They Played in the Southern Football League

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

Defender Dave Howell was originally on the books at Fulham as a youngster and then signed for Southern League Hillingdon Borough in 1978.

He switched to league rivals Hounslow, still only 18, before moving to Isthmian League side Harrow Borough in 1980.

He went on to become rated as one of the best central defenders in non-League football as he won numerous honours, including 14 England semi-professional international caps, an FA Trophy and two Conference winners` medals.

He played over 200 games for Enfield between 1983 and 1990 and spent three years under Barry Fry at Barnet, following him to Southend United for whom he made 6 appearances.

At the end of the 1993/94 season, he was released and in October 1994 - now aged 36 - he joined Birmingham City on a non-contract basis, playing twice for them in Division Two.

He then played for Stevenage Borough and then Heybridge Swifts and Baldock Town before retiring as a player.

Whilst at Barnet, Southend and Birmingham, Howell worked with Barry Fry and Edwin Stein as part of the management team.

He later returned to Harrow as assistant manager to Stein and in November 2003 he took over as caretaker manager to take the position permanently in the following February.

In June 2011 he left Harrow after leading them to their best season, in recent times, to become manager of the recently relegated St Albans City, who were in the Southern League in the 2011/2012 season, leaving the club in November 2012.

Former Welsh Youth international winger Craig Steins was originally a Leeds United trainee and turned professional in August 2001.

He failed to make an impact and was loaned to Swansea City in December 2002.

Given his League debut as a substitute in that month's 1-0 defeat at Exeter City, he also came off the bench in the next two matches.

He moved to Merthyr Tydfil in January 2004 and was leading marksman as they qualified for the Southern League Premier Division play-offs in 2004/05, gaining Welsh semi-professional international honours along the way.

He went on to play for Neath Athletic and Goytre United in the Welsh League.

Bobby Hamilton was an outside right, equally adept with both feet and could terrorise defenders and chipped in with his fair share of goals too.

Born in Edinburgh, he started his career with Heart of Midlothian.

Another of the thousands of footballers whose prime career was decimated by the Second World War, after being demobbed, Hamilton signed for Third Division (North) club Chester.

He played 68 games and scored 10 goals for the Seals before being released in 1948.

He moved to Somerset and obtained a job in the drawing office at Westlands and was signed by Alec Stock for Southern League Yeovil Town.

He remained with the Glovers for five seasons and was a member of their famous FA Cup giantkilling side.

He is still remembered fondly at Huish Park and their young player of the season award is named after him.

He passed away, aged 75, in November 1999 in Yeovil.

Lou Adams started out as a youngster on Queens Park Rangers books in 1964.

He played in two games for Southern League Bedford Town as triallist at the end of the 1966/67 season and signed permanently in the summer of 1967.

After making over 150 appearances for Bedford and scoring 58 goals, he went on to play for Barnet, Stevenage Borough and Kempston Rovers and returned to the Eagles on a couple of occasions in between.

He moved to Australia in January 1978 and broke his leg on debut for Preston Macedonia and returned to England early in 1979.

He played briefly for Kempston Rovers again, then announced that he had re-signed for Bedford but was immediately injured and did not make another first team appearance.

After a few reserve appearances at the start of 1979/80, he signed for Barnet at end of October 1979.

He was with then-United Counties League side Rushden Town by January 1980 and signed for Wootton Blue Cross in the summer of 1980.

He took over as manager at Kempston in the summer of 1984 in succession to his former Bedford team-mate Alan Wright.

Barrie Parsons came through Uppingham & Corby Boys Club before being signed for then-Midland League side Corby Town by Wally Akers in 1954.

By the next year he had progressed from the A team to the reserves and made his first-team debut in April 1956 against Gainsborough Trinity.

He signed professional terms in May 1956 and made his `professional` debut for the Steelmen in December that year at outside right against Frickley Colliery and received his first win bonus!

In 1957/58, Parsons became a first-team regular and went on to help Corby through from the Midland League to the Southern League North Western zone, then the Southern Division One and won promotion to the Premier Division in 1965/66, which also happened to be his last.

Injury forced his premature retirement at the end of that season, having made over 400 appearances for the Steelmen.

Former Welsh Amateur international Terry Cotton, originally with Llanelli, could play either centre-half or centre-forward.

He was a prolific scorer for Ammanford Town in the Welsh League before signing professional for Swansea City in June 1968.

His solitary goal in 12 League outings came in Swansea's 4-1 defeat at Fulham in August 1970 and he joined Southern League Yeovil Town in July 1971.

He was top scorer in 1971/72 and featured in three Southern League Cup finals during two spells with the Glovers, making 441 appearances and scoring 83 goals.

In between spells at The Huish, Cotton followed former boss Mike Hughes to Southern League Salisbury and later turned out for Taunton Town and Bridport Town in the Western League.

Gordon Turner is Luton Town’s record all-time goalscorer, with 243 to his credit.

He was seeing out his National Service in the Royal Navy when he was recommended to Hatters` manager Dally Duncan by two Lutonian Chief Petty Officers.

However, he had to wait until 1950/51 before making his League debut and after being mentored and guided by the wily old centre-forward Jesse Pye, he struck out on his own in 1954/55 and top scored as the Hatters won promotion to Division One for the first time in their history.

Turner regularly topped 30 goals each season in the top-flight and it was a shame for him that England possessed such an abundance of attacking talent in the 1950s, otherwise he would surely have been capped.

After leaving Luton, his only professional club, in 1964, Turner played under former team-mate Jesse Pye at Southern League Wisbech Town and then followed another ex-Hatter, Dave Pacey, to another Southern League outfit, Kettering Town, for whom he scored 37 goals in 1967/68, before concentrating on his sports shop that he owned with another ex-Hatter Wally Shanks.

He tragically died in 1976 at the young age of 46 after suffering from Motor Neurone disease for five years.

Wayne Talkes was a stylish, probing midfielder.

In 1967, he signed as an apprentice with Southampton and went on as a substitute in a Combination Cup game against Arsenal, becoming, at 15 years and 180 days, the youngest-ever post-war debutant for the Saints reserves.

He made his first-team debut under Lawrie McMenemy in 1972.

After playing 9 senior games with the club, he moved along the coast to AFC Bournemouth where he made 7 appearances in 1974, but a serious ankle injury, which he had originally damaged in an England Schoolboy trial, brought to an end his promising professional career.

He initially moved into a job with the Post Office and then into marketing and sales with Eden Vale and then as an accounts manager with Palmer & Harvey.

He made his comeback in the Hampshire League with AFC Totton and then Brockenhurst before signing for Southern League Basingstoke Town.

He ended his playing days back in the Hampshire League with Midanbury and AC Delco.

Gary Huxley was a goalscoring winger who was an England Youth international.

He had been a member of Brentford juniors and then spent seven seasons with Hillingdon Borough, Weymouth, Chelmsford City, Aylesbury United and Dartford in the Southern League.

Despite his travels, he worked as a maintenance engineer at Heathrow and lived at Chiswick.

He was one of several players to join Isthmian League side Hayes from Dartford in the late 1970s and early 80s.

He went on to score 19 goals for Hayes 82 appearances, including a brace in the London Senior Cup final against Staines Town in 1981, bringing the cup back to Church Road exactly 50 years after the previous occasion.

By a twist of irony, he went on loan to Staines in October 1981, returned two matches later and was released in January 1982.

He joined Chesham United and later played for Farnborough and Windsor & Eton.

Durham-born striker Steve Lenagh began his career with Sheffield Wednesday as a trainee.

He was released without making a senior appearance at Hillsborough and joined then-Third Division Chesterfield in November 1997.

In around two years with the Spireites, Lenagh played 13 times, scoring just the one goal against York City in December 1998.

In the summer of 1999, he moved to Rochdale, but injuries hampered his progression and he signed for Conference side Kettering Town in 2000.

Unfortunately, the Poppies suffered relegation to the Southern League, but Lenagh helped them make a swift return as champions in 2000/01.

After their return to the Conference, Lenagh was loaned out to Southern League King`s Lynn and then, after leaving Rockingham Road in 2002, had short spells with Ilkeston Town, Leek Town, Hucknall Town and Stalybridge Celtic.

In September 2003, he joined Southern Division One West side Gresley Rovers and scored 11 goals in 32 games before leaving in March 2004 to join the police force.

Tyrone Mintus was a commanding central defender who was fearless in the tackle, decent on the ball and also chipped in with his fair share of goals.

After starting out with Leicester United in the Southern League, he followed manager Glen McNulty to Corby Town in December 1995.

He made 11 appearances for the Steelmen during the remainder of the 1995/96 season but then left the Rockingham Triangle in the summer of 1996.

He then had a 3-game spell with Shepshed Dynamo early in 1996/97 before moving to VS Rugby in September 1996.

His arrival at Butlin Road coincided with their first win of the season but he made just 7 appearances before his travels took him first to Grantham Town and then Ilkeston Town.

He re-joined Shepshed at the start of the 1997/98 season, but in December 1997 he joined Stafford Rangers.

In the summer of 1998, he again teamed up with his brother Ossie at Corby and he scored some important goals and skippered the side on occasions.

He returned to Shepshed once more in 2001 and then had a season in the Conference North with Hinckley United.

Since then, Mintus appeared in the Midland Alliance and East Midlands Counties League for the likes of Oadby Town, Loughborough Dynamo, Coalville Town and Ellistown, finishing his playing days in 2009/10 in a second spell with Coalville.

Matt Stock started his career with Charlton Athletic, progressing through their youth system before being released and signing for Maidstone United in July 1977.

He moved from the Stones` reserve side into the first-team squad and then joined Sheppey United for the start of the 1978/79 campaign.

He moved to Kent League rivals Sittingbourne at the beginning of 1979 before signing for Southern League Hastings United later that season.

Whilst at the Pilot Field, there were rumoured to be 19 Football League clubs trailing him, but no offers came in.

Towards the end of the 1982/83 season, Stock linked up with rivals Chelmsford City and then returned to Sheppey a year later.

He began the 1984/85 season with Folkestone but only made 5 appearances before going to play in Australia

He returned from `down under` later in the 1984/85 season and played 9 games for Maidstone before trying his luck in Finland before joining Gravesend & Northfleet at the beginning of the 1985/86 campaign where he teamed up with his former Hastings and Sheppey strike partner Ernie Batten again.

Stock played 15 times for Fleet before moving onto Dover before the end of 1985.

He was back with Sheppey once more before moving to South Africa with Durban City.

During the early part of the 1986/87 season, Stock returned to England and re-joined a now-named Hastings Town.

But he started the following season back on his home island of Sheppey and then turned out briefly for Ashford Town and Crawley before re-joining Durban City.

In between a third season in South Africa, Stock had further spells with Sheppey and Hastings and then Ashford before re-joining Sheppey once more in December 1990 where his former team-mate Ernie Batten was now in charge.

His travels were far from finished, however!

In January 1993 he re-joined Sittingbourne, had six months with Faversham Town before returning to Sittingbourne.

In November 1994, Stock signed for Southern League Margate but had departed Hartsdown Park before the end of the month and finished off his playing days at the age of 35 with yet another stint at Sittingbourne and then Chatham Town.

Defender David Rennie`s spell in the Southern League as a player was a relatively brief one with two clubs, Boston United and Burton Albion.

An almost automatic choice for Scotland at youth international level in the early 1980s, Rennie looked set for a long career with Leicester City.

But the Foxes` constant need for experience at the back in their First Division rearguard campaigns allowed scant opportunities for him to play himself into the side in his favoured berth, and a series of lacklustre performances when Rennie was experimentally shoe-horned into midfield or full-back roles did little to aid his confidence.

His only goal for Leicester amongst 21 first-team appearances was a landmark, as his header against Coventry City in Filbert Street`s first-ever Sunday game in December 1984 being the club`s 5,000th in the Football League!

In January 1986, he was sold to Leeds United for £45,000 and once more had to get used to his versatility being exploited for tactical purposes, although he did pop up with Leeds` first goal in their 1987 FA Cup semi-final defeat before successfully claiming central defensive responsibilities at Elland Road.

His move to Bristol City in July 1989, after playing over 100 times for Leeds, involved a £175,000 fee, duly paid off in contributions to City`s Third Division promotion season of 1989/90.

He switched to Birmingham City after over 100 appearances for the Robins saw Rennie again help his team to promotion.

After just a season with the Blues, he swapped to Sky Blue with Coventry City, where he again played around 100 times.

Moves to Northampton Town and Peterborough United, totalling over 80 games, preceded signing for Boston United in the Southern Premier Division in the summer of 1999.

He played 48 times for the Pilgrims and scored 6 times as they won the Southern League title and promotion back to the Conference.

Rennie started the following season with Boston, but after just 5 games, was signed by Nigel Clough for Southern Premier side Burton Albion.

Rennie again proved to be something of a lucky omen as he helped the Brewers to finish runners-up in 2000/01 and then winners of the Northern Premier League the following campaign after being switched leagues by the FA.

Since his retirement, Rennie has worked away from football and now works for a company called Peninsula Business Services, which specialises in employment law and health, and safety solutions.

Micky Stead was born in the heart of West Ham United country and trained twice a week with the Hammers for a couple of months before he signed on with Tottenham Hotspur as an associated schoolboy.

The promising full-back signed as an apprentice in July 1973, having won the FA Youth Cup in 1973 with Tottenham.

His progress was noted by the management at the club, and he was upgraded to full professional status in November 1974, making his Football Combination debut that season.

He went on loan to Swansea City for a month and had 15 first-team games at Spurs before leaving the club in September 1978 for Southend United.

He went on to play for the Shrimpers for over seven years, making well over 300 appearances and was in the 1981 Fourth Division championship winning side.

He left Roots Hall in 1985 for Doncaster Rovers, where he played out the remaining part of his career as player-coach but still managing over 90 first-team games.

After two years in Yorkshire, Stead returned south to play non-League football with, firstly, Conference side Fisher Athletic.

In late 1990, Stead moved to Southern Premier Division Chelmsford City where he spent two seasons.

Spells with Heybridge Swifts and then Dagenham & Redbridge followed until he stopped playing in 1994.

On retirement from the game, Stead took up taxi driving and is working out of Harlow.

Striker Justin Richards is another of those `well-travelled` players.

He started his career at West Bromwich Albion in 1997 and spent four years at the Hawthorns, making just the one senior appearance in March 1999.

He moved to Bristol Rovers in January 2001 for £75,000 and was sent out on loan to Colchester United, playing a couple of games before returning to Ashton Gate.

After two years with Rovers, playing 16 times, he switched to Stevenage Borough where he had enjoyed a successful loan spell, scoring 6 goals in 13 matches.

After adding 29 games and 3 goals to his Boro tally, in 2004 he signed for National League Woking, and after a highly successful two years, which saw him score35 times in 79 games and win one England C cap against Wales, he was snapped up by Peterborough United.

In 2007 he joined Kidderminster Harriers, where he stayed for two years before he signed with Cheltenham Town.

In the summer of 2010, he was signed by Port Vale, before moving on to Burton Albion the following year, and to Oxford United and then Tamworth in 2013.

His next move was to Northern Premier League Sutton Coldfield Town in 2014, where his 29 goals in all competitions helped the Royals to win promotion via the play-offs in Division One South.

In September 2015, he switched to Southern League Stourbridge where he enjoyed two good seasons before returning to Sutton Coldfield.

In 2018 he joined Hednesford Town when the club thought they would be part of the new Southern League Central.

But with Shaw Lane AFC folding, the Pitmen were moved back to the Northern Premier – after having an appeal turned down – and Richards couldn`t commit to the extra travel so signed for Rushall Olympic where he finished off his playing days.