John enjoyed two separate spells at Plainmoor, between 1978
and 1980 & 1983 to 1984, in a career which began under the guidance of
another of the North East’s favourite sons, Brian Clough, at Derby County in
1970.
Like many of the young players to emerge from the area, a
career in one of the region’s major industries – coal mining – had beckoned for
John. He was doing an Electrician’s apprenticeship at Easington Colliery, which
later gained greater fame as the setting for the film ‘Billy Elliot’, when he
was offered a footballing apprenticeship by the Rams.
“I went there in 1970 and at the time I was doing an
Electricians apprenticeship at Easington Colliery. My dad had wanted me to
finish my apprenticeship, but me mam said yes, so I was an apprentice for two
years before I signed as a professional,” said John.
This was a buoyant time for the Rams who, at the time, were
managed by Clough with Peter Taylor as his assistant and won the league title
for the first time in 1972.
John retains fond memories of Clough who also hailed from
the North East and had made his name in the region as a striker; firstly with Middlesbrough,
his home-town club, and then Sunderland.
“He (Clough) always referred to me as ‘young John’, him and
Taylor were a partnership, if you had those two on Sky now it would be
hilarious. Cloughie was a one-off and was always destined to do something
different, just like he did at Nottingham Forest.
Another individual who left a big impression on John was
first team coach Jimmy Gordon.
“The man who impressed me the most was Jimmy Gordon. He was
a sergeant major in the army and he ran the show; he was a great coach and he
was a gentleman and always immaculately turned out.”
John left the Baseball Ground in 1975 when he signed for
Reading as an understudy to the Royals’ legendary long-serving keeper Steve
Death. He even briefly managed to usurp Death towards the end of Reading’s
1975-76 promotion winning season, and made 16 appearances as the Royals
finished third in the ‘old’ Division Four.
Two years later, in 1978, John found himself out of contract
and with no new offer of a new deal forthcoming from Reading. He eventually
joined Torquay United for a fee of £3,000, which was agreed by a tribunal, as
he was an out of contract player.
“Reading renegaded on my contract, so I became a free agent
and spoke to Frank O’Farrell and Mike Green and agreed to come down to Torquay.
I stayed in the Livermead Hotel by the sea and on my first day, I joined in
training and went on the Maidencombe run. After a tribunal, I then signed for
£3,000”
The move to South Devon certainly saw John blossom as part
of a highly competitive team that manager Mike Green had assembled on a small
budget. In the 1979-80 season, he became the second Gulls player to be named in
the PFA team of the season.
“I enjoyed everything about Torquay, I loved training, I
loved the people; they wanted me and that gave me confidence. Plainmoor was a
fortress in those days and we always used to beat the big clubs such as
Portsmouth.
“The biggest high for me was when I got in the PFA team of
the year and I won the Player of the Year award. “
John left Plainmoor in 1980 to join Chesterfield for a deal
worth £140,000. During his time at Saltergate, he helped the Spireites win the
Anglo-Scottish Cup and saved a penalty against Glasgow Rangers in the final.
He returned to Torquay during the 1983-84 season when he was
brought back to the Gulls by Bruce Rioch, a manager who was a different
character to Mike Green, who was in charge at Plainmoor during John’s first
spell.
“I also knew Bruce from when I was at Derby and he was very
hard by nature, and he demanded absolute commitment from those around him.”
Rioch departed midway through the season after a training
ground bust-up with Colin Anderson and former Chelsea defender Dave Webb was
appointed as his successor.
Webb then set about cutting the club’s wage bill and John
found himself as one of the players to be handed a free transfer.
“I went into the office and Webby (Dave Webb) was sitting
there with his feet on the desk and said to me: ‘Listen, you’re on too much
money, you’re too popular and I’m letting you go.”
John was replaced by Kenny Allen, who followed Webb to
Plainmoor from his previous club Bournemouth, dropped into non-league football
with Weymouth Town.
The Terras were then managed by former Exeter City manager
Brian Godfrey and John was soon taken aback by the quality of player in his new
surroundings.
“There was Alan Slough, myself, Andy Townsend and Tony
Agana. We played 12 games and won 11 and drew one and I kept ten clean sheets.
“Dave Webb later said to me: ‘I make a mistake letting you
go.”
John returned to league football with Burnley, but found
first team football hard to come by. He later joined Peterborough United, as a
replacement for the Birmingham City bound future England goalkeeper David
Seaman.
Unfortunately, after 70 games, John broke his leg in a third round FA Cup tie against Leeds United on January 31, 1986 that ended his career.
Unfortunately, after 70 games, John broke his leg in a third round FA Cup tie against Leeds United on January 31, 1986 that ended his career.
Unbeknown to him at the time, he was set to return to
Plainmoor regardless of the outcome of the tie, as a deal had been agreed
between the Gulls and Peterborough manager John Wile, the former West Bromwich
Albion manager.
“I got a phone call from Dave Webb, when I was in hospital,
and he said to me: ‘win, lose or draw, I was coming back to Torquay as
player-coach and it was the first I had heard about it.”
“The months went by and I got a letter from Peterborough and
I saw the specialist and he said that I would be back in training within three
months, But the next day I got a letter from Wile saying that my contract was
up and they didn’t want me.”John returned to South Devon and briefly assisted the Gulls whilst John Impey was manager in 1991. Nowadays, he runs the Jolly Sailor Pub in East Ogwell, near Newton Abbot, and still occasionally visits Plainmoor.
An abridged version of this article originally appeared in the Sunday Independent on February 15, 2015.
