They Played in the Southern Football League

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

Colin Withers was an Erdington-born goalkeeper, who played for England Schoolboys before signing for West Bromwich Albion as an amateur in 1956.

However, the 6`3” keeper wasn`t kept on by the Baggies and he made the short journey to sign professional forms for Birmingham City in May 1957.

He went on to make 116 first-team appearances across a seven-year spell before leaving St Andrews and joining struggling neighbours Aston Villa for the sum of £18,000 in November 1964.

His endeavours were not lost on Villa supporters – despite his former clubs – and they awarded him the Terrace Trophy in both 1966 and 1967.

The award was of little consolation on the second occasion, Villa being relegated to the old Second Division at the end of the 1966/67 campaign.

He left the Villa in the summer of 1969 after 163 games to join Lincoln City, albeit briefly, subsequently going to play in Holland for Go Ahead Eagles in 1970.

After notching a further century of appearances across the city, Withers joined Lincoln City in 1969 and a year later embarked on a short spell with Dutch outfit Go Ahead Eagles.

He completed his playing career in the Southern League Premier Division with three seasons at Atherstone Town, retiring from the game in 1974.

He went on to run a guest house in Blackpool with his wife Audrey before he passed away in December 2020 at the age of 80.

Midfielder Keith Walley was born in Weymouth but started his career with Crystal Palace, then under Bert Head`s management.

He progressed through the ranks and made 6 first-team appearances under new boss Malcolm Allison and scored in a 1-1 draw with Millwall in front of a 30,000 crowd at Selhurst Park on 17th November 1973.

However, a few weeks later, his seventh appearance proved to be his last for Palace.

Walley was initially named on the bench for the game at Boothferry Park against Hull City when left-back Paddy Mulligan injured himself in the warm-up.

Allison told Walley to play left-back and he was unfortunate enough to be beaten three times by striker Ken Wagstaff, who netted a hat-trick.

Apparently, on the coach back to London, Allison told Walley that he`d 'never play another game for Palace' - and he didn't.

He was released and joined home-town Southern League Premier Division club Weymouth at the age of 19.

He played 66 games for Weymouth and scored 6 goals before having a spell with league rivals Chelmsford City in 1977.

It was becoming commonplace for British players to join the booming `soccer` scene in the United States in the late 1970s and Walley joined Southern California Lazers.

However, as was often the case, several of these early North American Soccer clubs folded almost as quickly as they were formed, and Lazers only lasted one term.

He went on to stay in the USA though and had spells with California Surf and then American Soccer League side California Sunshine before joining the Major Soccer League indoor circuit with Hartford Hellions.

Former Crystal Palace team-mate, Andy McBride, also took Walley to South Africa to play for the Highlands Park in Johannesburg.

Walley settled in America after his playing days were over.

Defender Tommy Youlden began his career as an apprentice at Arsenal in 1966 but did not make the first team at Highbury.

He moved to Portsmouth in April 1968 where, in a little over three seasons, he made 90 League appearances.

Youlden spent the 1971 close season on loan to the Dallas Tornado of the North American Soccer League.

Coached by former Pompey team-mate Ron Newman, Youlden helped the Tornado`s to win the North America Soccer League title playing alongside the likes of Yugoslavian international Mirko Stojanovic and 9-times Brazil capped defender Oreco.

He left Pompey in 1972 and signed for Reading, and in over four campaigns acquired a further 163 outings.

He joined Aldershot in April 1977 and his uncompromising play put steel in the Shots back four and he appeared regularly between 1977 and 1981, turning out 123 times.

He left The Rec at the end of 1980/81 and ended his playing career in the Southern League with Addlestone & Weybridge until they folded in 1985.

After his playing career was over, he became a youth coach at Chelsea and later taught economics and politics at the University College School in Hampstead and coached the school`s 1st XI.

Keith Walker was a Scottish-born central defender who started his career with Stirling Albion.

After playing over 100 times for Albion and scoring 17 goals, he joined St Mirren for £50,000 in July 1987.

He added over 50 games to his tally with the Buddies, with 6 goals, and moved to Third Division Swansea City in a £300,000 triple transfer deal with Paul Chalmers and John Hughes in November 1989.

Walker helped Swansea qualify for the 1992/93 Second Division play-offs and was unlucky to miss the Swans' 1994 Autoglass Trophy final triumph through injury.

He then captained Swansea to the 1996/97 Third Division play-off final which they lost 1-0 at Wembley to Northampton Town.

After making 336 appearances in total and scoring 9 goals, earning a testimonial against Aston Villa, Walker moved to Merthyr Tydfil, where he had been on loan, as player/assistant manager to Jimmy Mullen in February 2000.

He took over as player-manager in April 2000, with one of Merthyr`s legends, Paul Giles, as his assistant.

However, after less than a year in charge, Walker returned to Scotland and became a police officer.

Bobby Brown was a midfielder who started his career with Bristol Rovers, where he spent four seasons between 1968 and 1971, punctuated by a loan spell at Newport County in March 1970.

He made 35 appearances for The Gas, scoring 4 goals, and played 9 times whilst on loan to Newport.

After being released by Rovers, Brown joined Southern League Premier Division side Weymouth in 1972.

He proved to be an extremely popular player with the Terras, going on to make 216 appearances and score 30 goals in two spells separated by a period with rivals Yeovil Town and a brief spell back in the Football League with Hereford United.

He eventually left Weymouth for the second time in 1976 and moved on to Southern Division One South side, Minehead.

He had a couple of seasons on the north Somerset coast he signed for Southern Premier outfit Bath City in December 1978.

He spent three seasons at Twerton Park, captaining the side and playing over 100 times, then went on to play for Gloucester City, Forest Green Rovers and Yate Town.

He still lives in Bristol and after finishing playing, combined coaching at Yate and then-Gloucestershire County League side Winterbourne United, with working as a salesman.

Forward Ronnie Murrock represented London Schools and began his playing days with then- London Spartan League side Beckenham Town.

In 1981, he signed for Isthmian League Premier Division outfit Bromley and enjoyed three seasons at Hayes Lane.

A short spell with league rivals Tooting & Mitcham United followed before he joined the emerging Fisher Athletic ahead of the 1983/84 Southern League Premier Division season.

Murrock helped the Fish finish as runners-up under Dogan Arif, playing alongside the likes of Ossie Bayram and Paul Shinners.

They also won the Kent Senior Cup that season, beating Alliance Premier League side Maidstone United 1-0 in the final at Gillingham.

The following season, Fisher won the London Senior Cup, beating Murrock`s former club Bromley 2-0 at Dulwich Hamlet.

Murrock then returned to Bromley for the 1986/87 season – ironically the campaign Fisher won promotion to the Conference as Southern League champions!

He stayed at Hayes Lane for a further three years under Trevor Ford and in 1987/88 was top scorer with 25 goals as the Ravens finished runners-up to Yeovil Town in the Isthmian Premier.

Murrock spent the first half of the 1988/89 season at Bromley and then went out to New Zealand to play for Blockhouse Bay in the top division.

In the summer of 1989, Murrock signed for Southern League South Division club Margate, teaming up with several of his former Bromley team-mates at Hartsdown Park.

However, in early December 1989, Murrock suffered a serious knee injury against Salisbury and was out of action for almost five months.

He returned to action just before the end of the season, but the injury had obviously taken its toll and he struggled to re-capture his pre-injury form.

At the start of the 1990/91 season, Murrock joined Tonbridge, then in the Kent League after suffering relegation from the Southern League in 1989, initially on loan from Margate, before making a permanent move to Isthmian League Division One outfit Dulwich Hamlet in November 1990.

He stayed with Hamlet until the end of the 1991/92 season when he hung up his boots.

Striker Carl Heggs has both managed and played at Southern League level as well as making over 300 Football League appearances.

He began his career in the Southern Midland Division with Leicester United before being signed by West Bromwich Albion in August 1988 for £25,000.

He went on to make 52 appearances, including 31 as a substitute, scoring 4 times for the Baggies.

He spent four years at The Hawthorns before joining Swansea City in July 1995 for £60,000.

He appeared for Swansea in the 1996/97 Third Division play-off final.

Heggs netted 7 goals in 46 League games for Swansea before being sold to Northampton Town for £40,000 in July 1997.

He helped the Cobblers to reach the Second Division play-off final in 1997/98, playing 63 games and netting 6 goals.

Former Ipswich Town, Arsenal and England midfielder Brian Talbot took Heggs to Conference side Rushden & Diamonds in October 1998 for a reported fee of £55,000 (together with Ray Warburton for £45,000).

Goals, however, proved elusive during his stay at Nene Park, although he did score the memorable opening goal against Leeds United in the FA Cup replay at Elland Road in January 1999.

His appearances in the 1999/00 season were mostly as a substitute, and he went out on loan to Chester City in March 2000, until the end of the season.

He was released in the summer of 2000 and joined Carlisle United on a free transfer.

He added 30 games to his League tally, along with 5 goals, before signing for Conference side Forest Green Rovers in 2001.

He then spent three seasons with then-Southern League Ilkeston Town until 2005 when he moved back up to the Conference National with Tamworth.

Hinckley United, Redditch United and back to Tamworth followed before he re-joined Redditch for his second spell in October 2007 as player-coach.

In June 2009, Heggs was appointed manager of King's Lynn but this was ended as the club were wound up by the HMRC.

He was appointed as chief scout at Notts County and also acted as caretaker-manager in 2011.

He went on to become assistant manager and then manager of Conference side Hinckley United before leaving in 2013 to become a PE teacher.

Wing half Harry Robshaw came through the youth set-up at Tottenham Hotspur just after the Second World War.

To gain experience and toughen him up, Spurs sent him out to then-Athenian League side Golders Green after signing amateur forms.

He had to wait until November 1948 before signing professional terms and then another three years before playing his only first-team game for Spurs against Liverpool when Bill Nicholson was unavailable through injury.

Legendary pair Ron Burgess and Nicholson were Spurs’ first-choice wing halves and with both still at their peak, Robshaw never got another chance.

He eventually moved to Reading in February 1953 as part of a deal that saw Johnny Brooks join Spurs.

At Reading he made 20 League appearances, scoring just the once before joining Southern League side Tonbridge in July 1954.

In two seasons at the Angel Ground, Robshaw he made 87 appearances, scoring 3 goals before joining league rivals Yeovil Town in 1956.

Here he was converted to a right back and stayed at The Huish for four seasons, making 174 appearances.

He was rewarded with a testimonial match against Weymouth in 1961.

Robshaw died in 1990, aged just 63.