Adam Chapman

(by Roy Cathcart)

Name: Adam Henry Chapman
Born: 29 November 1989, Doncaster (ENG)
Height: 5.10 ft (1.78 m)
Weight: 11.00 st (70 kg)
Position: Midfielder/Defender

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 7 Under-21 Caps (2007-2009).
Club Honours: (with Mansfield) Football Conference Champion 2012/13.

Club Career:
Teams......... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League-- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Sheffield United ................ Youth .0 (0)/ 0
Oxford United..08/09 ..... Jan-09..Loan 20 (0)/ 2
Oxford United..09/10-12/13 May-09 £ 15k 76(24)/ 7 4(1)/0 2(0)/0 3(0)/0
Newport County 11/12 ..... Jan-12. Loan .4 (1)/ 0 
Mansfield Town 12/13 ..... Mar-13. Loan .9 (2)/ 4
Newport County 13/14-14/15 Jun-13 Undis 62(13)/ 5 3(0)/0 3(0)/0 2(1)/1
Mansfield Town 15/16-16/17 May-15 .Free 41 (1)/ 2 2(0)/0 2(0)/0 2(0)/0
Gainsboro. Tr. 16/17 ..... Nov-16 .Free (National League North)
Boston United ............ Jan-17 .Free (National League North) 
Sheffield FC ............. Oct-17

Biography:
Adam Chapman's playing career was put on hold as he served a 15 months of a 30 month sentence in a young offenders institute for causing death by dangerous driving from June 2010 to September 2011. On his release he re-signed for Oxford United, returning to the firstteam for the first time that December.

More to follow.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
17-10-2007 Israel.. H L 1-3 FR

19-08-2008 Poland.. N L 0-1 MT

20-08-2008 Ukraine. A L 1-4 MT sub

05-09-2008 Germany. A L 0-3 ECQ

18-11-2008 Scotland A W 3-1 FR

31-03-2009 Ukraine. H D 1-1 FR

13-10-2009 Iceland. A L 1-2 ECQ

Summary: 6(1)/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 5.

Billy Simpson

Name: William Joseph Simpson

Born: 12 December 1929, Belfast
Died: 27 January 2017, Glasgow (Scotland)

Height: 5.11 ft

Weight: 11.06 st

Position: Forward

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Representative Honours: Ireland: 12 Full Caps/5 Goals (1951-1958); Irish League: 4 Caps / 1 Goal (1949-1951).

Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1948/49, 1949/50; Irish Cup Winner 1947/48, 1949/50; Ulster Cup Winner 1948/49; Gold Cup Winner 1948/49, 1949/50, 1950/51; City Cup Winner 1949/50; County Antrim Shield Runner-Up 1947/48, 1949/50; (with Rangers) Scottish League Champion 1952/53, 1955/56, 1956/57; Scottish Cup Winner 1952/53.

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Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Roosevelt Street BC		-	Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Linfield	46/47-50/51	Mar-46	Youth	63/ 38	7/ 6	-	-	59/31
Rangers	50/51-58/59	Nov-50	£11,500	172/113	23/14	38/34	6/2	26/ 9
Stirling Albion	58/59-59/60	Mar-59	-	8/  1	-	-	-	-
Partick Thistle	59/60	-	-	6/  2	/ 0	/ 0	-	-
Oxford United	60/61	c/s-60	-	9/  3	(Southern League)			2/ 0
TOTALS		£11,500		268/157	30/20	38/34	6/2	87/40

Biography:

Billy Simpson was above all a goalscorer, adept at picking up chances in the goal area. He would risk everything to reach the ball, capable of diving full length to head another goal.

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The younger brother of Belfast Celtic's Reggie Simpson, Donegall Road-born Billy made his debut for Linfield on 24th March 1947 and signed professional forms a week later. He gained a number of medals with the Blues, scoring many important goals. He claimed four in a 6-0 win over Glentoran in the 1949/50 Gold Cup and hattricks in a 5-0 Gold Cup Final win over Glenavon and in a 3-0 defeat of Ards in the final of the Ulster Cup.

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Simpson joined Rangers from Linfield on 19th October 1950 for the then substantial fee of £11,500, then an Irish League and Rangers club record. On his Rangers debut against East Fife on 23rd December he claimed another hattrick. On two occasions Simpson scored four goals in a match for the Gers - in a 5-1 win over Third lanark in April 1951 and against St Mirren who were defeated 4-0 in December 1952.

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At Ibrox Simpson scored a total of 163 goals in 239 appearances and collected 12 caps for Northern Ireland. He went to the 1958 World Cup Finals as part of a 16-man panel, but he picked up a muscle injury in training a few days before the opening game. Although the trainer, Gerry Morgan, felt Simpson had later reached fitness, he was over-ruled by the team medical advisor, Dr. Scarlett and Simpson missed the whole tournament. The Northern Ireland team could have used Simpson, particularly in the latter stages of the tournament as a ramshackle and injury-ridden side crashed out against France in the quarter-finals.

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Simpson played his final match for Rangers on 29th November 1958 and in March 1959 he was transferred to Stirling Albion. A cruciate ligament injury finished his career and he returned to Glasgow where he worked for the Remington Rand factory.

Simpson continued to reside near Ibrox until his death at the age of 87. A month earlier Rangers had hosted a tribute evening for Simpson, though he had been too frail to attend. Shortly before he died, Simpson looked back on the great Northern Ireland team of the 1950s: "we were more than a football team, we were all mates."

Rage Online 
Rangers Interview
Linfield Career

Northern Ireland Cap Details:

07-03-1951 Wales... H L 1-2 BC. 1 Goal

12-05-1951 France.. H D 2-2 FR. 1 Goal

03-10-1953 Scotland H L 1-3 WCQ

11-11-1953 England. A L 1-3 WCQ

02-10-1954 England. H L 0-2 BC

25-04-1957 Italy... A L 0-1 WCQ

01-05-1957 Portugal H W 3-0 WCQ 1 Goal

05-10-1957 Scotland H D 1-1 BC

06-11-1957 England. A W 3-2 BC. 1 Goal

15-01-1958 Italy... H W 2-1 WCQ

16-04-1958 Wales... A D 1-1 BC. 1 Goal

05-11-1958 Scotland A D 2-2 BC

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Summary: 12/5. Won 3, Drew 4, Lost 5.

Ireland Representative Appearance Details:
11-08-1948 USA Olympic XI H W 5-0

Irish League Representative Appearance Details:

18-04-1949 League of Ireland H W 4-1 1 Goal
26-04-1950 Football League.. H L 1-3
27-09-1950 Scottish League.. H L 0-4
18-10-1950 Football League.. A L 3-6

Summary: 4. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 3.

Additional information by George Glass.

Ray Gaston

Name: Raymond Gaston
Born: 22 December 1946, Belfast
Height: 
Weight: 
Position: Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1968), 1 Under-23 Cap (1969), Youth Caps.
Club Honours: (with Coleraine) North-West Cup Winner.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Coleraine	64/65	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wolverhampton.W.	65/66	-	-	0 (0)/ 0	-	-	-	-
Coleraine	65/66-68/69	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Oxford United	68/69-69/70	-	£12,500	12 (2)/ 0	0(1)/0	-	-	-
Lincoln City	69/70	-	Loan	4 (0)/ 1	-	-	-	-
Coleraine	70/71-71/72	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ballymena United	71/72	-	-	*9 (-)/ 2	-	-	-	-
Coleraine	72/73	-	-	*114(13)/63	-	-	-	-
Finn Harps	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	0(1)/0	-	-	-

* all games, all spells

Biography:
Ray Gaston was a forward who had two bites of the Football League cherry, but it was with Bertie Peacock's Coleraine side of the 1960s that he made his name.

Having tried his luck with Wolves as a teenager, Gaston returned to a Coleraine side regularly challenging for the top honours. Although he failed to claim any major medals, the North-West Cup aside, Gaston impressed enough for Oxford United to take a chance on him, handing over a £12,500 fee early in the 1968/69 season.

The Manor Ground was never a happy hunting ground for Gaston, and he found the net just twice in his first season, and he made his final appearance for the club against Cardiff City in February 1969.

On the international front that season, Gaston made his only Full appearance for Northern Ireland in a 3-2 friendly win over Israel, coming on as a 70th minute substitute for Derek Dougan. That same season he also added an Under-23 Cap to his collection.

The 1969/70 season saw Gaston stuck in the Oxford United Reserves, and he made his final Football League appearances whilst on loan to Lincoln City in the Fourth Division in February 1970. Gaston moved back home in the summer of 1970. Over the following few seasons he played with Coleraine, Ballymena and Finn Harps with some success.

Coleraine FC Legend

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
10-09-1968 Israel.. A W 3-2 FR sub

Summary: 0(1)/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 0.

Northern Ireland Under-23 Cap Details:
26-03-1969 Italy... A L 1-2 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 1.