Albert Bennett

Who is Albert Bennett?

Albert "Ankles" Bennett is a retired footballer who played for Rotherham, Newcastle and Norwich as a centre forward, in addition to representing England at under-23 level while at Rotherham. He was forced to retire due to injury in 1971 and had a spell as player-manager of Bury Town. He currently works as a publican in Norwich.

He was born in Chester-le-Street and signed for Rotherham in October 1961. There, he became the only player from that team ever to win England Under-23 honours. He signed for Newcastle in July 1965 for £27,000, making his debut against Blackpool. While at Newcastle he was rugby-tackled by Emlyn Hughes, giving rise to Hughes' nickname of "Crazy Horse". He moved to Norwich in February 1969 for £25,000 to replace Hugh Curran who had transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored a hat-trick against Portsmouth at the end of the 1969-70 season.

However, due to injury, he was forced to retire after being substituted against Leicester City in February 1971. He then had a spell as player-manager at Bury, followed by managing various non-league clubs.