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Phil Whalley · 08-08-2018, 08:23

My condolences to Dave's family.

I think its fair to say that if a talent like Dave Hargreaves came along today, Stanley would still struggle to keep hold of him for any length of time. Don Bramley, who had himself been spotted playing football in Accy and been snapped up by Everton, reckoned Haggis was the most natural finisher he had seen since Jimmy Greaves. Even if this was a bit of hyperbole by a manager trying to instil confidence in his main striker, anyone who saw Dave play would concur that he had a special talent. He seemed to be one of those players whose pulse rate went down when a scoring opportunity presented itself, so coolly would he slot away the chance.

He also possessed speed and vision, and a hard, wiry physique that enabled him to withstand the inevitable batterings from centre-halves in those tough, mud-coated, amateur days. Just how good would a professionally-coached and conditioned Haggis have been on today's green carpet at the Crown?

As it was, he toiled for years on the uneven and undrained pitches of semi-professional football, but he did it with pride wearing the red of Stanley. His scoring prowess was instrumental in the first moves of the club up the football pyramid, from the dead-end of the Lancashire Combination to the Cheshire League and then into the first years of the North West Counties competition.

His long career at Stanley was interrupted by a spell at Blackburn Rovers, making Dave the first player to earn a fee for the new Stanley. The move was ill-fated. For one thing, Blackburn threw Dave more or less straight into the first team, a leap from Lancashire Combination to Second Division (the 'Championship' in today's money) which was asking a lot in terms of physical adjustment. Inevitably, Dave picked up injuries and, once recovered, found himself playing meaningless football in the reserves. Mark Turner recalled seeing Dave put in a superb performance at Ewood Park against Liverpool Reserves, pulling Liverpool's defence around all evening, and yet, even when fit and playing well, his form wasn't rewarded with a recall to the first team.

It is also instructive that when released by Blackburn, Dave chose to come back to Stanley rather than take up a contract lower down the Football League. Haggis had left Stanley in the Lancashire Combination, but returned to a club in the Cheshire League, Stanley having taken the decision to seek a higher standard of football. Dave's goals helped the club to the Cheshire League Second Division title in 1981 and to the 1984 Lancashire Junior Cup Final, but perhaps of more enduring significance was Dave's contribution to stabilising Stanley's position at the lower end of what was an emerging pyramid structure that would eventually lead back to the Football League.

May we never forget the important contribution of Dave Hargreaves to the re-emergence of Accrington Stanley. Thanks for everything, Haggis.

08-08-2018, 08:23	#10
Phil Whalley Full Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 171 Liked: 242 times Rep Power: 2119	Re: Dave 'Haggis' Hargreaves My condolences to Dave's family. I think its fair to say that if a talent like Dave Hargreaves came along today, Stanley would still struggle to keep hold of him for any length of time. Don Bramley, who had himself been spotted playing football in Accy and been snapped up by Everton, reckoned Haggis was the most natural finisher he had seen since Jimmy Greaves. Even if this was a bit of hyperbole by a manager trying to instil confidence in his main striker, anyone who saw Dave play would concur that he had a special talent. He seemed to be one of those players whose pulse rate went down when a scoring opportunity presented itself, so coolly would he slot away the chance. He also possessed speed and vision, and a hard, wiry physique that enabled him to withstand the inevitable batterings from centre-halves in those tough, mud-coated, amateur days. Just how good would a professionally-coached and conditioned Haggis have been on today's green carpet at the Crown? As it was, he toiled for years on the uneven and undrained pitches of semi-professional football, but he did it with pride wearing the red of Stanley. His scoring prowess was instrumental in the first moves of the club up the football pyramid, from the dead-end of the Lancashire Combination to the Cheshire League and then into the first years of the North West Counties competition. His long career at Stanley was interrupted by a spell at Blackburn Rovers, making Dave the first player to earn a fee for the new Stanley. The move was ill-fated. For one thing, Blackburn threw Dave more or less straight into the first team, a leap from Lancashire Combination to Second Division (the 'Championship' in today's money) which was asking a lot in terms of physical adjustment. Inevitably, Dave picked up injuries and, once recovered, found himself playing meaningless football in the reserves. Mark Turner recalled seeing Dave put in a superb performance at Ewood Park against Liverpool Reserves, pulling Liverpool's defence around all evening, and yet, even when fit and playing well, his form wasn't rewarded with a recall to the first team. It is also instructive that when released by Blackburn, Dave chose to come back to Stanley rather than take up a contract lower down the Football League. Haggis had left Stanley in the Lancashire Combination, but returned to a club in the Cheshire League, Stanley having taken the decision to seek a higher standard of football. Dave's goals helped the club to the Cheshire League Second Division title in 1981 and to the 1984 Lancashire Junior Cup Final, but perhaps of more enduring significance was Dave's contribution to stabilising Stanley's position at the lower end of what was an emerging pyramid structure that would eventually lead back to the Football League. May we never forget the important contribution of Dave Hargreaves to the re-emergence of Accrington Stanley. Thanks for everything, Haggis.