John Aldridge, English-Irish footballer and manager
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 league goals is the 6th highest in the history of English football. During his early career, he worked his way up through the lower leagues, playing in every league from the old Fourth Division to the old First Division. Initially signed as a replacement for Ian Rush, Aldridge spent over two successful seasons at Liverpool, winning the league and FA Cup once, and narrowly missing out on a second league title. Aldridge spent two seasons at Real Sociedad, becoming the first non-Basque player to sign for Sociedad in several decades as they abandoned their selective recruitment policy. In 1991, he returned to England to play for Tranmere Rovers, becoming their player-manager in 1996. He retired from playing and resigned as manager in 1998, and has not managed since.
A Liverpudlian by birth, he was recruited to play for Ireland as part of Jack Charlton's "Granny Rule" policy: his great-grandmother was from Athlone, and travelled to Liverpool to settle in the 19th century. His career for the Republic coincided with their most successful period in International football, and he played at two World Cups.