The Southern League Internationals (Part Three)

The third part chronicling the ex-international stars to have graced the league.

It wasn't the most illustrious period of his career - seven games, five defeats, and a red card - but the month BERT TRAUTMANN spent between the sticks at the Buck`s Head in the Southern League Premier Division marked the end of one of the most remarkable stories in football history.

Trautmann signed for Wellington Town – now AFC Telford United – in September 1964 after the Bucks' regular keeper Mick Richards was out with a broken arm.

Having just left Manchester City, Trautmann was signed by new Wellington boss Grenville Hair, the former Leeds United stalwart.

Trautmann was being paid £50 a game – about £1,000 in today's money – to turn out for the Bucks, but it was not a particularly happy time for the legend.

His debut came in an FA Cup tie against Dudley Town, which the Bucks lost 3-1.

The sheer presence of such a big name ensured bumper crowds, but over the course of the next month he found himself on the losing side five times as Wellington floundered in the lower echelons of the league, and he was sent-off for violent conduct in a game against Tonbridge.

It was not a huge surprise when he announced that he would not be extending his initial one-month deal.

Although his spell in the Southern League was extremely brief, to have a player so famous that he had a feature film made about his life means he deserves to receive a mention here.

Irish-born EDDIE BAILHAM gained junior international honours with the well-known Dublin team, Home Farm.

As a schoolboy, he signed amateur forms with Manchester United and during school holidays spent his time on the Old Trafford ground staff.

He then joined Cork Hibs before signing for Shamrock Rovers in 1960. His bustling style and his powerful shooting help him win many honours over the next four seasons, including League of Ireland Championship medals and FAI Cup winners` medals. One of those was in 1964 when he scored both of the Shamrock Rovers goals.

His scoring feats saw him being picked for the League of Ireland team to play the English League in October 1963 - a game that they won.

All in all, Bailham played the League of Ireland on four occasions, scoring four times.

His only full international cap came in May 1964 against England at Dalymount Park, Ireland - a game that England won 3-1.

In October 1964, Bailham joined Southern League Premier Division club Cambridge City for a fee of £2,500, having last played for Shamrock Rovers in the European Cups against Rapid Vienna.

At Cambridge, he was soon banging in the goals for the Lilywhites and went on to score 27 league goals and 42 in total in 1964/65.

The following season saw Bailham score 32 league goals - including 4 away at Poole Town – and an amazing 64 in total. These included a hat-trick as the Lilywhites beat Soham Town 8-1 in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.

The 1966/67 season saw City in financial trouble and as a result the players were offered part-time contracts.

Many of the players decided they wished to leave and Bailham was one of them.

That season had seen him score 20 goals for the Lilywhites (9 in the league and 11 in other matches).

After totalling 126 goals for the City, Bailham joined league rivals Worcester City for a fee of around £2,000.

Worcester at that time were struggling and, despite, being a regular scorer, Bailham couldn`t prevent them from being relegated.

Although he intended to stay and help Worcester re-gain their place in the Premier Division, he joined Wimbledon in October 1967 for £1,600 after criticism of his style of play by the management and supporters.

At Wimbledon, he helped them finish as Southern League runners-up in 1968/69 and Southern League Cup winners in 1969/70.

In January 1972, he returned to Cambridge City and in 72/73 he netted 21 league goals before leaving Milton Road again, finishing his playing career with Southern League Division One South side Bexley United and, in 1974/75, Isthmian League Division Two outfit Chesham United.

Following a trial at Southampton, GRAHAM ROBERTS was told by manager Lawrie McMenemy: “We don’t think you’ll ever make it as a professional footballer”!

This was an early blow at 16 for Roberts, but potentially one that made him stronger over time.

After the trial, Roberts was unemployed, on the dole and looking for a club; Bournemouth came calling but after a successful season in the youth team, the club ran into financial troubles and decided to scrap their entire youth team – so again Roberts found himself on the dole and without a club.

Luckily for Roberts, his coach at Bournemouth helped him continue his apprenticeship, this time at Fratton Park for Portsmouth – at this stage in his career Roberts was playing as a striker and scored 49 goals in his first season with Portsmouth youth team.

The next season he was given a chance in a pre-season friendly to prove his worth but only 45 seconds after coming on as a substitute, Roberts suffered a horrendous challenge that broke his left ankle – the club then reneged on the contract, over fears that he would never recover from the injury.

So again, Roberts was left without a club in early 1978 and turned instead to a manual labour job, which, as Roberts accounts in the book, allows him to play on a part-time basis with Southern League Premier Division club Dorchester Town.

He proved to be a big success at the Avenue Stadium and soon had interest from other clubs, despite playing in a struggling side.

The 1979/80 season saw the Magpies in the re-jigged South Division, and they won the title and became a member of the newly-formed Premier Division.

However, Roberts had left Dorchester midway through the season, joining neighbours Weymouth early in the campaign for £6,000.

Roberts` former boss at Bournemouth, Stuart Morgan, came back in for him and took him to the now-Alliance Premier League outfit where, despite holding down two jobs, he impressed enough for Football League clubs to start calling.

And, after just 29 appearances for the Terras and 6 goals, Roberts was sold to First Division giants Tottenham Hotspur in May 1980 for £35,000.

He went on to win six caps for England and make over 200 appearances for Spurs and go on to win honours with Glasgow Rangers and Chelsea and turn out for West Bromwich Albion before embarking on a managerial career back in non-League football with Enfield, Yeovil Town, Chesham United, Hertford Town, Boreham Wood, Clyde and internationally with Pakistan and Nepal.

1970s superstar MALCOLM McDONALD is widely regarded as Tonbridge's finest product and was recently included in a list of "100 League Legends".

He joined then-Southern League Premier Division Tonbridge as a junior in 1965 and signed professional in July 1967.

He started in the first team as a full-back, then played on the wing before Harry Haslam switched him to centre-forward against Gravesend in a Kent Floodlit Cup tie in March 1968.

He scored a hat-trick and he never looked back, making 40 appearances that season and scoring 8 more goals.

Fulham paid £1,000 for him in August 1968 but he played only 13 games with 5 goals before leaving for Luton Town, now managed by his old Tonbridge boss Harry Haslam.

Newcastle United paid £180,000 to take him to St James`s Park after 49 goals in 88 games for the Hatters.

And after 187 games and 95 goals for the Magpies and scoring 5 goals for England against Cyprus – he won 14 caps and totalled 6 goals – he moved to Arsenal for £333,333.

He retired in 1979 with knee trouble after 191 League goals and went on to manage Fulham and Huddersfield Town before going into the media.

HAROLD HOBBIS won two caps for England in 1936 as an outside left, playing against Austria and in Belgium.

He had started his career in the Athenian League with Bromley before signing for Charlton Athletic in 1931.

Despite losing almost nine years to the Second World War, Hobbis totalled 248 appearances for Charlton, scoring 76 goals, and guested for West Ham United during the war.

In 1948, Hobbis joined Tonbridge as player-manager – the Kent side had just joined the Southern League.

Despite finishing second-from-bottom in their first season, results gradually picked up under the unusual partnership of player-boss Hobbis and player/secretary Len Richley, who went on to manage King`s Lynn for six years.

EDDIE SHIMWELL is another of the `one cap wonders`, having played against Sweden in 1949.

He began his career with local club Wirksworth and then Birchover Old Boys, also assisting Mill Close Miners Welfare and represented Derby & District Senior League.

Despite an unsuccessful trial with Derby County, Shimwell joined Birchover in the Hope Valley Amateur League, from where he signed professional forms with Sheffield United in January 1939, but following the war, during which he guested with Southampton, and after 14 League appearances, United refused to allow Shimwell to be a licensed victualler of the Plough Inn in Two Dales, he requested a transfer and chose to sign for Blackpool in December 1946 for £8,000.

In 1948, Shimwell became the first full-back to score in an FA Cup Final when he scored a 12th-minute penalty in a 4-2 defeat to Manchester United.

After 283 appearances, 5 goals and another appearance in the `Matthews Final`, Shimwell signed with Oldham Athletic in May 1957.

He took up the player-manager role at then-Birmingham League side Burton Albion in May 1958, retiring at the end of that year.

In 1958 the Brewers took the next stage in their development with the switch to the Southern League and also a move from Wellington Street to Eton Park on the opposite side of the town.

The club struggled in the Southern League finishing bottom in their first season and generally struggling in the lower reaches of the league.

After leaving the Brewers, Shimwell wrapped up his playing days with Matlock Town, then in the Midland League.

BARRIE JONES began his career with his home-town club Swansea Town in 1959.

A highly skilled winger, he was a Welsh under-23 international and made his full international debut in October 1962 against Scotland at Ninian Park, the first of 15 caps.

After six years with Swansea he was signed by Malcolm Allison for Plymouth Argyle for a then club-record £45,000, which was at the time also a British record fee for a winger.

After almost three good years at Home Park, during which time he helped the club reach the League Cup semi-final and make over 100 appearances, he returned to Wales to play for Cardiff City in exchange for a £25,000 fee.

A switch to a more central midfield role saw Jones virtually ever-present for the next three years, during which time Cardiff won three Welsh Cups and had a memorable run to the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup.

A broken leg suffered in October 1969 saw his professional career brought to a premature end, despite several comeback attempts, after which he had signed for Southern League Premier Division side Yeovil Town in 1971.

He made 33 appearances and scored once for the Glovers before moving to league rivals Worcester City for the following season before finally hanging up his boots back in Wales with Southern League Midland Division side Merthyr Tydfil in 1973/74.

After football, he ran a squash centre, worked in Swansea leisure centre and also coached sport in a school.

LESLIE SMITH was another to have won just the one cap for England, just before the Second World War in a 2-0 win in Romania.

Played schoolboy football in West London schools and played for junior clubs such as Petersham in 1932 and Wimbledon in 1933.

Whilst with Wimbledon, Smith played in the 1935 FA Amateur Cup Final against Bishop Auckland at Wembley – and he remains the youngest player ever to feature in an Amateur Cup final.

He earned experience with Hayes before he turned professional with Brentford in March 1936.

He guested for Chelsea during the war. After 67 league appearances for the Bee's, and 7 goals, he joined Aston Villa in October 1945 for £7,500.

He repaid the fee with 31 goals in 181 league outings.

Smith returned to Brentford in June 1952 for a £3,000 fee but only played 14 appearances, scoring once.

In August 1953, Smith then joined Southern League club Kidderminster Harriers, becoming their player-manager for the season, finishing in fifth place.

He later became a scout for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

REG MATTHEWS (pictured in action) won five England caps while with his local club, Coventry City, in the Third Division South, but after joining First Division Chelsea for a then-record fee for a goalkeeper of £22,000, he never played for his country again.

Standing 5`10”, at just over 12 stone, he was hardly a giant among goalkeepers, but his anticipation, courage and athleticism soon drew the attention of the England selectors.

They gave him his first international cap in April 1956 against Scotland at Hampden Park.

Matthews did well - a spectacular goal by the little Scottish winger Graham Leggat beat him - but Johnny Haynes scored for England and the game finished 1-1.

After playing for Coventry more than 100 times, Matthews moved to Chelsea for a then-record fee for a goalkeeper - £22,500 - displacing Bill Robertson and staying for five years, during which he played almost 150 times.

By the end of the 1960/61 season, he had been displaced by the rising young Peter Bonetti and the following season saw him joining Derby County, making 25 appearances for them in the Second Division.

Altogether he made more than 200 appearances for the Rams to the end of the 1966/67 season.

He also took over as player-manager of Southern League Premier Division club Rugby Town in the summer of 1968.

However, it wasn`t a good season as they finished second-from-bottom and were relegated to the First Division.

He later coached West Midlands (Regional) League side Coventry Amateurs.

BOBBY THOMSON won eight caps for England between 1963 and 1964 and was rather unfortunate to have been around at the same time as Ray Wilson, otherwise many pundits thought he would have made the 1966 World Cup squad.

He made 278 appearances for Wolves between 1961 and 1969 and helped them gain promotion to the First Division in 66/67 as runners-up to Coventry City. However, he did not remain long at the club after Ronnie Allen was replaced by the strident Bill McGarry in November 1968, accepting a £40,000 transfer to Second Division Birmingham City in the following spring.

At St Andrew's, where he was reunited with his former mentor, Stan Cullis, he put in a season of solid endeavour before losing his place.

A brief loan stint with Third Division Walsall followed in 1971/72 before the then-28-year-old returned to the Second Division with Luton Town in June 1972.

He was ever-present as the Hatters earned a place among the elite by finishing second to Middlesbrough in 1973/74 but fell out of favour during a season of travail back in the First Division.

By now his best days were behind him and his Football League sojourn ended with brief service for Port Vale in the Third Division.

During the later stage of his career, Thomson spent summers in the United States, assisting Hartford Bicentennials (later re-branded Connecticut Bicentennials) and Memphis Rogues.

In between, he had a season in the Southern League Premier Division with Worcester City, helping them finish fourth in 77/78.

Back from the USA again, he spent 79/80 in the Alliance Premier League as player-manager of Stafford Rangers, but they finished second-from-bottom and he was replaced.

He then wound-down his career in the West Midlands (Regional) League with Willenhall Town, Brewood and Tipton Town and the Midland Combination with Solihull Borough while running a sports shop in Sedgley, in the heart of the Black Country.

TOM WARING played five times for England and scored 4 goals between 1931 and 1932.

Known as `Pongo` Waring, he started his career playing schoolboy football in Birkenhead and played as a junior with Tranmere Celtic.

He signed for Tranmere Rovers in early 1926 and scored 23 goals in just 24 appearances.

Aston Villa then beat several clubs to pay £4,750 for him in February 1928 – a significant sum in those days.

Following 159 goals in 216 appearances, Barnsley broke their transfer record to signed him in November 1935.

After just 18 appearances and 7 goals, he moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers in July 1936, where he scored just 3 more goals in just 10 more appearances as he lasted just three months before he returned to Tranmere in October and 42 goals in 74 appearances followed.

He signed for Accrington Stanley in November 1938, who broke their own transfer record to bring him and Herbert Hamilton to Peel Park.

After 10 goals in 22 appearances, he signed for Southern League Western Division side Bath City in July 1939.

He continued to play various local works sides, including Ellesmere Port Town, shipyard club Grayson's, Birkenhead Dockers and after the war, at the age of 40, he returned `home` to turn out for Ellesmere Port.

FRANK WIGNALL was capped twice by Alf Ramsey`s England in November 1964 against Wales when he scored both goals in a 2-1 Home International win and then played in a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam against Holland.

But with competition leading towards the 1966 World Cup fierce amongst the forwards, Wignall wasn`t given another opportunity, which seems a little harsh after bagging two on debut!

After starting out at Everton, where he made 33 appearances and scored a creditable 15 goals, Wignall was sold to Nottingham Forest in 1963.

He went on to play 157 times for Forest and scoring 47 goals for Forest until 1968 when he moved to Wolves, where he spent a season, adding 32 games and 15 goals to his tally.

In 1969, Wignall was signed by Brian Clough for Derby County, playing 45 games with 15 more goals.

A two-year spell with Mansfield Town followed before he joined King`s Lynn in the Southern League Division One North as player-manager.

He had 62 games with the Linnets before having a short spell in the Southern League Premier Division with Burton Albion as a player in 1974.

After managing in Qatar, he returned to England and in 1981 took over as manager of Shepshed Charterhouse, then in the Midland Counties League.

Had great success at Shepshed with former Forest and Manchester United winger Ian Storey-Moore as his player-coach, winning the last ever Midland Counties League title in 1981/82 and following that up with being the first-ever champions of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.

Success didn`t end there, however, as in their first season in the Southern League in 83/84, Shepshed finished as runners-up to Willenhall Town to win promotion from the Southern League Midland Division to the Premier.

Goalkeeper VIC WOODLEY started his career playing junior football in the Buckinghamshire area, and played for Windsor & Eton of the Spartan League as an amateur.

He had trials with Chelsea and Aldershot but joined the former in May 1931.

He remained with Chelsea, making 252 League appearances and won 19 England international caps between 1937 and 1939, including being a member of the side which toured Nazi Germany in 1938, performing the Hitler salute before the match at the Olympiastadion.

After the war he joined Southern League side Bath City in December 1945 after being given a free transfer by Chelsea.

However, at the age of 36, he returned to the First Division and signed for Derby County just three months later during an injury crisis at the Baseball Ground, and he made another 30 appearances.

Amazingly, his last game for the Rams was when he was winning the FA Cup with them, beating Charlton Athletic 4-1.

He returned to Bath in May 1947, as player-manager, where he remained until he resigned in December 1949 after 11th and 13th finishes respectively.

In February 1950, then-Wiltshire League side Melksham Town approached Woodley to sign him as an amateur (in those days players had to apply to become an amateur if they had previously been a professional) – but it was an opportunity Woodley turned down.

BOB LATCHFORD was once the country`s most expensive footballer when he transferred from Birmingham City to Everton for £350,000 in 1974.

It was credit to Birmingham that they nurtured two of the most expensive players in the game at the same time, with Latchford`s former attacking partner Trevor Francis becoming the first £1m player five years later.

Latchford had scored 68 goals in 160 games for the second city Blues, but it was with Everton where his game really flourished, playing 236 matches and scoring 106 goals.

However, it was a shame for him that his spell with the Toffees came a little too early as the only honour he won with them was a 1977 League Cup runners-up medal.

He did though win twelve full England international caps to go with his appearances for the England Youth and under-23 sides.

In 1981, John Toshack made him one of his first signings after Swansea City made the First Division for the first time and he bagged a hat-trick against Leeds United on debut!

He played 87 times for the Swans, scoring 35 goals, before spending a season in Dutch football with NEC Breda.

Short spells with Coventry City and Lincoln City followed before he returned to South Wales and signed for Southern League Midland Division side Merthyr Tydfil.

And, although his stay at Penydarren Park was a fairly brief one, the then-35-year-old played a pivotal role in a marvellous season for Martyrs’ fans.

Then-Merthyr chairman John Reddy and manager Lyn Jones managed to persuade a sceptical Latchford to play on for another year, despite him being set on retirement.

Latchford didn’t believe his body was fit for more action, but Reddy and Jones knew raising the profile of the club and its gate receipts would help deliver on the field success.

He brought a name, which meant other players considering coming down the leagues were influenced as they knew Merthyr were ambitious.

And Latchford played a major role in Merthyr`s famous Welsh Cup win, scoring as Merthyr drew the final at Cardiff`s Ninian Park against Newport County and then won the replay.

That gave the Southern League minnows a place in the European Cup Winners` Cup and a tie with Italian giants Atalanta.

Reddy and the club spent an awful lot of money (around £250,000) in improving Penydarren Park so they could host Atalanta at home rather than at a neutral venue.

Merthyr’s players rewarded Reddy and his Board of Directors by shocking Atalanta at Penydarren Park in a 2-1 win.

However, a 2-0 defeat in the return leg at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia followed to bow out 3-2 on aggregate, but they had done the country and the league proud.

Latchford also came close to helping Merthyr win promotion but, for the second successive season, they finished agonisingly in third place.

But the veteran forward, whilst not prolific himself, played a major role in the development of attacking youngsters like Dave Webley.

After his short but immensely successful period with the Martyrs, Latchford left to pursue other business opportunities.

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 ten 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 Isthmian League Premier Division side Hendon and then saw out the rest of the season with 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!