Football: Raich Carter dies

HORATIO 'Raich' Carter, who once said there was no finer life than that of a footballer, and was widely acknowledged as one of England's greatest inside forwards, died yesterday, aged 80.

Carter, who made 13 appearances times for England over a 14-year period in the 1930s and 1940s, playing alongside Sir Stanley Matthews, had suffered a severe stroke in September of last year.

He signed for his home town club, Sunderland, in 1931 and captained the team who won the league title in 1936 and the FA Cup the following year. He was part of the FA Cup winning Derby County team in 1946 and the following year, as their player-manager, steered Hull City from the Third Division to the Second.

In the 1950s he became manager of Leeds United before taking the same post at Mansfield Town in 1960 and moving on to manage Middlesbrough three years later.