They`ve Played for Your Club….Hendon

Continuing the series on players who have represented the current clubs in the Southern Football League.

Hendon have only been members of the Pitching In Southern Football League family since being switched across from the Isthmian League ahead of the 2018/19 season.

Before that, the Greens enjoyed a long and successful spell in both the Athenian and Isthmian Leagues, winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1959/60, 1964/65 and the European Amateur Cup in 1972/73.

Formed in 1908 originally as Christchurch Hampstead, then Hampstead Town and Golders Green before becoming Hendon FC just after the Second World War.

Since then, they have been champions of the Athenian League in 1952/53, 1955/56 and 1960/61, Isthmian League champions in 1964/65 – just two years after switching from the Athenian, and again in 1972/73.

Hendon won the Isthmian League Cup in 1976/77 and more recently in 2014/15.

In 1973/74, Hendon reached the Third Round of the FA Cup, where they drew Newcastle United, and after holding them to a 1–1 draw at St James' Park, lost the replay 4–0 at Watford's Vicarage Road.

In 1975/76 the club defeated a Football League club for the first time, beating Reading 1–0 in the First Round, before losing to Swindon Town in the Second Round.

Since being switched to the Southern League, Hendon have only been able to complete one full season in 2018/19, due to the global pandemic, finishing 16th.

They are now a strong community club and possess under-18 and under-23 sides to help first-team manager Lee Allinson.

I have featured many clubs in this series since lockdown and have to say that Hendon`s tremendous `Greensnet` website with its excellent archive has made it a lot easier!

Goalkeeper Peter Shearing signed for Hendon in December 1956 and played for the Greens in the 1959/60 FA Amateur Cup Final against one of his former clubs, Kingstonian.

Prior to joining Hendon, Shearing was with league rivals Hayes and Corinthian League side Uxbridge.

After the cup final, Shearing was signed by West Ham United after a spell on Tottenham Hotspur`s books.

He made his League debut against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough and went on to make half-a-dozen First Division outings.

Shearing then moved to Portsmouth in July 1961, where he added a further 17 appearances to his tally.

It was from there that he joined Exeter City in June 1964 and after taking over in goal from Alan Barnett to make his debut against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in September 1964, kept his place for the rest of the season.

It was something of a surprise when both he and striker Alan Banks left Exeter to sign for rivals Plymouth Argyle in June 1966 for a joint fee of £7,750. But both were to return to the Grecians for a second time at the club.

Shearing played 24 games for Plymouth and re-signed for Exeter in July 1968 and was once again the first-choice keeper and was ever-present until he sustained a broken arm at Port Vale in January 1970.

Having lost his place to Bob Wilson, Shearing only featured in 6 more matches for Exeter before joining Bristol Rovers in February 1971, but he never played for the Gas`s first team.

He moved on to sign for Gillingham in August 1971 and stayed there for two seasons, adding 39 appearances to his tally.

After retiring from playing, he joined the Gillingham coaching staff and later became a sub-postmaster in Maidstone.

Peter Anderson began and finished his playing career with Hendon.

The skilful winger made his debut for Hendon`s first team in the Isthmian League in 1968/69.

He went on to play almost 100 times for the Greens and contributed 35 goals before being snapped up by Luton Town two years later.

He became a firm favourite with the Kenilworth Road crowd and made 181 appearances – including half a season in the First Division - and scored 34 goals.

However, Luton were forced to sell Anderson to Belgian side Royal Antwerp in December 1975 in order to prevent banckruptcy.

In 1978, Anderson and team-mate Jan Van der Veen joined the San Diego Sockers of the North American Soccer League in 1978, where he appeared in 11 games and scoring 6 goals.

Tampa Bay Rowdies bought Anderson mid-season and he was a major contributor to their 1978 play-offs when he scored two play-off goals - one against his former Sockers' team-mates.

He then missed the entire 1979 season because of commitments to Sheffield United, where he was playing 30 games on loan until May 1979.

He suffered a broken collar bone whilst with the Blades but came of the injured reserve list to appear in six play-off games for the Soccer Bowl '79-bound Rowdies.

He played with the Rowdies' championship indoor team that 1980 winter, scoring the game winning-goal of the championship mini-game and went on to score 7 goals during the 12-game indoor season.

In the 1980 outdoor season, he made 27 appearances, scoring 6 goals.

He returned to England in 1980 and was appointed as player-manager of Third Division Millwall.

However, halfway through the season, Anderson and his assistant Terry Long were suspended for 72 hours on the morning of a home game against Wrexham.

Then-chairman Alan Thorne intervened after news filtered through that three key players, including Sam Allardyce, had been left out without being given fitness tests.

The suspension was followed by Anderson`s permanent departure from the Den, having added 32 games to his tally.

He then returned to finish off his playing career with Hendon in 1983/84 before retiring from football, returning to the USA and entering the technology field in 1988 and in 1997 joined his current partners in forming Bayshore Technologies.

His current role as President and CEO allowed him to provide the company the strategic direction to oversee the growth and profitability of the company.

Freddie Evans was a legendary goalscorer for Hendon before the Second World War.

At a time when big scores were common and 0-0 draws like hen`s teeth, Evans scored more than 30 times a season for the Greens on no fewer than four occasions.

He originally signed for the club from Burlington in 1926 before moving on for a spell with Hendon Town.

He returned to Claremont Road in 1930 and was capped by England as an amateur international side in 1934, scoring in a 5-3 win over Wales.

He appeared in six Middlesex Senior Cup finals, winning just one, and ended with 176 goals in total for Hendon when finishing in 1935.

Defender Peter Simpson was an Arsenal legend.

The Gunners – and Hendon - were his only English clubs in a career spanning almost 20 years.

He came through the Arsenal ranks and made his first-team debut in March 1964 against Chelsea.

He went on to be an important part of Bertie Mee`s `double` winning side and played 477 games for the Highbury outfit, chipping in with 10 goals.

Despite being acknowledged as being one of the best left-sided central defenders in the old First Division for many years, he never earned an England cap.

He was overlooked by Alf Ramsey, who did select him for the preliminary squad for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but the presence of Bobby Moore and Norman Hunter ensured that he Simpson didn`t make the final 22.

The Norfolk-born defender maintained his high standards until the mid-1970s, when injuries began to take their toll and he was released in the Spring of 1978.

Whilst in his early days as a first team regular with Arsenal, Simpson had spent the summers of 1967 and 1968 in the United States with
National Premier Soccer League side Toronto Falcons and then North American Soccer League outfits Boston Beacons and, later, Vancouver Whitecaps.

So, when he was released by Arsenal, he made a more permanent move to the States and had three seasons with the New England Tea Men, where his team-mates included Norwich City goalkeeper Kevin Keelan, ex-Leicester City and Chelsea midfielder Keith Weller, former Manchester United Munich air disaster survivor Dennis Viollet and Charlton Athletic favourites Paddy Powell and Mike Flanagan, with the team, who won the Eastern Division title in 1978, managed by Noel Cantwell.

He returned to England during the 1979/80 season and spent a couple of seasons on the Greens` books before hanging up his boots.

Billy Dare was a forward who started his career with Hendon.

He played only 10 games for the Greens, making his debut game in September 1948 against Leyton, but managed 8 goals.

He joined Brentford in 1948, where he was a team-mate of Ron Greenwood, and made his League debut in March 1949 against Luton Town.

He made 208 league appearances and 222 in all competitions for the Bees, scoring 65 goals, before joining West Ham United for £5,000 in 1955.

He became a popular player at the Boleyn Ground and played a major part in their Second Division triumph of 1958.

Unfortunately, he was 31 by the time he reached the First Division and made only 2 appearances at the top level.

He joined Southern League Yiewsley (later Hillingdon Borough) where he came under the managership of Bill Dodgin Snr and later Jackie Milburn.

Midfielder Dave Metchick made plenty of Football League appearances but later became something of a legend during the early days of the North American Soccer League.

He was good enough to be selected in the NASL All-Star team in 1970 in his first spell with Atlanta Chiefs.

After beginning his career as an apprentice with Fulham, Metchick turned professional in 1961 and made 47 League appearances and scored 9 goals for the Cottagers.

He later played for Leyton Orient, where he made 75 appearances with 15 goals, Peterborough United, for whom he played 38 times with 6 goals and Queens Park Rangers, for whom he only played 3 times.

Metchick then moved over to the North American Soccer League woth Atlanta Chiefs in 1970 and returned to England to play with the reserve team at First Division Arsenal during the 1970/71 season.

Either side of a spell with Miami Gatos in 1972, Metchick made a return to Atlanta Chiefs in 1971 and 1973.

He returned to England in 1973 to play for then-Fourth Division Brentford and played 61 times, scoring 4 goals.

After his release in 1975, Metchick wound down his career in non-League football.

He first played for Southern League Barnet and then signed for Isthmian League Premier Division Hendon, where he made 46 appearances in total, scoring 2 goals.

He then turned out for Hillingdon Borough in the Southern League, Woking back in the Isthmian League and then Weymouth in the Southern Premier in 1976/77.

He returned to Brentford on a non-contract basis between January and March 1978 but did not make a first team appearance.

Hendon`s reputation as a top non-League club has led to as many former internationals wearing the green colours as any other in the country.

In their early days, Hendon possessed several England Amateur internationals and two of the most famous being goalkeepers John Swannell and Mike Pinner.

Swannell spent the longest at Claremont Road.

Whilst a student, he played in two professional games, both in the early years of the Football League Cup, one for Stockport County and one for Crystal Palace, but was keener to pursue his career in engineering than turning professional.

At Corinthian-Casuals, he got a grounding that would hold him in good stead throughout his career.

When Hendon joined the Isthmian League in 1963, Swannell was one of the first to be signed up.

His England Amateur career was outstanding and his total of 60 caps - all earned while at Hendon - is the all-time one-club record.

He also was also first choice for the Great Britain Olympic team in an era when eastern Europe dominated amateur football with their full internationals being eligible as amateurs, usually through serving in the military or police forces.

He was one of four Hendon players who played against West Germany in a qualifying round match at Claremont Road in 1967.

Swannell eventually left Hendon in the summer of 1974 to join Leatherhead and enjoyed another long FA Cup run with the Tanners, reaching the Fourth Round when, led by the `Leatherhead lip`, Chris Kelly, they were eventually beaten 3-2 by First Division Leicester City.

After half a dozen seasons at Fetcham Grove, Swannell returned for a last hurrah at Hendon and in December 1980, aged 41, he played his last game for Hendon - a 3-2 win over Hitchin Town – to take his tally of games for the Greens to 594.

In fact, he wasn't finished with football and continued to play, ending with veterans matches, until he was in his mid-50s.

Swannell succeeded Mike Pinner in the Hendon goal and was also a competitor for the England jersey.

Before going to Cambridge University, Pinner was educated at Boston Grammar school and made his senior football debut for Notts County reserves at the age of 14.

At Cambridge he went on to become a record five-time Blue between 1952 and 1955 and captained the team in his final year.

He was also the secretary of the Cambridge University Football Club, and while training to be a solicitor, played for Boston United, Pegasus and several Football League teams who called on him when they had a goalkeeping crisis,

He had several offers to turn professional at an early stage of his career but turned them all down due to the maximum wage for a footballer in those days.

He won the first of his 52 England Amateur international caps against Wales in 1954 and was the number one choice for the 1956 Olympics.

He travelled to Melbourne but injured his wrist shortly before the opening game and did not take any further part.

He toured Nigeria and Ghana with the FA XI in 1958 and two years later in Rome he got to make his Olympic debut when he played in all three Great Britain group matches including the 2-2 draw with Italy who included players like Giovanni Trapattoni, manager of the Republic of Ireland national team 2008 until 2013, and Gianni Rivera, both from the Italian under-21 squad.

Now a London solicitor, he played 4 games for Manchester United in 1961 when regular goalkeeper Harry Gregg was injured and was playing for Queens Park Rangers and also doing National Service in the RAF at the time.

Later that year he got a similar call from Chelsea to stand in when Peter Bonetti was injured, and Pinner was the last amateur to play in the top-flight of English football.

He joined Hendon ahead of the 1961/62 season and made 41 appearances in total.

Having played two games in the qualifying tournament for the 1964 Olympics he turned semi-professional with Leyton Orient at the age of 29 in 1963 and consequently never went to his third Olympics.

He played 113 games for seven League clubs and ended his career at Belfast side Lisburn Distillery nearly 20 years after making his debut as a 14-year-old.

Attacking midfielder Rod Haider is another of the well-known former England Amateur internationals on Hendon`s books.

He signed for the Greens in 1967 from Kingstonian and became a regular scorer of double figures from midfield, winning the FA Amateur Cup, Isthmian League and scoring the famous equaliser at St James’ Park in 1974 against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.

He also scored in the first leg of the 1973 Barassi Cup success and also won the Isthmian League Cup, London Senior Cup, three Middlesex Senior Cups and three Middlesex Charity Cups whilst on Hendon`s books.

Haider also won 65 England Amateur international caps whilst at Hendon, having won 10 with Kingstonian.

He made 696 appearances for Hendon, scoring 165 goals and finished off his senior career with Harrow Borough and then, briefly, league rivals Slough Town, where he was player-coach and then reserve team manager.

Hendon are included in striker Jefferson Louis` 38-club career which has been highlighted in this website on a few occasions.

In his one season with the Greens – 2013/14 – Louis scored an incredible 26 goals from just 33 games before moving to Margate.

Bontcho Guentchev appeared in the 1994 World Cup for Bulgaria, scoring an all-important penalty against Mexico, which, after disposing of Germany, ultimately took them to the semi-final against finalists, Italy.

During his career he has also played for Dobrudzha Dobrich, Osam Lovech, Lokomotiv GO, Etar, Sporting CP, Luton Town, Ipswich Town and CSKA Sofia.

Guentchev, who also appeared during Euro 96, originally joined Hendon in August 1999, having scored 20 goals in 32 games in the Bulgarian top-flight for Sofia, scoring his first goal for the Greens against Canvey Island.

He made 72 appearances, scoring 11 goals in his first term which ended at the end of the 2000/01 season with his supposed retirement.

But he re-joined the club in early October 2006 to assist on the coaching side and added 11 games and one more goal to his Hendon tally.

Capped 12 times at full international level for Bulgaria, in 2016, he become the new manager of OFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo, but in March of that year he was announced as chairman of the zonal council of the Bulgarian Football Union in the city.

Iain Dowie has gone on to become a TV and radio pundit after a career that took in over 500 League games and 120 goals and 59 caps and 12 goals for Northern Ireland at full international level.

Born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Dowie started out with Isthmian League Division One side Cheshunt.

He moved to then-league rivals St Albans City in 1985 and moved to Premier Division Hendon a year later.

He finished as top goalscorer for the Greens in 1986/87 with 23, 1987/88 with 28 and 1988/89 where his 27 goals in 30 appearances saw him clinch a move to then-First Division side Luton Town for a club record fee of £30,000.

He went on to enjoy a successful professional career with Luton, Southampton, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers.

After retiring as a player, Dowie tried his hand at management with Oldham Athletic, Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, Coventry City and former club QPR.

Midfielder Aryan Tajbakhsh is another who can definitely described as being `well-travelled`!

His spell with the Greens was extremely brief, being in amongst 25 other moves, including spells with Enfield Town, Potters Bar Town, Maidenhead United, St Albans City, Farnborough and Cray Wanderers.

After his short Hendon spell, he went on to sign for Crawley Town before spells at Dover Athletic, Maidstone United and Dulwich Hamlet.

Tajbakhsh was called up to the Barawa national team for the 2018 ConIFA World Cup where he won 5 caps and scored one goal.

Defender Frank Sinclair won 28 caps for Jamaica between 1998 and 2003.

He played over 600 League games for the likes of Chelsea, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town, Lincoln City and Wrexham.

He joined Hendon in November 2011 and made 10 appearances for the Greens.

He left in January 2012 to sign for Colwyn Bay as player-manager and then finished his playing days with Brackley Town, where he also helped out as caretaker manager in 2015.

Sinclair went on to manage Hednesford Town from December 2015 to April 2016 and later spent time as a coach at Stoke City, Radcliffe and Port Vale.

Silky-skilled midfielder Tony Currie was one of the group of great players of the late 1960s and 1970s who should have won many more caps for England.

Currie, like Rodney Marsh, Stan Bowles, Alan Hudson etc., won only 17 caps for his country, along with 13 under-23 internationals.

He made in excess of 550 League appearances and was named as Sheffield United`s greatest ever player.

Starting out with his local club Watford, he played the bulk of his career with the Blades and then a fading Leeds United before spells with Queens Park Rangers, Southend United and Torquay United as well as Canadian outfit Toronto Nationals.

He signed for Hendon in 1985/86, playing just 5 games, and also spent time in non-League football with Dunstable Town and Goole Town before being appointed football in the community co-ordinator at Sheffield United in February 1988 - a post he still holds today.

Another to enjoy a much-travelled playing career was Guyana international forward Marcel Barrington.

He began his career with Stoke City and had a spell on loan at Harrow Borough.

He then moved to Leicester City with loan spells at Nuneaton Town and Bishop's Stortford and also appeared for Walton Casuals and Margate.

He signed for the Greens in January 2017 from Tooting & Mitcham United but left in the summer of 2017 after 21 appearances and 4 goals and had spells in the National League South with Braintree Town, Hampton & Richmond Borough, Concord Rangers, Dartford and Welling United.

He won five caps for Guyana during their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

Capped twice for Barbados at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games, forward Fabian Forde started his career with Millwall as a youngster and then Watford, for whom he made just a single senior appearance in May 2001 against Burnley.

He went on to have spells with Crawley Town and Grays Athletic before signing for Hendon in December 2003 after being released by Grays.

He made 7 appearances without finding the net and going on to play for the likes of Chelmsford City, Egham Town, Hemel Hempstead Town, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Windsor & Eton.

George Blackburn belongs to the `one cap wonder` club, having played once for England against France in 1924.

The left half played for Willesden schools and represented London schools and also played for Willesden Juniors as well as Athenian League side Hampstead Town (the predecessors of Hendon).

He played 21 times for the Greens as a forward, netting 30 goals before joining Aston Villa as an amateur in December 1920, turning professional in January 1921.

After 133 League appearances, scoring once plus an FA Cup Final appearance in 1924, he moved on to Cardiff City in 1926 in exchange for Joe Nicholson.

He scored one more goal, in 115 League appearances before joining Mansfield Town as club captain in June 1931.

He moved to Cheltenham Town as player-coach in July 1932 and also represented both the London FA and Middlesex FA.

He retired from playing in June 1934 and took up various coaching roles after he retired from playing at Cheltenham Town, Moor Green and then became a trainer for Birmingham City's youth side from June 1937 until 1946, joining the coaching staff afterwards.

Small for a striker at 5`7”, David Speedie was blessed with great stamina, delicate touch, a fierce shot in either foot and an extraordinary leap that enabled him even to out-jump the postilion defenders of the 1980s.

Initially a coal miner as a youngster, he got out of the pit at 18 by signing for Barnsley in 1978.

He made 23 appearances for the Tykes before joining Darlington in 1980, where he played 88 times and scored 21 times.

Bought by Chelsea from Quakers for £80,000 by John Neal in May 1982, he became a great favourite as Chelsea began to overturn a troubled period for the Blues.

Speedie helped them return to the First Division as champions in 1984 and went on to make 162 appearances and score 47 goals and also won the first of 10 Scotland international caps.

He moved to Coventry City for £750,000 in July 1987, playing 122 games with 31 goals and then became Kenny Dalglish`s final signing for Liverpool before resigning in 1991, although he only made a dozen appearances for the Reds, although he did score 6 goals.

He re-united with Dalglish at Blackburn Rovers and helped them into the top division before being sold to Southampton for £400,000, replacing Alan Shearer who had moved the other way for £3.6million.

It was not a happy time with the Saints, and he had several loan spells before signing for Leicester City in 1993 where his League career came to an end, taking his total of matches to 519 with 148 goals.

He was then signed by former Chelsea team-mate Colin Pates for Southern League Premier Division side Crawley Town in the summer of 1995 and, although he scored 11 goals playing alongside ex-Arsenal striker Raphael Meade, he walked out on the club in February 1996 after being fined two weeks' wages for receiving his 12th booking of the season.

He received his fourth suspension of the season the previous month when he was banned for four games.

He returned to the Midlands and joined Crawley`s league rivals Atherstone United where he enjoyed a good season.

He then had a brief spell with then-Isthmian Premier Division Hendon a marquee signing by then-boss Neil Price in the summer of 1996.

He impressed in goal on his debut, deputising for the injured Scott Ashcroft, before being dismissed on his final appearance against Boreham Wood in August 1996 and being released shortly afterwards.

He then saw out the rest of the season with then-United Counties Leaguers Stamford, signed by current Gillingham boss Steve Evans along with several other former pros and also, strangely, ex-Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson.

Leicestershire Senior Leaguers Kirby Muxlow and Northern Premier League Premier Division outfit Guiseley were his next ports of call – his spell with the Lions ending after he received his marching orders twice in three games!

He announced he was hanging up his boots after that but reappeared with Isthmian Premier outfit Harrow Borough in 2000 at the age of 40 followed by Northern League Crook Town, Darlington RA and finally then-Notts Senior League side Rainworth Miners Welfare!

Michael Bryan was a pacey, skilful winger who began his career as a schoolboy at Queens Park Rangers before moving on to Hayes and then Hayes & Yeading United where he was picked up by Watford.

He made his League debut in August 2009 and went on to make 14 appearances, as well as having a 9-game loan spell at Bradford City.

He made two full international appearances for Northern Ireland in 2010, as well as four for their under-21 side.

After his release from Watford, he had spells at Brackley Town, Daventry Town and then Corby Town, from whom he signed for Hendon in August 2013, making 42 appearances with one goal.

He moved to Harrow Borough following his release in the summer of 2014 and remains at Earlsmead today.

Byron Bubb is a 14-times capped Grenada international who had three spells with Hendon.

He originally joined in October 2001 having previously been with Millwall where he made 8 League appearances.

He made his debut in the FA Cup tie against Hitchin Town at Claremont Road.

Released in September 2002, he has since played for a number of clubs including Staines Town, Slough Town, AFC Wimbledon and Burnham and Singh Sabha Slough in the Middlesex County League.

He returned to Hendon in September 2011 for his third spell with the club before going on to turn out for Bedfont, Northwood, Dunstable Town, Chalfont St Peter and Barton Rovers.

Attacking midfielder Jeff Campbell won 16 international caps for New Zealand between 2000 and 2008, scoring 5 goals.

He played for Auckland Kings and Adelaide in the Australian League as well as Wellington in his home country.

He came to England in 2005 and played a handful of games for AFC Wimbledon.

In September 2005, he joined Hendon from the Dons to make his debut against Metropolitan Police in the FA Cup.

He stayed for the majority of the 2005/06 season, playing 34 games and netting 4 times before returning `home` with North Shore United, Waitakere United, Auckland City, Waikato and Takapuna.

Striker Elliott Charles is one of the more recent former internationals to play for Hendon.

The much-travelled Charles signed for Southern League Premier Division South side Gosport Borough in September 2020.

He started his career with Welwyn Garden City and then Barnet, going on to make 8 first-team appearances for the Bees.

Spells with Kettering Town, Concord Rangers, Eastbourne Borough, Dover Athletic, Staines Town, Hendon and Metropolitan Police followed before he re-joined Hendon for the second time in 2016/17 season.

He spent the early part of the following season with Ware before joining Hampton & Richmond Borough.

Spells with Braintree Town and Wealdstone followed before he re-joined Hendon in 2018.

He has twice played for his country, in two qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, against Belize and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Hendon Web Site