) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

with

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

, Chester City and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

in the 1980s. He is best remembered for scoring for Bournemouth in their 2–0 giantkilling win over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in January 1984.

Career

A former schoolboy with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, Graham signed a professional contract with

in May 1981. His

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut followed against

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

in October 1981 and the skilful midfielder remained involved in the first-team squad (but could not always command a regular place) over the next four years, with his overhead kick against

opening the scoring in one of the biggest

shocks of modern times. In 1985, he dropped down a division by joining

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

side Chester City, where he was to enjoy tremendous popularity over the next four years. He quickly struck up an effective midfield partnership with fellow new signing

John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...

that helped seal promotion in their first season at the club and Graham was named the club's player of the season award in 1986-87.Sumner (1997), p.104 He remained at the club for two more years before opting to join

in the summer of 1989 for £70,000.Sumner (1997), p.106 Unfortunately, the injury problems that had blighted his final years at Chester continued and he managed just 15 more league appearances before dropping into non–league football. He has since been involved at several southern-based non-league clubs, including Poole Town, Spalding United, Bourne Town, Grantham Town,

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

AFC Stamford, and Holbeach United F.C., where he has also been part of the coaching staff. Graham's goal for Peterborough United against Exeter City in 1989 was recently voted second best ever goal at London Road with none other than George Best claiming first place. Graham now works at Perkins Engines in Peterborough where he has lived since joining the club. His son, Jamie (born 1981), has played as a striker for clubs including Holbeach United, Boston Town, Deeping Rangers, Peterborough Sports, Peterborough Northern Star,Huntingdon Town and Bretton North End.

Honours

AFC Bournemouth *

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

: 1983–84 Individual *Chester City Player of the Year: 1986–87

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Milton 1962 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Hackney English footballers Association football midfielders AFC Bournemouth players Chester City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players English Football League players Holbeach United F.C. players