Peter Eustace

[twolaptops]

Sadly "Useless" was the first word that came to mind.................................................................totally undeserving 

[Buxtongent]

17 minutes ago, twolaptops said:

Sadly "Useless" was the first word that came to mind.................................................................totally undeserving 

 

Not totally. He would oftenstroll around the field as though he owned it, which he often did, but left a lot to be covered by him team mates

[Ian_D]

Don't remember him as a player.  But as a manager, I wish I'd forgot that more.

[sternlad]

Yeah, I saw Eustace a lot from 1967-70 and then when he came back to the lower divisions later on with Wednesday. In those early days he always looked like he had time on the ball and could pick a pass. Great timing and control, would kill it dead then instantly be looking up for the pass...what he always needed though was a strong ball winner in the midfield with him...I don’t think Wednesday at that time had a Stiles or Bremner type player to do the dirty work. He was always an elegant player a bit like Peters or Brooking and understood why West Ham thought he was worth a punt. Definitely not the same player when he came back for a second stint...think I watched a YouTube clip of a game against a Hull from the 70’s where he puts in a great byline cross for Sunley to nod in at the near post. Swanny was playing that day, along with Rodrigues, Clements, Prendo, Sissons and possibly Potts...I’m not sure of the date but it was good watch, 4-2 to Wednesday, they had Stuart Pearson sent off for mouthing off at the linesman. 

[legendaryswan]

Very good player on his day,good vision and used the ball very intelligently,also had a decent shot on him.Alas he struggled with consistency and much depended on which Eustace was playing.

He was a vocal player out on the pitch,especially to officials,he once stuck two fingers up to the linesman as he was about to take a throw in (smack in front off me as it happened and I heard every word LOL!),as the lino had indicated a throw to Burnley,and was booked (the days before cards were shown) he often got booked for disent.

As someone else mentioned perhaps his finest hour was at elland road in the cup replay of 1969,think he got MOM in just about every paper the following morning.

Hed always craved a move away,dont think thats any big secret,and it took longer than hed wished,it finally came the season after the leeds cup game during the downsizing season under Danny Williams,alas it wasnt the dream hed hoped for and he was loaned out to Rotherham Utd during his 3rd season,and snapped up by Dooley for peanuts,but as others will testify,he came back half the player,and was released after a couple of seasons,and went to Peterborough Utd.

Edited May 8, 2020 by legendaryswan

[Elderly Owl]

Peter Eustace was an outstanding midfield player indeed. I remember a header from the corner of the penalty box following a corner against Southampton. Just a peach of a goal. Others have mentioned the Leeds FACup replay when the press had us down to be massacred ( Was it John Ritchie who equalised the previous Saturday in the last minute)! Eustace just strode through the game took control of midfield and they should have made him Master Cutler afterwards. He had no chance of an England cap with Trevor Brooking cemented in place And a very London biased FA. Shame, he was quite brilliant in my meagre opinion. Tommy Mac had a harder shot though..

[DSandersonOWL]

17 hours ago, gurujuan said:

So how good was he when he was in his prime? He was a little before my time, but I understand he was an elegant “inside forward” who was unlucky not to gain England recognition In fact, wasn’t he called up to one of the squads, but had to withdraw at the last minute

 

Peter Eustace was a creative brilliant attacking wing-half back (No 4 shirt) and should not be thought of as an inside forward, even if in his later days he ended up in that position. 

He played right-half in the 66 final, alongside centre-half Sam Ellis (Vic Mobley having been injured in the semi-final against Chelsea) and left-half Gerry Young. 

Peter Eustace was much-admired and had replaced the super-reliable Tom McAnearney who had played alongside Peter Swan and Tony Kay, in a half-back-line of international class. 

 

 

[torryowl]

3 hours ago, Elderly Owl said:

Peter Eustace was an outstanding midfield player indeed. I remember a header from the corner of the penalty box following a corner against Southampton. Just a peach of a goal. Others have mentioned the Leeds FACup replay when the press had us down to be massacred ( Was it John Ritchie who equalised the previous Saturday in the last minute)! Eustace just strode through the game took control of midfield and they should have made him Master Cutler afterwards. He had no chance of an England cap with Trevor Brooking cemented in place And a very London biased FA. Shame, he was quite brilliant in my meagre opinion. Tommy Mac had a harder shot though..

brookings  first England game was the year before Eustace retired so I don't think he was the problem …...he was never a ramsey type player would be my take on why he never played .when Eustace was in his prime 66-70 players like colin bell , alan mullery would have been his rivals to break into the post  world cup winning team  and in truth he wasn't as good as them .

[victorturner]

13 hours ago, sternlad said:

Yeah, I saw Eustace a lot from 1967-70 and then when he came back to the lower divisions later on with Wednesday. In those early days he always looked like he had time on the ball and could pick a pass. Great timing and control, would kill it dead then instantly be looking up for the pass...what he always needed though was a strong ball winner in the midfield with him...I don’t think Wednesday at that time had a Stiles or Bremner type player to do the dirty work. He was always an elegant player a bit like Peters or Brooking and understood why West Ham thought he was worth a punt. Definitely not the same player when he came back for a second stint...think I watched a YouTube clip of a game against a Hull from the 70’s where he puts in a great byline cross for Sunley to nod in at the near post. Swanny was playing that day, along with Rodrigues, Clements, Prendo, Sissons and possibly Potts...I’m not sure of the date but it was good watch, 4-2 to Wednesday, they had Stuart Pearson sent off for mouthing off at the linesman. 

My recollection is that he was one of many young players at SW who have been  real quality but failed to keep fit and did not improve. Do not think he was ever as good after Cup Final 1966 where you can see what he could do. In the following season, he was soon out injured and it may that injury was a factor.

.

[Guest Bulgaria]

I do know that he had some nice rose bushes in his garden up at hollow meadows back when he was manager.......well, he did until I relieved myself in them as a protest at his god awful management

 

My mate lived next door!

[kernowl]

I always remember Peter Eustace being revered by my mother and other Wednesday fans...and yet, recently, in Penzance, where I live, I was surprised to hear a song (a punk song) played by a guy I know which he had written about the worst player ever to pull on a West Ham shirt...Peter Eustace. I haven't had chance to speak to him since...

[Ash77]

Was a forward who averaged under 1 goal per 10 games for us, but all i remember was his disastrous 3 month manager stint when wilko left, yet when he was sacked somehow we got big ron.

 

Eustace used to leave hirsty on bench and allegedly tried to flog him to everton on cheap, so could he spot a player?

 

Chris turner thought yes when he was in charge, so hired him as scout after eustace was sacked as leyton orient manager.

 

When he was sacked again by us as scout, his case for unfair dismissal against us also failed, according to wiki.

 

 

 

 

[Wiggo]

On 08/05/2020 at 00:00, qantas said:

I remember him well, great cultured player.....I can recall a goal he scored at the Kop end where the ball came to him at the edge of the box, he put a foot on it, looked up at the top corner of the net & just placed it brilliantly in such a calm manner, I tried to play like him for the school & in the park etc....I remember that goal & the one Tony Coleman scored against City when were relegated like it was yesterday....funny how some things stick.

I was at the City game as well, one of the stand out games in 50 years watching Wednesday. For a moment after Coleman smashed that goal in at the Kop End I thought we might just pull it off

[torryowl]

50 minutes ago, Ash77 said:

Was a forward who averaged under 1 goal per 10 games for us, but all i remember was his disastrous 3 month manager stint when wilko left, yet when he was sacked somehow we got big ron.

 

Eustace used to leave hirsty on bench and allegedly tried to flog him to everton on cheap, so could he spot a player?

 

Chris turner thought yes when he was in charge, so hired him as scout after eustace was sacked as leyton orient manager.

 

When he was sacked again by us as scout, his case for unfair dismissal against us also failed, according to wiki.

 

 

 

 

He wasnt a forward......harsh to be critical of his time working for turner as we dont know whofound the likes of brunt,Whelan,bullen ,maclean etc etc of the team that won at cardiff....wouldnt argue that he was a crap manager though.

[Colin Dobson]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember he was Kay's replacement. He started well and I'm sure like Warhurst he received an England call up. I think I saw him score a long range winner at Villa a few years later. Anonymous on his return when we poor & a disastrous manager - it seemed he would be an important part of the young Wednesday post 1966 side but nothing really materialised - I admit the Cup Final aside I was never an Alan Brown fan( he dropped Colin Dobson!) but the players responded to him for a while.

[Bearwood Owl1]

Scoring against Bristol Rovers in August 74. Bit of a scrambled effort to gain a 1-1 draw against a team managed by Owls legend Don Megson. 

[torryowl]

3 hours ago, Colin Dobson said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember he was Kay's replacement. He started well and I'm sure like Warhurst he received an England call up. I think I saw him score a long range winner at Villa a few years later. Anonymous on his return when we poor & a disastrous manager - it seemed he would be an important part of the young Wednesday post 1966 side but nothing really materialised - I admit the Cup Final aside I was never an Alan Brown fan( he dropped Colin Dobson!) but the players responded to him for a while.

yes and no as kay's replacement ….I think he played the first 4 or 5  games when kay left and then didn't play a game for nearly 2 years with  Gerry young taking  the number 6 shirt …..Eustace seemed to be  in contention with robin hardy for tommy macs place and finally took it late 64 …...as for Dobson (I was a fan) he never lived up to his early promise whether that was down to brown who knows but he never  really  made  as a top flight player after we got rid in 66 …….theres a good story in megsons book about Dobson and brown which tells why brown probably wasn't too enamoured with him .

[DSandersonOWL]

7 hours ago, Ash77 said:

Was a forward who averaged under 1 goal per 10 games for us, but all i remember was his disastrous 3 month manager stint when wilko left, yet when he was sacked somehow we got big ron.

 

Eustace used to leave hirsty on bench and allegedly tried to flog him to everton on cheap, so could he spot a player?

 

Chris turner thought yes when he was in charge, so hired him as scout after eustace was sacked as leyton orient manager.

 

When he was sacked again by us as scout, his case for unfair dismissal against us also failed, according to wiki.

 

 

 

 

He was NOT a forward.  He was a creative right half who was elegant and brilliant.  His later record as a manager, scout and pursuing a legal case  has nothing to do with his performance as a player for us.

 

I have already posted the background before but here it is again, with relevant facts as well as one word describing my opinion <brilliant> :  

 

Peter Eustace was a creative brilliant attacking wing-half back (No 4 shirt) and should not be thought of as an inside forward, even if in his later days he ended up in that position. 

He played right-half in the 66 final, alongside centre-half Sam Ellis (Vic Mobley having been injured in the semi-final against Chelsea) and left-half Gerry Young. 

Peter Eustace was much-admired and had replaced the super-reliable Tom McAnearney who had played alongside Peter Swan and Tony Kay, in a half-back-line of international class. 

[torryowl]

14 minutes ago, DSandersonOWL said:

He was NOT a forward.  He was a creative right half who was elegant and brilliant.  His later record as a manager, scout and pursuing a legal case  has nothing to do with his performance as a player for us.

 

I have already posted the background before but here it is again, with relevant facts as well as one word describing my opinion <brilliant> :  

 

Peter Eustace was a creative brilliant attacking wing-half back (No 4 shirt) and should not be thought of as an inside forward, even if in his later days he ended up in that position. 

He played right-half in the 66 final, alongside centre-half Sam Ellis (Vic Mobley having been injured in the semi-final against Chelsea) and left-half Gerry Young. 

Peter Eustace was much-admired and had replaced the super-reliable Tom McAnearney who had played alongside Peter Swan and Tony Kay, in a half-back-line of international class. 

sounds about right mate though i'd stick at good rather than brilliant …. I do think that the mac ,swan , kay half back line was every bit good as the spurs double winning crew and yet the tommy mac I knew didn't seem popular with some of the faithful .don't know why 

[torryowl]

6 hours ago, Bearwood Owl1 said:

Scoring against Bristol Rovers in August 74. Bit of a scrambled effort to gain a 1-1 draw against a team managed by Owls legend Don Megson. 

had to look in the bible to see  who number 12 was …….