Southern League Legends (Part Four)

Another big batch of legendary players.

COLIN TAVERNER became a name synonymous with Bath City for over fifteen years.

He began with the club as player in 1963 but was released by then-manager Malcolm Allison without making a first team appearance.

He returned Twerton Park after a brief League career with Hereford United and 400 games for Trowbridge Town.

He was part of the Southern League winning team in 1977/78 and made 320 appearances during ten seasons at Bath before leaving for Salisbury City in early 1981.

He was back a few months later as player-manager of the reserve team until quitting in 1984 having become Bobby Jones' assistant.

Also had a brief spell as caretaker manager in 1980 after the sacking of Bob Boyd and was brought back in this capacity when Jones went in March 1988.

The final chapter of Taverner`s City career began as assistant to Harold Jarman at the start of the 1988/89 season and then, once again, caretaker went he quit three months later.

Finally left in November 1988 when Les Alderman took over, having made one last playing appearance as a substitute the previous month.

PHIL STOCKER played his first adult football for Dawlish, before playing for Bristol Rovers when he was on National Service.

He then decided to concentrate on a career as a teacher and entered St Luke’s College, playing for their very successful side. He also played for Barnstaple Town where in 1954/55 he scored 65 goals for the Devon club.

When manager Arthur Coles moved to Weymouth, he persuaded Stocker to follow him to The Recreation Ground as an amateur in 1955.

Although signing as a part-time professional, Stocker obtained a teaching role at Weymouth Grammar School, teaching maths and physical education.

He stayed with Weymouth until 1970 when he left for Bridport as player-manager, spending four seasons there.

He did return to the Rec for a short period as reserve team manager in 1974 and stayed for a further two seasons.

Stocker had the honour of playing county football for Dorset and Somerset.

He started his time at Weymouth in the forward line but made a successful transition to full back around 1957.

In total, he made 614 appearances and scored 45 goals.

It`s sometimes hard to predict what size of crowd to expect for testimonial games. However, back in 1964, Southern League Premier Division Chelmsford City came up with a novel idea when they wanted to honour the services of two stalwarts.

City asked Swedish Allsvenskan outfit IFK Holmsund to come to New Writtle Street to play in support of DEREK TIFFIN and PETER GILLOTT.

Chelmsford reckoned that curiosity about the opposition alone would bring more people through the gate, and they were proven correct as a good attendance of 3,867 paid their money on a decent April evening.

Only centre-forward Tony Butcher with 560 is ahead of defender Tiffin in Chelmsford`s appearance record table.

He made his debut for the Clarets back in August 1950, having previously been with Delphian League neighbours Brentwood & Warley.

He went on to make 553 appearances for City, including a club record 440 games in the league.

He made his last appearance on Boxing Day 1963 and left at the end of that season.

He was part of City's 1958 Essex Professional Cup-winning side, they beat West Ham United 5-1, and the 1960 Southern League Cup-winning side.

Tiffin was never a professional but left-back Gillott, who started his career with local Barnsley League side Worsbrough Bridge Athletic.

He was signed by his home-town club, Second Division Barnsley, in 1953 and stayed with the Tykes for six years, although two of those were lost to National Service.

He was capped eight times as an England Youth international but made only 5 first-team appearances for Barnsley before being signed by Chelmsford in the summer of 1959.

A tough, no-nonsense defender, he went on to make 376 appearances for City, scoring 6 goals.

He, along with Tiffin, helped Chelmsford to win the Southern League Cup in 1960 and three times finished runners-up in 60/61, 63/64 and 65/66.

He spent the 1966/67 season at Margate where he was made captain and went on to make 64 appearances as the Kent side won promotion from the Southern League First Division as runners-up.

He returned to Chelmsford, where he had business interests and to the Clarets.

However, in City's 1967/68 championship-winning season he made just 3 league appearances, all at the end of the season.

His last appearance came in a 4-3 FA Trophy win at Bedford Town in January 1970.

He went on to become Chelmsford`s reserve team manager and played in a charity match at the club`s new Melbourne Stadium home in 2008 – at the age of 73!

Both players had a further testimonial when City entertained Romford in May 1964.

Skilful Arsenal midfielder JON SAMMELS had been viewed as a potential star as a youngster after outstanding displays for the England Youth team in the `little World Cup` in 1963.

On his Gunners first-team debut. He scored against Blackpool and by 1966 he had succeeded England international George Eastham as the premier playmaker at Highbury.

In 1969/70, Sammels played a major part in Arsenal`s European Fairs Cup victory, netting a late winner against Rouen, scoring in two other rounds, and then grabbing the third goal at Highbury that beat Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate in the final.

However, Sammels` fortunes took a dive when an ankle injury sidelined him for the first three months of the 1970/71 season and George Graham took on his role with success.

Sammels recovered enough to qualify for a title medal but he knew now he had to leave his beloved Gunners to maintain his career.

So, after 270 games and 52 goals for Arsenal, he joined Leicester City in the summer of 1971 for £100,000 to play under former Gunners inside-forward Jimmy Bloomfield.

Sammels, who had also won nine England under-23 international caps, helped re-establish Leicester as a First Division force.

He showed great consistency over six and a half seasons at Filbert Street and his influence was missed as the team declined after his departure in 1978 to play in the North American Soccer League with Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps.

He spent two seasons in Vancouver, returning to England in January 1979 on a loan basis and signing for Southern League Premier Division side Nuneaton Borough.

In October 1979, Sammels returned from Canada, having helped Vancouver lift the NASCL title and re-joined Nuneaton, who had become founder members of the newly-formed Alliance Premier League.

Nuneaton were relegated after two seasons in the new league but, with Sammels as player-coach, they made a rapid return the next campaign after winning the Southern Midland Division – there being just a Midland and South section in 1981/82.

The summer of 1982 saw Sammels leave Boro after failing to agree on terms for the next season, but the parting was an amicable one and he retired to become a driving instructor.

Scotsman GERRY BAKER scored 10 goals for St Mirren in a 15-0 Scottish Cup win over Glasgow University in 1960 and that was enough for Manchester City manager Les McDowall to lure him to Manchester City.

Playing alongside the likes of Denis Law, Peter Dobing and Colin Barlow, Baker did well, making 37 appearances and scoring 14 goals.

But within 12 months, he was back in Scotland with Hibernian.

He continued playing until 1975, retiring with almost 200 goals to his name in 477 club appearances.

He also scored twice in seven internationals for the USA where he was actually born before moving to Scotland as a youngster.

His brother Joe was probably the best known of the brothers, playing for the likes of Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and England and being a relative success in Italy.

After spells with Ipswich Town and Coventry City, Gerry Baker was player-manager of Southern League Margate in the summer of 1970, replacing the legendary long-serving Almer Hall.

But Baker was limited by several injuries, first a dislocated shoulder in August 1970, then broken ribs in the November.

Despite these injuries, he played a total of 48 games for Gate, scoring 16 goals before leaving the club in September 1971.

He joined Nuneaton Borough and played 30 games, with 9 goals under David Pleat for one season, followed by spells with Bedworth United, Worcester City and Racing Club Warwick.

Centre-half DAVE BICKLES, and England Youth international, came through the famous West Ham United youth ranks and was a contemporary of the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.

He made his first-team bow for the Hammers in September 1963 against Liverpool at Anfield where they achieved a very rare win.

But with competition fierce at Upton Park, Bickles transferred to Crystal Palace. However, it was discovered that he had an injured shoulder which was traced back to his debut against Liverpool four years earlier and never played a game for Palace.

In 1968 he moved to Fourth Division Colchester United and made 71 League appearances, scoring 3 goals.

In 1970, Bickles signed for Southern League Premier Division club Romford.

In November 1975 Bickles` efforts for Romford were rewarded when his former club West Ham provided the opposition for a joint Dave Bickles/Robin Chandler testimonial (Chandler had been Romford's top goalscorer for the previous two seasons).

The legendary Jimmy Greaves, then aged 35, made a guest appearance for Romford, showing glimpses of his old magic during the 2-2 draw and West Ham, who at the time FA Cup holders, brought the cup along with them to the match.

A month later, Romford manager Ray Freeman left the club to take a job in Norway. The directors saw Bickles as the ideal replacement and duly offered him a contract which he signed in January 1976. It offered him a bonus of £100 if Romford were promoted plus a whopping £50 extra if they went up as champions!

Bickles finally left Romford in the summer of 1979 to manage after making 290 first-team appearances and being manager for three and a half years, although during his last season he didn't have a team as they ceased playing in 1978 and sadly their proposed new ground at Oldchurch Park never opened.

He went on to manage Spartan League side Collier Row who, ironically, were later to merge with Romford.

But Bickles' connection with Romford wasn`t quite finished as when they re-formed in 1992, a re-launch game took place between a Romford Celebrity XI of former Brooklands legends, which he captained, and an Arsenal Celebrity XI.

`Wee` SAMMY McGOWAN had played for Vale of Clyde in the 1942 Scottish Junior Cup final before he moved to Motherwell where he appeared in a Scottish Cup final in 1939.

After the war he joined Morton and then, in 1947, St Johnstone signed him on, but he was persuaded to move south to join then-Western League side Weymouth in 1948.

The Terras returned to the Southern League in 1949/50 and McGowan played in the famous FA Cup Third Round game against Manchester United when they lost 4-0 at Old Trafford.

He was also a member of the Southern League team that were runners-up in 1951/52, 1954/55 and runners-up in the Southern League Cup in 1952/53.

In 1956 he represented the Western League against Trowbridge in the annual Champions versus The Rest fixture, staying until 1959 when he left to join Western League Portland United where he played for one season.

In February 1959 McGowan became landlord at the Cornopean Public House, which was across the road from the Rec and a year later he became trainer back at Weymouth and held the position until 1972.

He made more appearances than any other forward in Weymouth’s history (483 with 78 goals) and, incredibly, was ever-present in the senior side from February 7th, 1951 to 28th April 1956.

And in 1966/67, whilst trainer, he made a guest appearance in a benefit match at Dorchester – despite having been retired for several years.

DAVE WEBLEY, better known in Wales as `Dai`, enjoyed a particularly successful time with Merthyr Tydfil, who he joined in 1985 from local football.

He helped the Martyrs to two third-place finishes in the Southern League Midland Division, the second of which in 1987/88 earned them promotion to the Premier Division and he also had a hand in earning his team a place in Europe after beating Cardiff City in the Welsh Cup Final.

Even more amazing was the fact that Lyn Jones` side made it back-to-back titles by winning the Premier Division and a place in the Conference.

Remarkably, Webley had scored 59 goals in all competitions in 86/87, 36 in 87/88 and a further 58 goals in 88/89!

Webley continued to score goals at the higher level, including 20 in 1991/92, but as the Martyrs began to struggle in the top echelons of non-League football, Webley was one of several high-profile players to leave Penydarren Park in January 1993.

He had six-month spells with Cardiff Metro and Isthmian Leaguers Chesham United before joining the newly formed Newport AFC outfit towards the end of 1994/95 season, where he helped them to win the Southern Midland Division title alongside one or two former Merthyr team-mates.

He went on to played briefly for Abertillery Town, Inter Cardiff, Carmarthen Town and Bridgend Town and later became player-manager at Cwmtillery in the Gwent League, still playing at the age of 40.

Amazingly, LES BURNS played for Dartford from 1961 to 1975.

He was signed by player-manager Alf Ackerman in November 1961 and made his debut in 1963 against Oxford United reserves in the Metropolitan League.

Burns was soon appointed captain and led the Darts to Kent Senior Cup success, promotion to the Southern League Premier Division in 1969/70 after finishing third behind Bedford Town and Cambridge City and during the 1973/74 season, when Dartford won the Southern League championship by an eight-point margin from Grantham Town and went to Wembley in the final of the FA Trophy when they lost 2-1 to Northern Premier League side, Morecambe.

Before he left Dartford, Burns had completed 642 starting appearances and scored 76 goals.

TERRY TAPPING was an attacking left-back who occasionally played as a wide midfielder and sometimes even as a centre-forward.

Blessed with a good touch and a fierce shot, he started out at Arsenal without managing to break into the Gunners senior side.

In 1964 he was signed for Southern League Premier Division side Romford by former Spurs and England star Harry Clarke.

He helped Romford win the Southern League championship in 66/67 and captained the side for several years.

He played over 400 games in the league for Romford – over 600 in total - and scored 78 goals.

The fans favourite went on to enjoy further success with Barnet in the Southern League Premier and finished with a spell in the lower levels of the Isthmian League with Hemel Hempstead Town.

BARRY FITCH played 713 matches for Salisbury between 1962 and 1983 and enjoyed considerable success with the club.

The former defender was born and brought up in Brighton where his footballing talent was spotted at an early age.

He played with junior side the Brighton Boys and was then signed with Brighton & Hove Albion, a club he followed his whole life.

At the age of 18, Fitch left home to join the Salisbury at its Victoria Park ground.

Until 1967/68 the club was in the Western League and had many successful seasons - reaching the First Round of the FA Cup on more than one occasion, including against Peterborough United in 64/65 and against Swindon Town in 67/68.

The club was then transferred to the Southern League where it faced tougher opposition, but Fitch remained a regular member of the starting XI until retiring at the age of 39.

Midfielder MARTIN MYERS spent his playing career split between the West Midlands (Regional) League (WMRL), National League and Southern League but spent many seasons in the latter.

He started out on Birmingham City`s books as a schoolboy and then signed for Shrewsbury Town as an apprentice.

However, he wasn`t offered professional terms and signed for WMRL side Tamworth in 1984.

They had just been relegated from the Southern League and were re-grouping and, along with valuable contributions from Myers, won the WMRL league and cup `double` in 1987/88.

In 1985/86, Myers and the Lambs reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase and did so again in 87/88. However, the following season – their first back in the Southern League since being switched to the Northern Premier League in 1979 – saw Tamworth reach the Vase Final at Wembley.

The final against Eastern Counties League side Sudbury finished in a 1–1 draw with Martin Devaney scoring for Tamworth, meaning a replay which was played at London Road, the home of Peterborough United, and Tamworth won 3–0 with two goals from Mark Stanton and one from former Stoke City and Spurs striker Ian Moores to lift the FA Vase for the first time.

Myers scored 46 goals in 278 appearances for Tamworth before moving to Conference side Telford United in July 1990.

He spent six impressive seasons with the Bucks before transferring to then-Southern League Midland Division side Solihull Borough in the summer of 1996 for an £11,000 fee.

Later, Myers had spells Stourbridge, Moor Green, Redditch United, where he netted an impressive 15 goals in helping them to win the Southern League Western Division title in 2003/04.

He finished his senior non-League career with a spell at Willenhall Town, who had been promoted to the Northern Premier League in 2004.

One of Ron Atkinson`s first signings, as he looked to repeat the 1972/73 Southern League Premier Division title success, was to prise EDDIE DILSWORTH away from league rivals Chelmsford City for a whopping £9,000 fee (equivalent to over £100,000 today).

It was rumoured that Atkinson wanted Dilsworth and his strike partner big Frank Peterson but was reasonably happy with one half of the deadly duo.

Dilsworth started his career with Fulham but was released as a teenager without breaking through at Craven Cottage.

He signed for Isthmian League side Wealdstone and went on to play 129 games for the Stones, but only score 19 times.

That was due to the fact that he was largely used as a defender then.

A hugely talented player, Dilsworth starred for Wealdstone`s 1966 FA Amateur Cup Final side against Hendon at Wembley and celebrated his 20th birthday with a 3-1 victory.

He was equally at home as a defender, winger or centre forward and it was mostly as the latter two that he made his 273 appearances for Chelmsford after joining them initially in 1967.

In his spell at Kettering Dilsworth didn`t quite hit the heights as he had shown at Chelmsford, and although not totally unsuccessful at Rockingham Road was happy to return to New Writtle Street later that season.

BOBBY FOLDS actually started his career as a youth with home-town club Southern League Premier Division Bedford Town back in 1965 without making a senior appearance.

However, Bedford`s first-team manager at the time, Basil Hayward, must have seen something in the defender as in 1968, he took him to Third Division Gillingham with him along with several senior players.

Folds actually became the Gills` first-ever apprentice professional.

After gaining experience on loan with Southern League First Division Hastings United, Folds went on to play 44 League appearances for Gillingham.

After Hayward had left the Priestfield Stadium to return to the Southern Premier Division as manager of Telford United, Folds left to join Northampton Town in 1971.

But he spent just one campaign with the Cobblers before being re-united with Hayward at Telford.

However, within three months he returned `home` to sign for Telford`s league rivals Bedford in October 1972.

Although he was in the side relegated from the Premier Division in 1973/74, Folds was a key player the following season as they won an immediate return as Division One North champions.

The team went unbeaten in the league until losing at Bromsgrove Rovers in October, and they lost only four more times all season, twice at home and twice away.

Their 85-goal tally was formidable, even though Dunstable Town managed a remarkable 20 goals more.

Promotion was never in serious doubt and was clinched by a 4-0 home win against Wellingborough Town in April - three days later a point at Redditch United secured the title with three games still to play, the last of them a 7-0 win at Milton Keynes City.

After spending seven years with the Eagles, making 422 appearances and 20 goals, Folds was sold to then-Isthmian League Premier Division Hitchin Town in the summer of 1980 – the move needed for work reasons.

He moved to Southern Midland Division side Wellingborough Town in 1981/82 and later league rivals Buckingham Town managed United Counties League Premier Division Kempston Rovers.

His son Liam played for `new` Bedford Town club in the early 2000s.

There were two players in the Southern League called DAVE LEWIS at roughly the same time.

Indeed, both of them ended up at the same club at the same time too for while which must have caused fans problems!

Cheltenham Town supporters, in particular, will remember their Dave Lewis version as he went on to score around 300 goals for them in the 1970s and 80s.

Before joining Cheltenham as an 18-year-old, Lewis played for Cheltenham YMCA`s second string in Division Six of the Cheltenham League, before moving on to St Mark’s.

He played in the Gloucestershire County Youth team, had a period in Bristol City’s Western League side and had a trial with England under-18s as a winger.

But it was as a prolific centre forward with the Robins that Lewis made his name, forming a deadly partnership with Pat Casey who created many of his goals.

As strong as an ox and superb in the air, Lewis’ record-breaking season was in 1974/75 when he scored 53 times and he even starred in goal during a famous 2-1 FA Trophy win at Altrincham in 1979 when the club had no specialist goalkeepers available.

Lewis went on to play more than 500 games for the club and also turned out for Gloucester City, for whom he scored 61 goals in 101 appearances before returning to St Mark’s.

He went back to Cheltenham to run the reserve team, which competed in the Hellenic League, and he spent time as caretaker manager of the first team following the sacking of Jim Barron.

Since leaving Cheltenham Lewis earned recognition for his huge contribution to Bishop’s Cleeve, who he ran almost single-handed at times, helping them survive and then prosper to reach the Southern League.

The `other` Dave Lewis also played for several clubs, but it`s with Nuneaton Borough that he`ll be most fondly remembered.

He started out with Nuneaton as a youngster without making a senior appearance before joining Derby County where he played a number of games in the Central League for the Rams` reserve side.

In 1968 he moved neighbours Atherstone Town and quickly established himself as one of the top midfield players in the West Midlands (Regional) League.

He was one of the youngest captains in the WMRL but still lived in Nuneaton, literally a goal kick away from Manor Park, and in February 1971, the deal was clinched by then-Boro player-manager Malcolm Allen to bring him `home` after more than a fortnight of negotiations with the Atherstone caretaker committee.

He quickly became a firm favourite at Manor Park – and captain – but imagine this today, it wasn`t until September 1974 that Lewis agreed to wear shin pads!

The tough-tackling skipper spurned the use of shin-pads for the last time before a game with Chelmsford City after being given an ultimatum by then-manager Geoff Coleman – wear shin pads or stay on the bench!

In August 1977 Boro received a four-figure bid for a then-transfer listed Lewis from league rivals AP Leamington, who offered £1,000 for the Boro skipper who was in dispute with the Manor Park outfit at the time.

Bedford Town were also reported to be interested, but the Brakes were the first to make a firm move.

Two months later, Nuneaton put a £2,500 price tag on Lewis but then-Weymouth manager Graham Carr accused Boro`s Board of `living in dreamland`, suggesting: “It’s a bloody ridiculous fee for a Southern League player!”

Ironically, in August 1978 Boro failed in a bid to unite the two Lewis`s.

Nuneaton bid to sign striker Dave Lewis from Cheltenham.

New manager Roy Barry had agreed on a fee and spoken to the player – but the deal fell through at the last moment when the Robins offered him more money to stay at Whaddon Road.

In September 1978, Gravesend & Northfleet became the latest club to express an interest in Boro`s Lewis.

Their manager Tony Sitford contacted Roy Barry to discuss the player, who had impressed in the goalless draw at Manor Park between the two teams on Saturday in a defensive role.

In January 1979, Lewis finally moved away from Nuneaton when the cash-strapped club accepted a £3,000 combined fee for their skipper and transfer-listed forward Gary Fleet.

However, despite being listed himself a year or so earlier, Lewis had come off the list and was shocked by the move which he hadn`t expected.

But Barry needed funds to strengthen his squad and Lewis represented the club`s most saleable asset at the time.

The two Lewis`s were only together for a short time though as in August 1979, the former Nuneaton man signed for Bedford Town in preference to Bedworth United, who were also interested in signing him.

But Bedworth were reluctant to pay the £500 fee Cheltenham wanted and dropped their interest.

In January 1980 though, Lewis was back at Nuneaton with Bedford making a £250 profit!

He later took up the reserve team manager`s role at Manor Park.

TONY BURNS was a renowned goalkeeper who graduated from Tonbridge's first-ever youth team in 1961 and spent three further spells with club.

He made Southern League debut against Yiewsley (later to become Hillingdon Borough) in February 1963 and was subsequently snapped up by Arsenal a month later.

Burns took his place in the queue of Gunners hopefuls aiming to fill the void left by the retirement of Jack Kelsey.

In his early days at Highbury, he showed immense potential and, after benefitting from Kelsey`s coaching, made encouraging strides.

His senior Arsenal debut came in a friendly against Enschede in Holland in August 1963, but it wasn`t until 14 months later that he made his League breakthrough at home to Burnley.

He kept his place for 26 games before giving way to Jim Furnell and, despite fluctuating form, there were still those who thought he might make the grade at Highbury.

But he was unable to oust Furnell and in July 1966 he moved to Brighton and played 54 times for the Seagulls in a three-year stint at the Goldstone Ground.

In 1969 he moved to Charlton Athletic but played only 10 times before returning to Tonbridge in July 1970.

In January 1971, he accepted an offer to play in South Africa with Durban City.

He had three years in South Africa, later turning out for Maritzburg, before returning to England in October 1973 and signing for Crystal Palace.

Playing under Malcolm Allison and then briefly Terry Venables, Burns made over 100 appearances for Palace in all competitions and also had a spell on loan with Brentford.

After being released by Venables in 1978, Burns had a season in the North American Soccer League with Memphis Rogues.

Upon his return to England, he finished off his professional career with a stint at Plymouth Argyle.

He then returned to the Southern League with Dartford and Hastings United before being appointed manager of Tonbridge in the summer of 1980.

The club had just moved into its new Longmead Stadium which hosted its first game on August 18th, 1980 - a crowd of 701 watching a Southern League Cup game against Crawley Town.

Despite having a new home, finances proved to be a problem for the club and Burns departed for the equally-skint Gravesend & Northfleet in December 1982.

Burns and Eddie Presland tried to keep the club afloat in choppy financial waters and Burns handed over the reins to Presland as a disastrous second relegation in 1985/86, to the Southern League Southern Division, came to pass.

Burns re-joined now Kent League side Tonbridge as manager for the 1989/90 season and they finished in a worthy third place, not enough for a quick return to Southern League football, but silverware was forthcoming in the form of the Kent League Cup.

In May 1990 Burns left Longmead again but returned once more in a caretaker role from November 2001 to May 2002, whilst also being goalkeeper coach at Millwall.

In July 2006, Burns, having been Millwall's goalkeeping coach for the previous 14 years, left the club to join rivals Crystal Palace but returned to The Den within the space of 18 months.

Burns, who was originally appointed during Mick McCarthy's spell in charge, was briefly promoted to assistant manager under David Tuttle and had been expected to resume his goalkeeping duties. But with the appointment of Nigel Spackman as manager, he felt the time is right to call it a day.

Burns returned to Tonbridge as director of football in 2000 and had a spell as caretaker manager in the 2001/02 season.

In the summer of 2014, a now 70-year-old Burns was unveiled as the senior goalkeeping coach at Gillingham.

ROY WOOLCOTT was a fearless striker whose career started at Leyton-based Greater London League side Eton Manor, before he was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in February 1968.

He only played in one first-team match for Tottenham, and he could not keep out the big money Spurs forwards of the time, such as Jimmy Greaves, Alan Gilzean and Martin Chivers.

Consigned back to the reserves, Woolcott went out on loan to Gillingham in early 1972 and did well, scoring 5 goals in a 13-match run with the Gills in the Fourth Division, but he did not stay at Priestfield, returning to Spurs who released the striker.

He moved to play with Southern League Premier Division outfit Chelmsford City in the summer of 1972 until a knee injury finished his career with the Clarets.

But he gained notoriety in Chelmsford`s FA Cup run of 1972/73.

City started off in the Fourth Qualifying Round, beating Crawley Town 2-0 away.

This earned them a First Round Proper tie with Hillingdon Borough, which City again won 2-0 at New Writtle Street.

City were again drawn at home in the Second Round, sailing through, courtesy of a 5-0 win over Telford United.

As luck would have it not only did City get another home tie in the Third Round, but they were drawn against First Division Ipswich Town, managed at the time by Bobby Robson.

City went down 3-1 in front of 15,557 fans with Woolcott scoring City’s goal – Woolcott netting the consolation in a 3-1 defeat.

That was one goal in a spell of 8 he scored in four games (7 with his head).

It was a good season for Woolcott, who got 39 goals that season, but injury struck the following year and he only featured in 18 games before having to retire.

He still holds the club record at Chelmsford for scoring in nine consecutive games from Boxing Day 1972.

CHRIS HOLVEY was spotted playing for Gwent Football Association under-18's at Aberystwyth against South Wales Football Association under-18's in 1971.

He was a product of the Ebbw Vale Youth side, which had a strong tradition for grooming talented players.

While playing youth team football for the RTB side in Ebbw Vale, he also played for the Bristol Rovers youth academy. He then came under the supervision of Stan Montgomery, who was one of the selectors for the Boys Clubs of Wales International side. He made a great impression and represented his country on four occasions. He also represented the Great Britain Boys Clubs side against Belgium at Villa Park.

After a very brief spell in the Welsh League with Ebbw Vale, he was signed by then-Southern League Division One North club Merthyr Tydfil in 1976.

Holvey formed a great partnership with Doug Rosser at the heart of the Martyrs defence.

They were particularly impressive during Merthyr`s successful FA Trophy run in 1978.

They beat Weston-super-Mare in the Third Qualifying Round, Hitchin Town in the First Round, Southern Premier side Gravesend & Northfleet in round two, Goole Town away in the Third Round and then drew 0-0 at home to Runcorn in the Quarter-Finals before losing the replay 3-2.

Holvey skippered Merthyr to victory in the 100th Welsh Cup Final against Newport County.

Then, in December 1989, a full-strength Watford side came to Penydarren Park to honour the long-serving centre-back.

Without a guaranteed first-team place now, Holvey decided to leave Merthyr after making over 600 appearances.

JOE KIERNAN (pictured) was once hailed as an outstanding wing-half prospect by none other than Sir Matt Busby!

The then-17-year-old Kiernan had starred in an FA Youth Cup tie for Sunderland against Manchester United when he earned rare praise from the Reds supremo.

He played three times for the Black Cats` first team before, to the surprise and disappointment of a large majority of supporters, he was transferred to then-newly promoted Second Division side Northampton Town in the summer of 1963 for £2,000.

And the Sunderland fans` didn`t have long to wait to see what they had missed out on as Kiernan returned to Roker Park in just the second game of the season and, in front of 29,000, had an outstanding game to help the Cobblers win 2-0!

Kiernan then played a major part in Northampton`s remarkable achievement of winning promotion to the First Division in 1964/65.

And such was his influence and form that Everton offered to sign the then-22-year-old for £40,000 – the deal was turned down by the Cobblers` Board.

Of course, Northampton`s rise and fall has been well-documented, and Kiernan stayed as the journey saw the Cobblers head right back to the Fourth Division.

After 308 appearances and 13 goals, he was allowed to leave the County Ground, many fans thought too soon, in the summer of 1972 and was snapped up by Ron Atkinson, who had led Kettering Town`s charge out of the Southern League Division One North.

And Kiernan captained the Poppies to the Southern Premier Division championship in 1972/73.

For the third time in his career, his next move also shocked fans as, along with local striker Ray Webster, Kiernan was sold in a big-money deal to league rivals Atherstone Town midway through the 73/74 season.

He later assisted Wellingborough Town before turning to coaching, firstly with Irthlingborough Diamonds alongside his former Kettering team-mate Roger Ashby, and in 1986 he took over the running of the Northampton Town youth team under former Cobblers colleague Graham Carr.

When Theo Foley was appointed manager in 1990, he made Kiernan his number two but sadly the club drifted into Administration and Kiernan found himself returning to his trade as a painter and decorator.

ROBIN CHANDLER started his career as a youngster with Luton Town.

He filled a variety of positions in the Hatters` reserve team during the early part of his professional career which began in 1960.

More noted as a centre-forward, he also occupied a right-wing role which is where he earned England Schoolboy international honours.

He went on to make 13 League appearances for Second Division Luton and played in all three FA Cup ties against Ipswich Town in January 1962 – Alf Ramsey`s Tractor Boys would go on to win the First Division title that season.

He left for Southern League First Division side Stevenage Town in 1965, playing alongside former Spurs, Chelsea and England inside forward Johnny Brooks.

He then spent the latter part of his career with a lengthy spell with Romford, who gave him a joint testimonial with Dave Bickles.

Midlands-born goalkeeper FRED CRUMP joined Southern League club Merthyr Tydfil from Birmingham City as a fresh-faced teenager and broke into the first team in 1957.

He played for the Martyrs during five seasons before moving to Tonbridge.

However, his best spell came after moving back to the Midlands to join Nuneaton Borough in the summer of 1966.

In his first season under Dudley Kernick, Crump helped the team to an FA Cup Third Round replay with Rotherham United after beating Swansea Town 2-1.

He became known to Boro supporters as `Fearless Fred` and went on to make over 200 appearances – and only missed three games.

Also, whilst with Boro, Crump became a Southern League representative player, before being announced he was being released at the end of the 1970/71 campaign.

One of Crump`s successors between the Nuneaton goal posts was BOB KNIGHT, who became just as big a favourite with supporters.

Knight was born in Willenhall and was a member of the South East Staffordshire team who won the Birmingham County Intermediate Shield in 1960.

West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City were both keen to sign Knight but Wolverhampton Wanderers were closer to home and he signed amateur forms and became a full-time professional on his 17th birthday.

Knight’s name was mainly to be found in Wolves’ fourth and third teams, although he advanced to the Central League side under the watchful eye of the legendary Molineux coaching staff.

But, by the time the 1964/65 season was coming to a close, it was clear the then-19-year-old Knight was not going to be making headway as competition for Dave Maclaren and Fred Davies.

It was the player’s cue to go part-time and work by day as a shopfitter. He chose to play for Wolves’ near-neighbours Wellington Town (later Telford United).

There were big shoes to fill when he arrived at the Bucks Head in May1965.

Bert Trautmann had been appearing for Wellington and the famous German’s first appearance was at Hereford United and his second at Tonbridge, where he was sent-off for violent conduct. He never played for the club again!

The other keeper Knight was competing with at Wellington was Mick Richards, the latter’s broken arm giving him the chance to demonstrate his worth.

His form was sufficient to have other big non-League clubs calling and it was Worcester City who paid a £250 transfer fee to take the young giant to St George’s Lane in October 1969 after Knight’s position in the Wellington goal was challenged by Northern Ireland international Bobby Irvine.

Ironically, Knight was signed for a small fee to replace Dave Maclaren, who had been appointed to a coaching job at Molineux.

Then, in August 1974, after making 365 appearances for Worcester, Knight signed for Nuneaton.

He had been released by City after breaking his arm the previous season and only having played four matches since January 1974.

He quickly became a firm favourite at Manor Park and drew attention from other clubs.

In March 1976, Nuneaton turned down a four-figure bid from Weymouth for his services.

The Dorset side offered £1,000 for Knight, now rated among the top keepers
in the Southern League. But Borough felt that the bid fell far short of what he is worth to them.

Three months later, Knight turned down an offer from Sicilian soccer officials most people would not have refused.

Officials of Italian second division club Catania were waiting for Knight after he had starred in Nuneaton’s goalless draw with Siracusa in the Anglo-Italian Cup.

They said they wanted to sign Knight, and he asked, “how much?” The reply - a staggering 200 million lira – more than £100,000!

Although Knight`s wages would have been something like £150 a week, he was not interested as he didn’t want to leave England.

In January 1979, Knight accepted the offer of a free transfer after first losing his place to Ian Marsden and then the arrival of former Wrexham and Kettering Town `keeper Gordon Livsey.

He had made 244 appearances for Nuneaton.