Southern League Favourites (Part Five)

Another selection of players who graced the league.

Powerful midfielder DARREN BULLOCK signed for Southern League Midland Division club Nuneaton Borough in the summer of 1992, brought in by manager George Rooney from West Midlands (Regional) League side Malvern Town.

He helped Boro to win the Midland Division title in his first season and speculation was rife that he was on the radar of FA Premiership neighbours Coventry City.

However, in November 1993, Bullock signed for Second Division Huddersfield Town in a deal worth £60,000 – a record fee for a Nuneaton player.

The midfielder was signed by someone who knew all about non-League football, Neil Warnock, on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Boro received an initial £40,000 with a further £20,000 to come depending on appearances.

Well, they certainly received that as Bullock went on to play 128 times for the Terriers, scoring 17 goals.

In 1997, he moved to Swindon Town for £400,000 where he made 71 appearances and scored twice during two years at the County Ground.

A £200,000 fee took him to Bury where he added 63 games to his tally and also had loan spells with Rushden & Diamonds and Sheffield United, where he was re-united with Neil Warnock.

In 2001, he returned to non-League football with Southern League Premier Division Worcester City

But he was sacked by Worcester over disciplinary problems in March 2002 – he had been sent-off twice in six games.

He then turned out for Evesham United and Bromyard Town before returning to play for Malvern in February 2004.

He later had a spell as manager of Midland Combination side Archdales '73.

KEVIN MURRAY was a stalwart goalkeeper with Cambridge City in particular.

He had two spells with City, sandwiched by a period spent with Saffron Walden Town in the Eastern Counties League.

He created a new Southern League record for consecutive games.

At the start of the 1995/96 season, he reached 326 consecutive Premier Division games.

Bishops Cleeve-born PAUL COLLICUTT (pictured) started his career with Swindon Town without managing to make too much impression as a professional.

He went on to play in the Southern League for Trowbridge Town and captained Cheltenham Town to the Southern League title and promotion to the Alliance Premier League in 1985.

He went on to play for Gloucester City, Forest Green Rovers, Newport AFC and Cinderford Town.

He re-joined his home-town club, Bishops Cleeve, as a player in 1999 and during his decade at the club went on to successfully manage them into the Southern League.

He returned to management with Evesham United in November 2013 having been assistant to Nick Jordan.

Left-winger BILLY WRIGHT joined Tonbridge during the summer of 1962 from Millwall and was to spend three seasons at The Angel Ground, making 145 appearances and scoring 37 goals.

During the 1963/64 campaign, he was part of the squad that earned promotion from the Southern League Southern Division to the Premier.

His early football career saw him start out at Blackpool in 1950 as an understudy to the great Stanley Matthews.

Such an illustrious team-mate playing in his position meant that his opportunities were limited, so he was forced to leave his home-town club.

He then spent three years at Leicester City where he helped them to win promotion, scoring 10 goals in 27 games.

That was followed by spells at Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle.

After 42 appearances for the Pilgrims he moved on to Millwall but his time at The Den proved to be limited by injury and he left after just 16 appearances to join Tonbridge and then Bexley United before hanging up his boots at the age of 35.

PHIL HAYES was a diminutive striker with a phenomenal goalscoring record.

He started his career with Millwall and spent a couple of years at The Den without managing to break into their Football League side.

After a trial with Cambridge United, he signed for the Southern League Premier Division club in 1959 and played 137 games, scoring 97 goals!

He needed to move to a club nearer his north London home though and he was signed by former Newcastle United and England legend Jackie Milburn for Yiewsley, later to become Hillingdon Borough.

He went on to return to Cambridge, but this time to play for Cambridge City and also turned out for Ramsgate in the Southern League before having a spell as manager of Stotfold in the South Midlands League.

DARREN COLLINS was another prolific goalscorer who proved he knew where the back of the net was at all levels.

Born in Winchester, his career began with then-Isthmian League Division Two South side Petersfield United.

His performances for Petersfield soon attracted attention but it was Third Division Northampton Town who won the race for the 21-year-old in 1989, paying £2,500 for his services.

He played 51 times for the Cobblers, scoring 11 goals before being signed by then-Isthmian League Premier Division side Aylesbury United for a £5,000 fee.

He netted a hat-trick on his debut for the Ducks and totalled 35 goals in 52 matches – netting in his last game for Aylesbury against Wivenhoe Town in December 1992, before moving to league rivals Enfield in a player-swap deal for Graham Westley.

He was successful at Enfield, earning four England semi-professional international caps and scoring 45 times in 88 games for the E`s.

Then, in July 1994, the emerging Rushden & Diamonds, who had just won the Southern League Midland Division, paid £20,000 to take him to Nene Park.

Two years later, Collins scored 39 times as Diamonds clinched the Southern League Premier Division title and promotion to the Conference.

He spent six years at Nene Park and became the club's record goalscorer with 153 goals before being sold to fierce rivals Kettering Town for £25,000 in November 2000 and skippered the Poppies to the Southern League Premier Division title.

He moved to Tamworth in December 2002 and, after helping them to promotion from the Southern League to the Conference, stayed in the Southern Premier with Grantham Town in August 2003, signed by his former Diamonds boss Roger Ashby.

Collins then had a brief spell with Nuneaton Borough before playing for United Counties League sides Cogenhoe United and Wellingborough Town where, along with former Diamonds` team-mates Nick Ashby, Tim Wooding and Andy Peaks, he scored 50 goals in just 46 games – at the age of 40!

He later had a spell as manager of Cogenhoe and was assistant-manager at Brackley Town alongside another former Diamonds` team-mate, Jon Brady, and the pair led the Northamptonshire side to win the Southern League Premier Division title in 2012.

KEN GOODEVE is a defender who had long playing career that saw him still turning out at a decent level into his late 40s.

Born in Manchester, he fulfilled a dream by being signed by Manchester United as a schoolboy in 1965.

He turned professional two years later, but despite captaining the Reds` youth team, he did not progress to the first team.

In April 1970, Goodeve joined Second Division club Luton Town as part of a £35,000 deal that also involved Don Givens, Jimmy Ryan and Peter Woods going to Kenilworth Road.

Goodeve went on to make 15 League appearances for the Hatters, 6 at Brighton, signed by Brian Clough for £20,000 after moving south in 1973, and then 67 for Watford between 1974 and 1976, scoring 4 goals.

However, a persistent injury forced him to give up playing full-time and he eventually signed for his local club Wootton Blue Cross in the United Counties League after 18 months out of the game.

Then, in 1977 he was signed by Barry Fry for Southern League Premier Division side Bedford Town.

Goodeve stayed loyal to the Eagles through the ups and downs of the period of Fry`s management and then Trevor Gould, and made 255 appearances, netting 21 goals before the club folded in 1981/82.

After a brief spell with Isthmian Premier outfit Hitchin Town, he was back in the Southern League Premier Division after being signed by John Chambers for Kidderminster Harriers.

He spent from August 1982 until December `82 making 25 appearances at Aggborough before returning nearer home with United Counties Leaguers Buckingham Town, then Isthmian League Division Two side Barton Rovers, back in the UCL with Kempston Rovers and then he returned to Wootton Blue Cross, who he managed between 1993 and 1997 and still turned out regularly at the age of 46!

Despite being born in County Durham and starting out as a teenager with his local team, Hylton Colliery Welfare in the Wearside League, HARRY HOOPER`S career took off when he moved to London with his father, also named Harry.

Hooper Snr was appointed as assistant trainer at West Ham United in 1950 and he brought his 17-year-old son with him to the Boleyn Ground.

The goalscoring winger went on to play 119 league matches, scoring 39 goals for the Hammers.

He became something of a star attraction in the Second Division and was picked to represent the Football League against the Irish League in 1954 and against the Scottish League in 1955 and also earned England under-23 international caps and also played for the London XI in a 5-0 win in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup group stage game against the Basel XI in June 1955.

Hooper moved to First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers for £25,000 in March 1956 – the equivalent of around £700,000 nowadays.

Wolves were the big team of the era and he found it hard to get a regular game for Stan Cullis` all-star team.

He still managed 19 goals in 39 league matches before being sold to fellow First Division neighbours Birmingham City for £20,000 in 1957, playing 105 league matches and scoring 34 goals, before returning to his native north-east with Sunderland for a fee of £18,000 in 1960.

He made 65 appearances for the Black Cats, scoring 16 goals.

Then, in the summer of 1963, Hooper signed for Southern League Premier Division side Kettering Town.

Unfortunately for him, the Poppies were struggling under Wally Akers, who resigned midway through the season and former England star Tommy Lawton came back to become caretaker manager.

Although he had a bit of joy by leading the Poppies to a famous FA Cup win against Millwall in which Hooper played a starring role, the club were relegated to the First Division at the end of the 63/64 season.

Hooper made around 70 appearances for Kettering but was unable to help them back to the Premier Division and left to join the newly-promoted Southern First Division side Dunstable Town in 1965.

He had a couple of years at Creasey Park and finished his playing days with then-Midland Leaguers Heanor Town before retiring in 1968.

DEREK HOGG was a team-mate of Harry Hooper at Kettering, having moved to Rockingham Road earlier in the summer of 1962.

Like Hooper, Hogg hails from the north east but started out in football in the Lancashire Combination with Lostock Hall and then Chorley.

He had trials with Preston North End but wasn`t take on. Instead he was signed by Leicester City in October 1952 as a right-winger.

However, he only became a regular with the Foxes after switching to the left flank at the start of the 1954/55 First Division season.

By October 1955 his effective, but occasionally over-elaborate dribbling style had earned him a call-up for the Football League against the Scottish League, playing with Hooper, and he became a key contributor to Leicester`s 1957 Second Division championship win, working as an effective harness with Arthur Rowley.

After making 161 appearances and scoring 26 goals for City, West Bromwich Albion paid £20,000 to take Hogg to The Hawthorns in April 1958 and he boosted their First Division challenge.

He played 81 times for the Baggies, with 11 goals, before moving to Cardiff City in October 1960, ironically making a scoring debut at Ninian Park against Leicester!

Perhaps one of Hogg`s finest moments at Cardiff was when he scored one of the goals in their defeat of the invincible Tottenham Hotspur side in front of 48,000 at Ninian Park in March 11th 1961 (Spurs went on to take the League and FA Cup `double`).

Hogg`s goal is described in the Cardiff club history as ‘one of the finest scored on the ground’.

He made 41 appearances for the Bluebirds, with 7 goals, before signing for Kettering in July 1962.

Like Hooper, despite a talented, if somewhat ageing side, Kettering struggled in Hogg`s time at Rockingham Road, although he did manage over 100 games for the Poppies before retiring in 1965.