Luther Blissett facts for kids

Luther Loide Blissett (born 1 February 1958) is a former professional footballer and coach. He also worked as a manager. He played for the England national team in the 1980s.

Born in Jamaica, Blissett played as a striker. He is best known for his time at Watford. He helped them get promoted from the Fourth Division to the First Division. As of 2022, Blissett holds Watford's all-time records. He played 503 games and scored 186 goals for the club.

Blissett also played for A.C. Milan in Italy. He was bought for £1 million in 1983. He later returned to Watford for £550,000 in 1984. He also played for AFC Bournemouth, where he scored nearly one goal every two games. Blissett played 14 times for England. He scored three goals in his first game. After retiring from playing, Blissett became a coach. He managed Chesham United from 2006 to 2007.

Since the mid-1990s, Luther Blissett's name has been used as a pseudonym. It was used by members of the Luther Blissett Project.

Club Career Highlights

Starting at Watford

Luther Blissett was born in Falmouth, Jamaica. He started his football journey with Watford. He joined them as an apprentice in 1974 after leaving school. He became a professional player for the 1975–76 season. He played three games in the Football League Fourth Division and scored one goal.

In the 1976–77 season, he played four games without scoring. Then, in 1977–78, he joined the first team. This was under the new manager Graham Taylor. Blissett scored six goals in 33 games. This helped Watford get promoted to the Football League Third Division.

The next season, he scored 21 goals. This helped Watford get promoted again, this time to the Football League Second Division. He continued to be one of the club's top scorers. Watford then reached the First Division for the first time in their history in 1982. Blissett scored 19 league goals that season.

Success in the First Division

In the 1982–83 season, Blissett and his teammates surprised many. They did very well in the First Division. Watford even led the league for a short time in the autumn. They finished second, behind Liverpool. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup. In Watford's first-ever First Division season, Blissett was the top goalscorer. He scored 27 goals.

Time at A.C. Milan

After his great season, Blissett moved to A.C. Milan in Italy in June 1983. The transfer fee was £1 million. However, he was not as successful there. He scored only five goals in 30 games.

There was a rumour that A.C. Milan confused him with his Watford teammate John Barnes. But an Italian football journalist, Gabriele Marcotti, believes this is not true. He said Blissett and Barnes looked very different. Also, Milan wanted a pure goalscorer, which Barnes was not at that time. Blissett once joked about not being able to find Rice Krispies in Italy. He later said this was a funny answer to a silly question from a journalist.

Coming Back to Watford

Blissett was sold back to Watford for £550,000 after just one season with A.C. Milan. While he was away, Watford reached their first FA Cup final. They lost to Everton.

When Blissett returned, Watford did not have the same success as before. But they stayed in the First Division for four more seasons. Blissett scored 21 goals in his first season back. Watford finished in the middle of the table. He also helped them reach the FA Cup semi-finals in 1986–87. A year later, they were relegated. Blissett scored only four league goals that season. He stayed with the club until November 1988. Then, he joined AFC Bournemouth.

Playing for Bournemouth

Blissett did well at Dean Court, Bournemouth's stadium. He scored 19 goals in 30 league games in 1988–89. Bournemouth finished 10th in the Second Division. They were even seen as possible promotion contenders. He scored 18 goals in 1989–90. However, Bournemouth dropped down the table. On the last day, they lost to Leeds United. This meant Leeds got promoted, and Bournemouth was relegated to the Third Division. Blissett continued his good form for Harry Redknapp's team. He scored 19 goals in 1990–91. But it was not enough for promotion.

Third Time at Watford

Blissett returned to Watford for a third time at the start of the 1991–92 season. They were still in the Second Division. His 10 league goals that season were not enough for Watford to challenge for promotion. This meant they would be part of the new Division One. This was instead of the new FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season. Blissett did not play for Watford's first team again. His only games in 1992–93 were during a three-match loan spell at West Bromwich Albion. He scored one goal there.

Later Career in Lower Leagues

He finished his English league career in late 1993. He played five matches for Mansfield Town in Division Three, scoring once. Before that, he played 10 games for Bury. After that, he had a five-match spell at Southport, scoring two goals. He also played four games and scored one goal for Derry City in the League of Ireland. He finally stopped playing in 1995. His last season was with Fakenham Town in the Eastern Counties Football League.

Playing for England

Even though he was born in Jamaica, Blissett could play for England. He moved to the country when he was young. After playing four games for England under-21s, Blissett became one of the first black footballers to play for the senior team.

He scored three goals in his first international game. This was a 9–0 win against Luxembourg. He was the first black player ever to score for England. However, he never scored in any other international game, even though he played for England 13 more times.

Coaching Career

Blissett rejoined Watford as a coach in February 1996. He came back with manager Graham Taylor. He left the club in June 2001 when Gianluca Vialli became manager. Vialli wanted his own coaching staff.

In May 2002, he moved to York City to coach. He later left that job. On 15 February 2006, he became manager of Southern League team Chesham United. He even played two games for them as a substitute. In April 2007, Blissett announced he would leave Chesham. He wanted to focus on the Windrush Motorsport project. This project aimed to enter the Le Mans 24-hour race.

On 27 March 2010, Blissett signed with Hemel Hempstead Town as a coach. In the summer of 2016, Blissett became Director of Football at Burnham. He briefly served as caretaker manager there.

Life Outside Football

Blissett has worked as a television expert. He appeared on Channel 4 and Bravo for their coverage of Italian football.

With fellow former Watford and England players John Barnes and Les Ferdinand, he started Team48 Motorsport. This team aimed to help young racing drivers from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds. In 2008, Blissett tried to enter a team into the British Touring Car Championship. However, the project did not start, and the team did not show up for any races.

The football show Soccer AM on Sky Sports calls the area where 'fans of the week' sit the 'Luther Blissett Stand'.

In 2014, Blissett started racing an Alfa 156. He competed in the BRSCC Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship.

Awards and Recognition

• He was given the Freedom of the Borough of Watford on 10 March 2021. This is a special honour.
• He was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire in July 2021. This is a role that supports the King's representative in the county.
• He was awarded an OBE in June 2022. This is a British honour for his services to football and charity.

Luther Blissett Project

Luther Blissett's name has been used by many people. They use it as a fake name or a group name. They use it for unusual performances, jokes, and creating radical ideas. The Luther Blissett name project started in 1994 in Italy. This was likely because of his connection to A.C. Milan. Since then, artists, writers, and activists across Europe and South America have used the name. In 1999, "Luther Blissett" wrote a historical novel called Q. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies in over ten languages.

On 30 June 2004, the real Luther Blissett appeared on a British TV show. It was called Fantasy Football League – Euro 2004. He jokingly said he was part of the Luther Blissett Project. He read a sentence from their ideas: "Anyone can be Luther Blissett simply by adopting the name Luther Blissett."

See also

• List of England international footballers born outside England