Harry "Peter" Goring (2 January 1927 – December 1994) was an English

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 lea ...

. Born in

Bishop's Cleeve Bishop's Cleeve is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. The village lies at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds. Bishop's Cleeve had a popu ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, one of six brothers, Goring first played for local Southern League side

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

, making a name for himself as a prolific

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. In January 1948, he was signed by

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, although he spent the next eighteen months playing in the reserve side. After impressing on the club's tour of Brazil in the summer of 1949, Goring made his first-team debut against Chelsea on 24 August 1949, when Arsenal won 2–1. In his first season, Goring was the club's second-top goalscorer, with 21 goals in 29 matches. Arsenal only finished fifth that season, but did win the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, beating

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

2–0 in the final. Goring started up front but did not score. Goring continued to play up front for the Gunners, scoring 16 times the following season, but was displaced by

Cliff Holton Clifford Charles Holton (29 April 1929 – 31 May 1996) was an English footballer. Born in Oxford, Holton played as a full back for non-league Oxford City as a youth, before joining Arsenal in October 1947 at the age of 18. He spent three sea ...

in 1951-52, and his form noticeably dropped. He only scored five goals in 19 appearances that season. However, he fought his way back into the side in the following season, and scored ten goals in 29 appearances, with Arsenal winning the League on

goal average A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

. However, in 1953-54 his goalscoring touch deserted him entirely, and he only played nine matches, without scoring a single goal. Arsenal manager Tom Whittaker still had faith in Goring and, after switching him to

right half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, Goring became a first team regular once again. He missed only six matches over the next two seasons, and was picked for a

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

XI that toured the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in the summer of 1955. The latter years of Goring's career were affected by age and injuries. In his final three seasons at the club, between 1956 and 1959, he only played 25 times - and only twice in 1958-59 - as he gradually dropped down to the reserves. In all, he played 240 matches for Arsenal, scoring 53 goals. In the summer of 1959, Goring moved to

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

, in a swap deal that took Alan Ashberry to Arsenal, before retiring from playing. After retiring, Goring returned to

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

to run the family butcher's shop, Wheeler & Goring on Tewkesbury Road. His other sporting love was golf and he became the golfing coach at Cleeve Hill golf course. In September 1968, Goring was appointed manager of

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

. He remained in charge of the club for 11 seasons, until his resignation in October 1979, during which time he took them from the

Gloucestershire County League The Gloucestershire County Football League is a association football, football league in England, founded in 1968. The league is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA. It sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System and is ...

to the Hellenic League. He died in 1994, aged 67, and was buried at St Michael's church

Honours

: 1952–53 *

: 1949–50

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goring, Peter 1927 births 1994 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Cheltenham Town F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. managers People from Bishop's Cleeve Footballers from Gloucestershire English football managers English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen