Peter Dobing (born 1 December 1938) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers,

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

Career

Dobing was born in Manchester and came from a sporting family, his father playing rugby league for Salford. At first Dobing chose to play as an amateur footballer, which allowed him to play for more than one club. This backfired on him as he signed for both

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 ...

and Blackburn Rovers and was selected by each club for the upcoming 'A' team game. Dobing resolved the situation by signing a professional contract with Blackburn in December 1955. In 1957–58 he scored 20 League goals as Blackburn gained promotion to the First Division, including four in one match against Bristol City. The following season he scored 24 league goals, the highest figure of his career. In 1959–60 Dobing played a large part in Blackburn's FA Cup run which saw them reach the final, scoring five goals during the cup run. However, Rovers were soundly beaten 3–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final. In 1961 he moved to Manchester City for £37,500. Manchester City signed Dobing as a replacement for

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

, who had departed for Italian side Torino. He made his Manchester City debut in the opening match of the 1961–62 season, a 3–1 win against Leicester City. He started all but one of Manchester City's matches that season, finishing the season as the club's top scorer with 22 goals. The following season was less successful, Dobing scored 10 goals in 50 appearances in a year which ended in relegation. In the close season Dobing was sold to newly promoted

. Stoke manager Tony Waddington broke the club's record transfer fee paying Man City £37,500 for Dobing's services as Stoke looked to establish themselves back in the First Division. In Dobing's first season at Stoke he scored 19 goals as the club reached the final of the League Cup, but were beaten 4–3 on aggregate by Leicester City. He suffered a broken leg against West Bromwich Albion in January 1965 ending his season. During his recovery he spent time fishing for trout in Market Drayton and was a keen clay pigeon shooter. He was also a pipe smoker and became known as 'the pipe-smoking gentleman of English football'. However his relationship with the fans was not that good as after his recovery he refused to resign for the 1965–66 wanting a pay increase, and finally accepted Stoke's offer three weeks later. He won the fans over with a brilliant individual performance against Leeds United in April 1968 scoring a hat trick against England international defender Jack Charlton. With the 1960s coming to an end Waddington decided to move the ageing Dobing into a midfield position alongside George Eastham and this duo's passing ability improved Stoke's attacking play as the side went on to win their first major trophy, the League Cup in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Dobing captained the side as Stoke beat Chelsea 2–1. Dobing was known for his short temper on the pitch, which once resulted in his receiving a nine-week suspension. His playing career ended due to a broken leg sustained in 1973. He then worked in the

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

pottery industry.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

; Blackburn Rovers: * Football League Second Division runners-up: 1957–58 * FA Cup runner-up:

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

; Stoke City *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

winner:

runner-up:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

References

External links

USA stats
at NASL Jerseys {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobing, Peter 1938 births Living people English footballers England under-23 international footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players English Football League players Association football inside forwards English Football League representative players Footballers from Manchester Cleveland Stokers players United Soccer Association players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers FA Cup final players