Gerry Armstrong

Gerard Joseph Armstrong (born 23 May 1954) is a Northern Irish former footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur.

He spent the majority of his career in England, as well as having a spell in Spain. He represented the Northern Ireland national football team and won acclaim at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where he was the highest scoring player from the UK; this included a shock winner against hosts Spain. He works as a football analyst.

Playing career

Domestic career Armstrong, who supported English club Leeds United as a boy, began his career in Northern Ireland with St Paul's Swifts. He only started to play football as a teenager when serving a ban from Gaelic football, and feels that his late start in the game was a significant disadvantage.

He subsequently moved on to play for Cromac Albion and Bangor. He made a total of 84 league appearances for Spurs, scoring 10 goals.

After recovering from a long time out with a broken leg, he moved to Spain in August 1983 with RCD Mallorca for £200,000. In February 1989, he took up the same position at Crawley Town, before leaving in March 1990 after another confrontation with a fan. He played twice more in the league for Whitehawk that season.

International career In April 1977 Armstrong made his debut for the Northern Ireland national team. He played alongside George Best in a 5–0 friendly defeat to West Germany.

Five years later, Armstrong was selected for the Northern Ireland squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. After a 0–0 draw in their opening match against Yugoslavia, Armstrong scored the opening goal in the 1–1 draw against Honduras. With Northern Ireland requiring a win to progress to the next stage, Armstrong scored a 47th-minute goal against hosts Spain in Valencia. Northern Ireland even had Mal Donaghy sent off, but held on to win 1–0.

In the next stage, also a group round, Northern Ireland drew 2–2 with Austria, with Armstrong scoring in the subsequent 4–1 loss to France.

Armstrong made a total of six appearances for Northern Ireland in the World Cup and his 12 goals made him Northern Ireland's leading scorer at the time.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 16 November 1977 Belfast, Northern Ireland 1-0 3-0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification 2 16 November 1977 Belfast, Northern Ireland 3-0 3-0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification 3 29 November 1978 Sofia, Bulgaria 1-0 2-0 UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying 4 2 May 1979 Belfast, Northern Ireland 2-0 2-0 UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying 5 21 November 1979 Belfast, Northern Ireland 1-0 1-0 UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying 6 29 April 1981 Belfast, Northern Ireland 1-0 1-0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification 7 18 November 1981 Belfast, Northern Ireland 1-0 1-0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 21 June 1982 Zaragoza, Spain 1-0 1-1 1982 FIFA World Cup 9 25 June 1982 Valencia, Spain 1-0 1-0 1982 FIFA World Cup 10 4 July 1982 Madrid, Spain 1-3 1-4 1982 FIFA World Cup 11 22 May 1984 Swansea, Wales 1-1 1-1 1984 British Home Championship 12 14 November 1984 Belfast, Northern Ireland 2-1 2-1 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification

Coaching In November 1991, Armstrong was appointed manager of non-league club Worthing,

Football media Armstrong had combined his coaching positions with employment in football journalism - in television, in radio and in print. He spent 20 years as a co-commentator for Sky Sports' coverage of La Liga Champions League & International football, and also works as an analyst for the Premier League coverage of ESPN Star Sports.

An outspoken critic of the amount of diving in the modern game, Armstrong worked on talkSPORT radio presenting their show that looked at European Football on Monday night with Gab Marcotti and occasionally pops up as a guest.

Armstrong has appeared on Singaporean media as an analyst on SingTel mio TV's 2014 World Cup coverage which was mirrored on The Straits Times.

As of 2023 he co-commentates for Virgin Media TV in Ireland.

Personal life

Armstrong is three-times married with 5 children total. Originally from the Falls Road in Belfast, he grew up in the times of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and was one of 9 children.

Playing honours Northern Ireland British Home Championship winners: 1980, 1984