594 Les Mutrie

Biography

Burly striker Les Mutrie joined Hull City in December 1980 for a £30,000 fee, immediately after impressing City manager Mike Smith in an FA Cup tie against Blyth Spartans that ran to two replays – Mutrie scored against the Tigers in all three matches but also missed an extra time penalty in the first replay that could have sealed a giant killing act. The transfer began a four year career at Boothferry Park that won a place for Mutrie in the hearts of many Hull City fans – for his goals, for his skilful approach to the game and for his regular positive interactions with supporters off the pitch. Mutrie came late to regular professional football at the age of 28 and he appeared to enjoy every minute of it while at Boothferry Park

Mutrie made his debut for City on Boxing Day 1980, four days after the third of the Blyth cup ties at Elland Road Leeds had ended in a Tigers victory. Paired with predatory goalscorer Keith Edwards, Mutrie opened his City goal account in a 3-1 win at Exeter at the end of January 1981 and added two further goals before he struck a brace against Newport County on the final day of the season. Despite that victory, City were relegated to Division Four that season as Mike Smith’s grand plans for promotion, borne out of heavy investment in the playing squad, had the reverse effect.

During the 1981 close season Keith Edwards moved back to Sheffield United and Mutrie took the role of creative forward alongside the powerful and sometimes downright frightening presence of centre forward Billy Whitehurst. This arrangement clearly suited both players and after opening his account on the first day of the season at Torquay, Mutrie scored regularly and reached 11 goals in 24 starts by the time City knocked Hartlepool United out of the FA Cup on the first Saturday of 1982, the club’s first game for a month after a spell of poor weather. A narrow win over Torquay and barren spell of three goalless games in the League followed City’s exit from the FA Cup to Chelsea after a replay, but the Tigers returned to form with a mid-February 2-2 draw at Tranmere. Mutrie scored both City goals at Prenton Park, then the following week hit four goals as City demolished Hartlepool United by a 5-2 scoreline. Mutrie’s goals continued to flow over the next seven games, six of which were City victories, and a club record was set when Les scored against Port Vale in mid-March to record one or more goal in nine consecutive senior appearances. During this period Mike Smith was dismissed, the club had announced its bankruptcy and players were being forced into taking a pay cut by the club’s administrators, all of which made Mutrie’s achievement even more impressive. Les ended the 1981/82 season with 28 goals in all competitions and his place in the hearts of City fans was assured.

The 1982/83 season was helmed by new boss Colin Appleton, his expansive style of play suited Mutrie well. With new goalscoring threats emerging in the shape of winger Brian Marwood and pacy striker Andy Flounders, Mutrie led the line for much of the season and netted 12 goals as the Tigers cruised to promotion back to Division Three. He scored braces against York in September 1982 and Torquay in October 1982 – Les loved to punish those South West sides! Although promotion had already been secured two weeks earlier at Chester, Mutrie capped off his season with a last day goal in a 3-1 win at Rochdale.

Elevated back to the third tier, Mutrie started the season on City’s bench and while he did spend two months in the first team and scored five goals, including a brace against Millwall in a 5-0 thumping, the combination of advancing years and playing at a higher level meant that from November 1983 onwards Appleton looked elsewhere for striking options – Flounders, Whitehurst and later loanee Alan Taylor. Mutrie spent a month on loan at Doncaster Rovers, scoring once in six appearances, before leaving Hull City for good in January 1984. Mutrie’s penchant for scoring goals on the last day of the season was sorely missed four months later at Burnley when the Tigers fell one goal short of a victory big enough to secure a second successive promotion.

Leslie Alan Mutrie was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne and came into football via the North East’s non-league scene while also working as a building site surveyor. He started playing for Northern League sides Whitley Bay and Ashington in the early 1970s, where he was predominantly a midfielder. He moved to Northern Premier League side Gateshead United in July 1974 where he was converted to a striker and goals soon flowed freely – in November 1975 Gateshead manager Ray Wilkie hailed Mutrie as the best striker in the non-leagues as they dumped Diovision Three side Grimsby Town out of the FA Cup. Mutrie responded to this plaudit by promptly asking for a transfer but new terms were agreed and no move transpired in the immediate aftermath of that famous victory. A year later Mutrie was being linked to a transfer to one of three Football League sides but again nothing transpired, despite manager Wilkie openly touting Les to First Division side Newcastle United for a £10,000 fee after he trialled unsuccessfully with the Magpies during March 1977. The reason for this action soon became apparent – this was one of several incarnations of Gateshead sides to ply their trade south of the River Tyne and when Gateshead United went bust in July 1977 Mutrie had already signed for Division Three side Carlisle United, where he had a trial during April 1977.

Les managed only five appearances for the Cumbrians during the 1977/78 season, he debuted against Rotherham United at the start of September 1977 but broke a leg in his second appearance a week later, leading to his release after one season. Les returned to newly formed Gateshead at the start of the 1978/79 Northern Premier League season, a move sweetened by the offer of a share in manager Ray Wilkie’s sports shop business. Mutrie started scoring goals at a rate that led to his move to Blyth Spartans at the end of March 1979. Blyth were one of the North of England’s most prominent non-league teams in the 1970s and the acquisition of Mutrie fired them to greater success as they lifted the Northern League and Northern League Cup double in May 1979. Mutrie’s goals continued to flow and when he left the Spartans in December 1980 he had scored 58 times in 86 appearances and finished the 1980/81 FA Cup’s overall top goalscorer. Mutrie was as warmly remembered in Blyth as he was in Hull.

In January 1984 a £10,000 fee was enough for the Tigers to sell Mutrie to Colchester United who were managed by Cyril Lea, assistant manager to Mike Smith at Hull City during Les’s Boothferry Park heyday. He spent the rest of the season at Layer Road, scoring twice in 16 appearances before transferring to Hartlepool United in August 1984 – a club that had tried and failed to sign Mutrie from Gateshead United nine years earlier. He scored four goals in 22 appearances for Pools but by the turn of the year a mystery illness, which soon transpired to be an addiction to valium tablets, caught up with Les and he gave up the professional game in February 1985 – he had been using valium since 1980, throughout his time at Hull City, which had caused dangerous side effects.

Mutrie returned to the Tyneside area to clean up his act, in August 1985 he signed a third time for Ray Wilkie’s Gateshead side but he quickly moved on and became player manager for local side Dudley Welfare while running a local pub. By the early 1990s he was living in Annitsford and playing local league football for Alnwick Town. Over the next thirty years Les and his wife Sandra ran five pubs in the North Tyneside area, ending up in Camperdown. Les died in October 2017 of throat cancer, news of his demise led to an outpouring of grief amongst fans of a certain age who followed both Blyth Spartans and Hull City. Les was inducted into Hull City Southern Supporters’ hall of fame at this time and a book commemorating his career was prepared for his three children and eight grandchildren.

Les’s goalscoring record at Blyth Spartans was recognised when he was called up for the England C semi-professional squad in May 1979. He scored on his England C debut, a 5-1 beating of Scotland in a four-nation tournament played at Stafford, then won his second cap in the final against Netherlands four days later. In June 1980 Mutrie added two more England C caps to his tally in the same tournament played this year at Veenendaal in the Netherlands – he scored a consolation in a 2-4 revenge victory for Scotland, then two days later he started in a 2-1 win against the host nation.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 1 April 1952, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Hull City First Game: 26 December 1980, Rotherham United H (Division Three), 28 years, 269 days old
Hull City Final Game: 12 November 1983, Newport County H (Division Three), 31 years, 225 days old

Clubs

Ashington (1972-1974), Gateshead United (1974-1977), Carlisle United (1977-1978), Gateshead (1978-1979), Blyth Spartans (1979-1980), Hull City (1980-1984), Doncaster Rovers (1983-1984, loan), Colchester United (1984), Hartlepool United (1984-1985), Gateshead (1985), Dudley Welfare, Alnwick Town

Hull City Record

Career: 132 apps, 50 goals

Les Mutrie
SeasonLGE
App
LGE
Gls
FAC
App
FAC
Gls
FLC
App
FLC
Gls
EUR
App
EUR
Gls
OTH
App
OTH
Gls
1980/8120 (0)5
1981/8243 (0)276 (0)12 (0)0
1982/8340 (0)122 (0)02 (0)03 (0)0
1983/8411 (1)51 (1)0

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