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Fullname: John William Halpin
aka: John Halpin
Born: 15 November 1961
Birthplace: Bangour, Broxburn
Signed: 5 September 1978
Left: 24 October 1984 (to Carlisle)
Position: Left-Midfield/Winger
First game: Queen of the South 4-0 home 23 January 1982 Scottish Cup
Last game: Saint Johnstone 3-0 away 3 December 1983 League
Only goal: Queen of the South 4-0 home 23 January 1982 Scottish Cup
Internationals: Scotland youth
Biog
A product of the Celtic Boys Club, winger John Halpin signed for the Bhoys in September 1978 after a spell at Armadale Thistle.
The Broxburn-born player had an abundance of pace and liked nothing more than running at the opposition full-back. He was part of a very successful Celtic reserve set up which spawned Bonner, Nicholas, Crainie, Weir, Willie McStay, and Paul McStay. He made his Hoops debut, along with Paul McStay, in a 4-0 Scottish Cup victory at home to Queen of the South on 23rd January 1982 and he marked the occasion with a late goal.
He played a number of games in February 1982 but lost out to Danny Crainie who was more comfortable on the right flank when Davie Provan was out injured. On 13th May 1982 he had a splendid game against Rangers at Ibrox when a very young and inexperienced Celtic team won the Glasgow Cup against an experienced Rangers side.
“In the Reserves, there was a guy called John Halpin. He was a natural comic, so funny.”
Fellow Celtic aspiring Celtic youth player Doug McGuire
Much was expected of John Halpin but he never quite made the breakthrough although competition was harsh with Provan, Burns, Crainie and McCluskey all preferred for a place on the flanks instead of him.
A breakthrough of sorts came in the Autumn of 1983 when Davie Hay had settled in as new Celtic manager. John Halpin came on as a sub for Frank McGarvey in Aarhuus in Celtic’s fine 4-1 win, and then also appeared as a second half replacement for Davie Provan in the 6-2 win at Dens Park on 24th September 1983. He had perhaps his finest game for Celtic in the 4-0 win against Motherwell on 12th November but was unfortunately injured shortly after.
He left Celtic for Carlisle in October 1984 after 14 Celtic appearances and one goal. He had a great spell at Carlisle, but when the big English sides came looking he suffered a serious injury and had to retire from the game altogether. Not a very lucky guy, in total he broke his leg three times before he was 30.
John Halpin is reputedly one of Celtic’s fastest ever players, and some argue that in another age he could have been potentially another Bobby Lennox if used in the right way.
Post-Playing
After retiring from play, he kept the connection with Carlisle and has been long involved with the club. He was even nominated by the Football League (in England) for an award in 2015 as a ‘Club Hero‘, recognising a member of staff at each of the 72 Football League clubs in England. He was the community sport trust officer at Carlisle at the time.
He was one who definitely appreciated the opportunities that came in front of him, which is much to respect:
“I really benefited from my time outside of football. People in football who moan and groan about training and losing games should get themselves a job in the real world and then they will realise they have the best job.”
He retired in 2022.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1978-84 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| Goals: | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Articles
John Halpin’s love affair with Carlisle Utd more passionate than ever
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/carlisle-united/latest/john-halpin-s-love-affair-with-carlisle-utd-more-passionate-than-ever-1.727189?referrerPath=2.901
Last updated at 12:48, Wednesday, 30 June 2010
He broke his leg three times before he was 30, had Michael Knighton as a boss and all the thanks he ever got for helping to save Carlisle United from relegation was the sack – literally.
After a playing career that saw him tipped to become a top player and then a coaching career that placed him in the dug-out during the most famous day in the club’s history when Carlisle’s Football League future was secured by the boot of goalscoring goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, John Halpin found himself pounding the streets of Carlisle as a postman.
But despite being dealt some shattering blows, cruel enough to have ended anyone’s love of the game, Halpin doesn’t entertain thoughts about what might have been and nor is there a trace of bitterness at the shabbiness of his exit from his beloved Brunton Park in the aftermath of the Glass miracle in 1999.
Halpin returned to United five years later to head their Football in the Community department, and his enduring love affair with the club, which started when he arrived from Celtic at the age of 22, is more passionate than ever.
Every week, 1,000 children from more than 30 schools receive coaching from Halpin and his team of 14 full and part-time coaches, who bridge the gap between the club and the community and try to inspire a new generation of supporter.
They’re bracing themselves for the busiest times of year with the school holidays fast approaching, not to mention extra interest in the game generated by the World Cup.
“There’s never a day I wake up and dread spending another day at work,” said Halpin.
“I’m always up and ready to go. I love working with the kids and giving them the chance to play sport.
“It’s a breath of fresh air compared to my brief time as manager. No egos to worry about, no politics and no fears about saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.
“I never think ‘if only I hadn’t had those broken legs.’ People say I’ve been unlucky, but I think I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had a long career in football, doing something I love.”
During some dark times at the club in the not-too-distant past, kids were more likely to turn up for his coaching sessions wearing Liverpool, Manchester United or Newcastle kits.
But Halpin senses that the good times have returned – because Carlisle replica shirts are back in fashion.
“When the club is going well there are more kids wearing our strips – that’s the barometer we use in the Football in the Community office about how well the team is doing,” said Halpin.
“I think the club had a really good season with finishing 14th, getting to Wembley and getting to the FA Cup third round when we played Everton, so it’s not really any surprise they’re all turning up in our replica shirts again.
“If the club is on the up, everybody is on the up. People want to be involved in a winning club – and that’s what everyone inside the football club wants.”
It’s a startling contrast to those troubled times that scarred the final years of the Michael Knighton regime when winning silverware and trips to Wembley were replaced by frantic relegation-deciders and fears the Blues would go under completely if the club’s disgraced former owner pulled the plug.
Halpin recalls those days only too well as he was thrust, against his better judgement, into the spotlight as a joint-manager following the shock sacking of Mervyn Day in 1997.
He’d been happy in his role with the Football in the Community department until he and youth coach Dave Wilkes were asked to take charge of the first team.
With talented youngsters like Rory Delap, Matt Jansen and Lee Peacock flogged off like family silver and senior pros like Dean Walling, Warren Aspinall and Allan Smart all swiftly departing, their attempts to keep the team afloat was like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Inevitably, they were relegated at the end of the season and by the time former Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday skipper Nigel Pearson was appointed manager, with Halpin and Wilkes his two lieutenants, United were embroiled in a basement battle which went to the last kick of the following campaign.
Halpin said: “The most important thing at the time was keeping the club in the League. Players were being sold and the roof started caving in.
“We didn’t have the players to do the job so it was frustrating, and we just had to soldier on.
“To be fair to the supporters, they never had a go at Nigel, myself and Dave. They saved it all for Michael.
“At that time dropping into the Conference was a massive thing because it wasn’t regarded as the unofficial fifth division then.
“I didn’t want to be associated with the club going into the Conference and at one time I thought it was inevitable. The way the club was structured then, we would have found it difficult to get back up because we didn’t have players or finance.”
The club had a loan keeper to thank for an unforgettable relegation-defying goal on May 8, 1999 that kept United up.
No sooner had fans finished rejoicing that their prayers for a miracle had been answered, Halpin, along with manager Nigel Pearson and fellow coach Dave Wilkes, were ruthlessly sacked.
“It was a case of ‘Welcome to the real world’ as I went to work for the Royal Mail,” he said.
“I wasn’t bitter but I was disappointed that Michael didn’t have the decency to tell us himself. We really stuck or necks out for him. Dave Wilkes and I had been there a long time and had been made to be the front men. I thought we should have been treated better.
“It was all cloak-and-dagger and we were left hanging on for two or three weeks at the end of the season to hear what was going to happen.
“I wasn’t naive enough to think that getting the sack wasn’t going to happen to me. We thought I would go back to the community job and Dave would go back to the youth team job.”
Halpin was at least able to walk away with his head held high, while Knighton’s reign, which began with a surge of success and golden promises, ended with the owner a bitter, hated figure whose legacy to Carlisle was to leave the club on its knees.
Halpin said: “Knighton came to the club with huge plans and great ideas but he needed the finance to pull them off and it wasn’t forthcoming.
“He was really enthusiastic at first but, once reality of what it was all about set in and the fact it was costing a fortune to run the club, it became obvious he was getting disillusioned.
“The money coming in was probably just to keep the club running and not for investment. He told us there was no money for team building.
“Our relationship with him day-to-day was OK. The picture painted of him was in some ways wrong. There was another side to him. He could be great company and he would have time to speak to you.
“He knew he would be blamed for taking the club into the Conference and he felt massively under pressure.”
After his sacking in 1999, it was the first time Halpin had ever been out of football after a career which began as a 16-year-old trainee with Celtic, where he went on to play a dozen games in the Scottish giants’ first-team containing legendary names like Tommy Burns, Charlie Nicholas, Murdo MacLeod and Frank McGarvey.
His desire for first-team football landed him a move to Carlisle, which was expected to be a launchpad for him to return to the big-time.
Then three games into the new season he suffered a broken cheekbone, courtesy of a flying elbow from Cardiff City defender Phil Dwyer.
But Halpin’s bad luck with injuries was about to get worse. Much worse.
In a Division Two clash with Middlesbrough in 1986, he suffered a broken left leg during a tackle by Brian Laws.
His recovery was straight forward and he returned fitter than ever, but fate was to deal Halpin another savage blow. Ten games into his comeback, during a game against Preston, he collided with the goalkeeper as he slid in on a goal, and broke the same leg, resulting in another nine months on the sidelines.
As if that wasn’t enough for any player to have to endure, Halpin suffered a third leg break and a dislocated ankle in a game against Rochdale in the 1988-89 season.
Yet the flying Scotsman still clocked up 166 appearances and wrote his name into Brunton Park folklore as a huge fans’ favourite.
He said: “I didn’t think I would play again after the third break and the surgeon thought the same.
“Any chance of having a sustained career was out of the window after the third one. I knew if I got another couple of years it would be a bonus.
“I got back playing again and then went on to have a season at Rochdale, but I was finished at 31. I didn’t have anything left, but then the Football in the Community job came up for the first time.”
Life has come full circle as Halpin returned to head the community programme six years ago at the request of former manager Paul Simpson.
Instead of being a one-man operation, he has a team of coaches working under him and it’s not just school children who benefit from the programme, which now has charitable trust status.
Halpin said: “We work with all sorts of people, including the homeless. Just getting them out of their hostel for a kick-about in the Neil Centre is a major thing, so they can see the outside world isn’t that bad.
“It’s not just about getting a football and away we go.
“We try to take the club into the community and get out to places like Wigton, Cockermouth, Whitehaven and Penrith.
“I realised during my time out of the game just how much the club meant to genuine fans.
“If Carlisle win it makes a real difference to lads. If Carlisle won on a Tuesday night, the atmosphere was completely different at work on a Wednesday.
“I’d played football all my life and took for granted that supporters came to games and then just went home.
“Football is much more powerful than that and I realise how much football clubs mean to people’s lives.
“I really benefited from my time outside of football. People in football who moan and groan about training and losing games should get themselves a job in the real world and then they will realise they have the best job.”
First published at 11:25, Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
‘Always a legend’ – fans salute Carlisle United’s John Halpin as he retires
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/always-legend-fans-salute-carlisle-040000338.html
Jon Colman
12 September 2022·3-min read
In this article:
John Halpin
Association football player (born 1961)
He has long been one of Carlisle United’s most popular and well-known figures.
And news of John Halpin’s impending retirement has brought a host of tributes from supporters.
The 60-year-old is stepping down at the end of the year from his role as United’s community sports trust manager.
In an interview with the News & Star, Halpin said the Blues had been “my life and love” since he joined the club as a 23-year-old winger from Celtic in the 1980s.
United fans on our Facebook group responded by saluting the Scot.
“Always a legend in my eyes, Halpy. Happy retirement,” said Neil Ferguson.
“Not only was he a great player for Carlisle but a genuine nice guy too – happy retirement Halpy,” wrote Ian Addison.
READ MORE: Carlisle United’s John Halpin: ‘I always felt it should be about supporting people in need…’
Kenny Brown said Halpin was “a great lad – top player for the Blues.”
Becks Glaister described Halpin as “such a lovely bloke – hope he enjoys every second of his retirement.”
John Moore agreed, writing: “He will be a big miss at our club – was always helpful and pleasant. Have a good retirement John, you were also a cracking player too.”
Tony Moynan added: “Happy retirement John – top bloke who has done a top job for the people of Carlisle.”
Marilene Evans said: “All the best John, enjoy retirement – please don’t be a stranger.”
Michael Western wrote: “All the best John – nice fellow to talk to on match days.”
Will Gibson said: “Still got 1980s cine film of him including a cracking winner v Sheffield Utd. Best wishes on your retirement.”
Allan Stoton said: “Great service he has given to Carlisle United as both a player and, just as importantly, developing future talent. Priceless service. Enjoy your retirement John.”
Peter Brockbank added: “Been a great servant to the club, as player, then coach. Lovely guy. Enjoy your retirement, mate.”
Doreen Kirkbride wrote: “Wishing you long happy retirement – good footballer, great sense of humour and brilliant guy with kids; my boy loved a Saturday with you.”
Peter Jones agreed: “He is a great man and will be sorely missed.”
Sam McCormick said: “Looks like I’ll be seeing more of you on the golf course and why not…”
Former Blues director Bob McKnight added: “Enjoy your retirement John, it was a pleasure working with and knowing you, always having a smile for everyone.”
Colin Peachey, Matthew Miles, Robin McCormick and Paul Hal Irving were also among those wishing Halpin a happy retirement.
More people wrote in praise of Halpin on our main News & Star Facebook page.
Former United winger Jeff Thorpe said: “Best of luck pal, you’ve been an absolute credit to the club all these years. Happy retirement.”
Another ex-Carlisle player, Paul Reid, wrote: “Top man. Happy retirement Halpy.”
John Lucock added: “John, thanks for helping set up the Veterans breakfast club with Andy [Hall], as well as all your other work over the years. You will be greatly missed and I hope you enjoy your retirement, it’s well deserved.”
Katie Clarke-Day said: “A true gent and a CUFC legend. Always loved bumping into him around the city in his community role.”
David Grimshaw wrote: “Good luck John. Pleasure working with you. Thanks for all the work you have done with Inglewood over the years.”
Jordan Stanger said: “Wish you all the best of luck John – you’ve been an absolute credit to us all and a great gentleman. Always has been there for the community at heart – good luck for your retirement.”
Jopson’s Jewellers in Carlisle added: “What an absolute legend. Enjoy John.”
