Laurie Sivell

Laurie Sivell
Personal information
Full name Laurence Sivell
Date of birth (1951-02-06) 6 February 1951 (age 73)
Place of birth Lowestoft, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1984 Ipswich Town 141 (0)
1979 → Lincoln City (loan) 2 (0)
Total 143 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Laurence Sivell (born 6 February 1951 in Lowestoft) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for Ipswich Town and Lincoln City.[2]

Sivell spent 15 years with Ipswich Town, between 1969 and 1984. He made 141 league appearances for the East Anglian club during that time,[3] despite primarily being the understudy to goalkeepers including David Best and Paul Cooper.[4][5] He also played two games on loan to Lincoln City in the 1978–79 season.[6] Sivell was noted for his bravery, typically diving at the feet of oncoming strikers to snatch the ball, and had considerable athletic ability to offset his diminutive size (for a goalkeeper).[7] Sivell contributed to Ipswich's victorious 1980-81 UEFA Cup campaign, making one appearance during the run.[8] However he wasn't part of the squad for the final itself.

Together with several Ipswich teammates, Sivell took part in the 1981 film Escape to Victory, known as just Victory in North America. He played the German goalkeeper.[9]

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Escape to Victory Schmidt - Goalie - The Germans

After retiring from football Sivell became a fishmonger.[10]

  1. ^ "Aerial tactics help Chelsea to stay up". The Times. 27 February 1974. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Ipswich Town : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Laurie Sivell Ipswich Town FC". Football Heroes. Sporting Heroes Collection Ltd. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  4. ^ "Occasions when Goalkeeper Injured or Replaced". Pride of Anglia. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  5. ^ "What's New? Keepers". Pride of Anglia. 8 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Laurie Sivell". Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Heaven and Hell - best and worst keepers". East Anglian Daily Times. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2009. [dead link]
  8. ^ "Games played by Laurie Sivell in 1980-81". prideofanglia.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Victory (1981)". IMDb. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  10. ^ Smith, Martin (19 August 2006). "Football diary: Fishy business". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 October 2009.