They Played in the Southern Football League

Featuring players who spent some of their careers in the Southern League.

Goalkeeper Nick Flower had the nickname of `fingers` throughout his career.

With Swindon Town as an apprentice, he had spells with Salisbury and Bashley, Havant Town and Fareham Town, returning to Bashley in February 1994 after a second spell at Havant.

He won three Wessex League title-winning medals and also spent a good deal of time at the height of his career in the Southern League.

In 2003 he was playing for Newport Isle of Wight under former team-mate Steve Tate in the Southern Division One East.

In August 2006, Flower was back on scene with Wessex League Premier outfit Lymington Town.

After a spell out of the game, the then-43-year-old stepped in as John Pyatt's number two at Southampton Road.

Flower, a bricklayer and odd-job man, lives close to the ground in Pennington and got to know Pyatt when he did some work for his concreting company.

Another highly-rated goalkeeper - currently the academy goalkeeping coach of Premier League side Sheffield United - was Matt Duke.

Duke started out with then-Northern Counties East League side Alfreton Town before being signed by Nigel Clough for Burton Albion in September 2000, then aged 23.

The Brewers were competing in the Southern League Premier Division and Clough had no problem in putting Duke straight into the first team, replacing the popular veteran former Kettering Town, Corby Town and Telford United ‘keeper Nick Goodwin.

Duke`s confidence grew as Albion battled for promotion and also enjoyed runs in the FA Cup, where they reached the First Round before losing to Conference side Kidderminster Harriers, and the FA Trophy, where heartbreakingly the Brewers were beaten on aggregate by Yeovil Town in the semi-finals.

Come the end of the season when Clough`s men finished second behind Margate, he had established himself as one of the key men in the team.

The 2000/01 season was to be Burton`s last in the Southern League as they were switched back to the Northern Premier League for the first time in 14 seasons, winning the title in their first campaign back.

Duke remained a Brewer for their first two Conference seasons, and his importance to the team was underlined in his final season when a broken arm forced him out for three months – three months that saw the Brewers drop towards the relegation zone.

In the summer of 2004, Duke signed for Hull City in a deal worth £60,000.

He played 50 times for the Tigers and also had loan spells out at Stockport County, Wycombe Wanderers and Derby County, before leaving for Bradford City in 2011.

And Duke`s heroics throughout the 2012/13 season helped Phil Parkinson's side on their way to the then-Capital One Cup Final.

Spells with Northampton Town, back at Alfreton – now a National League North outfit – and Chesterfield preceded him moving into coaching.

Big, pacey forward John Williams was initially with West Midlands (Regional) League side Cradley Town before he moved to Swansea City in August 1991 and was leading marksman in 1991/92.

He joined Coventry City for £250,000 in July 1992 and was loaned back to Swansea before joining Wycombe Wanderers for £150,000 in September 1995.

After spells at Hereford United, Walsall and Exeter City, he helped Cardiff City win promotion in 1998/99 and then played for York City and Darlington.

He re-joined Swansea in July 2001 and netted 18 goals in 113 League games overall.

Moving to then-Third Division side Kidderminster Harriers in August 2003, making 44 appearances and scoring 4 times.

In 2005 he began his spell in the Southern League with Premier Division Bath City.

He finished as top scorer for City in 2004/05 with 19 goals before completing a move to Conference North side Redditch United in May 2005.

The then-37-year-old was offered a new deal to remain with City but chose to join a club nearer to his Birmingham home.

His spell with the Reds was a brief one and he returned to the Southern League with spells at Evesham United and Stourbridge as well as a short time back in the Conference South with Weston-super-Mare and then with Southern Division One West outfit Willenhall Town, managed by Mel Eves, in September 2007.

In August 2008, Williams scored a hat-trick in the for Midland Alliance side Boldmere St Michaels against Shifnal Town at the age of 40.

Although Louie Donowa`s time as a Southern League player was quite brief, it was still quite a coup when he signed for Boston United during their short tenure in the league and then Tamworth.

Despite being a native of Ipswich, Donowa joined arch-rivals Norwich City as a youth in 1980 aged 16, turning professional in September 1982.

Part of the FA Youth Cup-winning side of 1983, he managed to make the step-up to professional football in the top-flight making his first-team debut against Sunderland in the Milk Cup in 1982.

By the time he departed for Spain and Deportivo La Coruna in February 1986, he had made 80 appearances for the Canaries, scoring 15 times.

The highlight of this spell being the Milk Cup victory over Sunderland in April 1985.

He spent three years in Spain before returning to England and his home-town team Ipswich Town although he had trials with Sheffield United and Dutch side Willem 11 Tilburg.

He played 23 games for the Suffolk side which preceded a move to Bristol City in July 1990 and the following summer he joined Birmingham City.

He made 116 League appearances for the Blues, scoring 18 goals, and also had loan spells at Burnley, Crystal Palace, Shrewsbury Town and Walsall.

He followed manager Barry Fry to Second Division Peterborough United in the summer of 1996 and in July 1997, he was transferred to Walsall before he joined Scottish side Ayr United.

In July 1998, Donowa had a trial with Cambridge United and was expected to be offered a short-term contract. Surprisingly, he didn't travel with the U's to Torquay for their opening game of the 1998/99 season and instead played for King's Lynn in a friendly against Boreham Wood. He then signed for the Finnish side TPS Turku.

In March 1999 he signed for Boston, although his stay in Lincolnshire was brief as he only played one game against Atherstone United before being released.

On signing deadline day, he had joined Boston`s league rivals Tamworth.

Steve Crouch was a Gloucester-born midfielder who progressed through the ranks at neighbours Cheltenham Town`s youth and reserve sides to spend two seasons in the first team playing in the Conference.

He made 60 appearances for the Robins, scoring 5 goals, before leaving for Southern Midland Division side Stroud at the start of the 1991/92 season.

After a short spell with Shepshed Charterhouse in the Northern Premier League, Crouch signed for his home-town club Gloucester City at the beginning of February 1992.

He went on to play 88 times for the Tigers in the Southern Premier Division before going on to have spells with Weston-super-Mare, Witney Town, Newport AFC and Cinderford Town.

Striker Darren Rowbotham began his career as a youth player with Plymouth Argyle, and turned professional with the Pilgrims in November 1984.

He made 46 appearances - 24 of them off the bench - and scored 2 goals.

He was part of the transfer deal that took Nicky Marker from Exeter City to Plymouth in October 1987, Rowbotham going in the opposite direction, and he struggled to make an impact early on at St James’ Park.

Making his debut against Hereford United at Edgar Street in October 1987, he scored 2 goals in 23 appearances in his first season at Exeter.

Converted to a front runner for the following season, Rowbotham was a revelation as he went on to top the scoring with 20 goals.

A key player in Exeter winning the Fourth Division title in the 1989/90 season with 20 goals in just 32 outings, his goalscoring had linked him with possible moves to top-flight football.

However, he sustained a serious knee injury which kept him out of football for a year.

After four years at Exeter, where he scored 58 goals in 142 games in all competitions, he joined Torquay United for a fee of £25,000.

Only four months later he moved on again, following his former Exeter manager Terry Cooper to Birmingham City for a fee of £20,000.

He scored 6 goals in 36 matches for Birmingham but also had loan spells with Mansfield Town and Hereford United.

He signed for Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer in July 1993 and enjoyed a successful time there, netting 21 goals in 61 outings.

He then moved to Shrewsbury Town in July 1995, adding a further 9 goals in 40 appearances.

He returned to Exeter for a second spell in October 1996 and again was amongst the goals, scoring 37 times in 118 appearances.

However, he was allowed to join Leyton Orient on a month’s loan in November 1999, and he was subsequently released at the end of the 1999/00 season.

He ended his playing career by spending a couple of years with Weymouth in the Southern League Premier Division, playing in the same team as his brother, Jason.

In 2010 he was living in Kingsteignton and was working for Leyland Daf.

Going further back in time, Horace Woodward was considered by many supporters of Tonbridge to have been among the best central defenders that the club has ever had.

Johnny `Horace` Woodward was born in Islingston in 1924 and signed as an amateur for Tottenham Hotspur in 1939.

In 1941 he made his senior debut in the London Wartime League.

During World War II he served as a gunner in the Merchant Navy and on his return from duty Spurs offered him a professional contract in May 1946.

The central defender made his League debut against Newport County in September 1946 when he replaced the injured Bill Nicholson, the future legendary Tottenham manager.

Woodward played a total of 67 matches in all competitions and scored one goal for Spurs between 1946 and 1949.

Queens Park Rangers paid £10,500 for his services in 1949 and he made 57 appearances for the Hoops.

After leaving Loftus Road he joined Southern League Tonbridge in 1951 and went on to have brief spells at Snowdown Colliery Welfare, Stourbridge and Walsall, where made 5 appearances in 1953.

During his two-season spell with Tonbridge, he made 70 appearances, scoring on two occasions.

Woodward became player-manager at Horsham, who were members of the Metropolitan & District League and Corinthian League at the time, before taking charge at Willesden in various leagues, including the Delphian and Spartan Leagues, and at Spartan League Kingsbury Town - a post he held until 1971.

He later went on to occasionally manage the Maccabi club of London.

He continued to play football throughout the 1960s and regularly turned out for the Ex-Spurs XI while employed by Schweppes and then the British Oxygen Company.

Woodward retired in 1988 before settling in Willesden and died after a long illness in a Cricklewood nursing home in August 2002, aged 78.

Defender Dominic Dunton began his playing career at Norwich City but followed his youth team coach Kit Carson to Peterborough United.

Impressing in Posh`s youth side, he, unfortunately, broke his leg and that ended any chance of a professional career.

He moved to Hellenic League Cirencester Academy and then onto Southern League sides Cirencester Town, Witney Town, Gloucester City and Swindon Supermarine.

After a trial with AFC Newbury, he returned for a second stint with Gloucester where he played as right back.

He finished off his playing career with Hellenic League sides Fairford Town, Cirencester United, Hungerford Town and Tytherington Rocks as well as Western Leaguers Devizes Town.

Bela Olah had begun to make a name for himself as a footballer playing in Hungary’s top division at the age of 15 and as a Hungarian Youth international when the 1956 uprising forced him to make the difficult decision to leave his mother and family to seek out a new life elsewhere.

Having successfully crossed the Hungarian border, only to unwittingly re-enter the country at a different point, he eventually made it to Austria.

He then chose to come to England because, “England was a world soccer force, second then only to Hungary.”

His love of the game drew him to local park football where he was spotted by Tim Kelly, then manager of Southern League Bedford Town in 1957.

After making 20 appearances for the Eagles as an amateur, an opportunity for advancement arose when he signed, initially still as an amateur, for Northampton Town playing in Division Four.

FA rules at the time stated that he could only play professionally once he had been in the country for two years.

He went on to play for the Cobblers 48 times between December 1958 and 1961.

He subsequently returned to the Southern League Premier Division with Wisbech Town in 1961 before moving down to Sussex to join Southern Division One outfit Hastings United, playing under Ted Ballard and then Sid Bishop.

In 1966 he moved along the coast to Kent rivals Dover before returning to Hastings to become player-manager of Sussex County League side Rye United in 1968.

He became the first Rye player to receive a wage of around £4 a week and then continued as manager after retiring from playing at the age of 38.

He settled in Hastings and died there in March 2016 after a battle with Alzheimer's.

Goalkeeper Trevor Inch was originally an apprentice and then professional with Portsmouth.

He signed for Chelmsford City in August 1986 after spells at Fourth Division Southend United and Southern League Premier Division rivals Crawley Town.

Unfortunately, an injury suffered whilst he was at Fratton Park hampered his career and he played only 37 games for Chelmsford before leaving in January 1987.

The highlight of his time at Chelmsford was an FA Cup Second Round tie at Gillingham in December 1986 when two goals from Republic of Ireland international striker Tony Cascarino were enough to see the Gills through in front of a crowd of 5,843.

It was certainly an improvement for the Clarets, who, just three years earlier, had lost 6-1 at Priestfield in another Second Round tie!

Inch had a short spell at then-Isthmian League side Basingstoke Town before hanging up his boots at a relatively young age.

He has gone on to become a successful businessman and is currently managing director of the Sillsport Investment Group.

Forward Geoff Bray began his career as an apprentice at Gillingham in 1967.

His fellow apprentices at the Priestfield Stadium at the time included David Peach, who went on to make over 200 senior appearance for the Gills and then make a name for himself at Southampton, playing over 250 games for the Saints, including the FA Cup and League Cup finals at Wembley.

But, despite being a regular goalscorer for the Gills` reserves, Bray was never given a first-team chance and drifted into non-League football with then Athenian League side Erith & Belvedere in 1970.

In July 1971, just a year or so after being released by Fourth Division Gillingham, he was handed a second opportunity at the professional game with Second Division Oxford United.

He finally made his League debut in a 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town in September 1972.

A few weeks later, Bray did what thousands of footballers dream of doing – he scored a goal in a League Cup second-round replay at Old Trafford against a Manchester United side which included Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton!

Oxford had held United to a 2-2 draw at the Manor Ground but, despite Bray`s goal, they were beaten 3-1 at Old Trafford in the replay.

In July 1975, he moved to Fourth Division Swansea City and he scored 19 times in 46 outings prior to joining Torquay United in November 1976.

After just 7 games and 2 goals for the Gulls, he returned to Kent to join Southern League Premier Division side Dartford in July 1977 and topped their goalscoring charts in 1977/78.