Focus On…..John Waldock

Series continues on players who have spent some of their careers as a player or manager in the Southern League.

Despite being born in North Shields, John Waldock spent the majority of his football career on the Dorset coast with Weymouth, mostly in the Southern League but also, later in his time with the Terras, in the Conference South.

After playing for the famous Cramlington Juniors side, John joined Sunderland AFC.

Waldock played for the Black Cats for a three-year period and his no-nonsense approach saw him recognised with a Northern Ireland under-18 call-up due to his mother`s Irish heritage.

After a bad knee injury suffered in a reserve game against Leeds United, John’s appearances become limited, and he joined Weymouth in the 1995/96 season after being given a free transfer by then-Sunderland manager Peter Reid.

Signed by fellow ‘Geordie’ Graham Carr, John was joined by two more from the north-east in David Laws and Ian Hutchinson and between the three of them, they’d go onto amass over 1000 appearances of which 425 appearances were earned by John Waldock.

He played a key role in helping the Terras win promotion from the Southern League South in 1997/98 under former Shrewsbury manager and Bournemouth keeper Fred Davies and the following John was awarded the supporters`, players` and away fans player of the year awards.

He was awarded the Terras captaincy in 2000/01 season as his hard tacking, no-nonsense defensive play made him a fan’s favourite.

John ended his playing career in 2003/04 season, and he took a coaching role under then-manager Steve Claridge.

That season the Terras finished second behind Crawley Town in the Southern Premier Division and missed out on promotion after a promising start to the season.

In July 2004, John was awarded a testimonial against Brighton and remained with the Terras until 2005.

Clubs played for:

Sunderland AFC and Weymouth

Best Game Played In?

There’s been a few for several reasons.

Southern League title decider versus Baldock Town away was memorable in 1997/98. As was the local derby Weymouth versus Yeovil Town in the FA Trophy.

A draw at Huish Park with a crowd of over 3,000 in attendance and the replay at the Wessex Stadium in midweek which we lost in front of a crowd of over 5,000. The atmosphere was electric, and the passion, rivalry, goals, and flares meant that the game had everything, and the atmosphere had a real partisan feel. It was the atmosphere that made it.

However, my favourite was possibly an under-18 professional international youth tournament I played in with Sunderland. Teams such as Celtic, Manchester United, Porto, Boavista, Seville and from Japan.

The semi-final was against the Chilean national side who had never lost a game together. It went to extra-time and finished 1-1. We won 7-6 on penalties. Let’s just say the Chileans didn’t handle the defeat too well and the fall out between players, fans and officials resembled a mortal combat PlayStation video game!

Sunderland went onto the final which I scored in, but we lost 3-2 AET to the Slovakian national side.

Best 11 Played With (all ex-Weymouth):

1 Scott Cooksey

2 Steve Tully

3 Matt Hale

4 Ryan Cross

5 John Waldock

6 Lee Philpott

7 Paul Buckle

8 Martin Barlow

9 Steve Claridge pictured

10 David Laws

11 Ian Hutchinson

12 Mark Robinson

13 Lee Phillips

14 Daren Rowbotham

15 Steve (Taffy) Richardson

16 (GK) Paul Myers

Best Captain?

Kevin Ball at Sunderland AFC. He was very driven and a great motivator. Very high standards and expected everything from all around him but always led by example and always protected and supported the group.

Funniest Team-Mate?

There’s been a few but probably Micky Greeno. He was always playing tricks on people and cracking jokes. One of the funniest things I’ve witnessed was his ‘altercation’ with a vertically challenged supporter once because he kept singing the theme tune of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs when he walked into the bar after games!

Best Manager?

Fred Davies (right) at Weymouth. An old school manager who had the best interest of his team at heart. Grew the teams` confidence and camaraderie and knew how to make us hard to beat and we’d do anything for each other.

Best Mate in Football?

I haven`t got any (ha! ha!) because I was horrible to play with and against and was so competitive on the pitch. Nobody likes me!

It’s 50/50 between Ian Hutchinson and Mark Robinson. Both talented players but more importantly great people.

Are You Still Involved in The Game?

No unfortunately not. I’ve had numerous discussions with Weymouth Football Club to support them in a charity/community role. But we’ve never quite been able to get it over the line. I’m hopeful we will at some point in time.

Words of Advice?

Talent without hard work results in nothing. You never really lose in defeat ‘if’ you learn. Form is temporary, class is permanent.