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Post by Lobster on Feb 16, 2024 14:24:41 GMT
The James Alabi thread has turned into reminiscing about terrible players, and we spend a lot of time talking about the best ones, but what about the ones who just came, did a job and moved on without much fanfare?
What players can you think of who you seldom hear anything about? They might be ones you thought were underrated, ones you have a particular memory of, or just passing "whatever happened to...?" thoughts.
To get things started:
Steve Halford - one the first signings we made after getting Mad Terry out. In his first couple of games he looked the business, but as Steve Mungall's new manager syndrome wore off he began to struggle. By the time Wright arrived he was either out of favour or had moved on.
Nathan Lowndes - a tidy player but one of the least threatening strikers ever. It was like nobody had ever worked out what position he was meant to play!
Scott Brown - not one of the superstars of the 2012/13 Conference North winning team and nobody was that bothered he didn't stay on, but he went on to get promoted to the EFL with Grimsby and then made over 100 appearances for Accrington. Quietly effective.
Brad Bauress - a regular starter in the team that was in third place when the second COVID season was curtailed. He left that summer, I've no idea where he went and I don't think I've heard him mentioned since. Given the terrible season after though, you could hardly say we replaced him with better.
I also think it's a bit strange that Nathan Jarman and Tony Gray don't tend to be as fondly remembered as Chris Simm and Matty McNeil, even though they led the line in a team that won a higher division.
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Post by hughdemann on Feb 16, 2024 15:08:01 GMT
1)George Thomson (underutilised by Burr), 2)Stuie Jones solid full back first season, never missed a header, scored a late winner at Prescot Cable new years day, miserable weather, forced myself to go after swine flu, crap game, remember walking through the houses around the ground to a chorus of Jingle Bells........o what fun it is to see Chester win away. 3) Wes Baynes steady player in our second or third season.
Would agree with Tony Gray too
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Post by chesterken on Feb 16, 2024 15:24:54 GMT
1)George Thomson (underutilised by Burr), 2)Stuie Jones solid full back first season, never missed a header, scored a late winner at Prescot Cable new years day, miserable weather, forced myself to go after swine flu, crap game, remember walking through the houses around the ground to a chorus of Jingle Bells........o what fun it is to see Chester win away. 3) Wes Baynes steady player in our second or third season. Would agree with Tony Gray too Always thought George Thomson should have played regularly he always looked a solid player but never played many games.
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Post by borussiachester on Feb 16, 2024 15:32:30 GMT
It’s testament to how irrelevant Steve Halford was that nobody recognised him when he rejoined the club a few years ago as part of the coaching staff. Brad Bauress is a good shout too - one of the players who effectively played for free during that Covid season if I remember, and someone who initially appeared to just be there to make up the numbers, but actually turned out to be a decent player and could perhaps consider himself unlucky to not have been handed a more permanent deal. A bit surprising that he’s seemingly fallen off the face of the earth since then - according to Transfermarkt, he’s been without a club for over a year after a spell at Bala.
We had a fair few players in that sort of mould during the Bern and Jonno era, who performed pretty admirably for the most part but have faded into irrelevance since leaving us - the likes of Gary Stopforth, Steve Howson and Jon Moran to name a few. A particular curiosity from that era is infamous non-league mercenary Adam Dawson, who seems to have carved out a rather impressive career for himself in the six-a-side-game, playing for England and becoming acquainted with Neymar - and, at the age of 31, has just signed for his 27th different club in Guiseley.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 16, 2024 15:57:35 GMT
George Thomson is a player who went under the radar a lot, and somebody who rarely gets mentioned on this forum. George has gone on to have an excellent career at Harrogate Town, as he’s their longest-serving player, helped them win two promotions, while he’s a regular in a Harrogate side who’ve consolidated themselves in League Two. 56 goals in 256 Harrogate appearances is an impressive feat for a central-midfielder, so hats off to him.
Sean McConville’s a bit similar to Thomson, in the sense that he was underrated here and has since established himself in the EFL. Again, he’s the longest-serving player - this time for Accrington Stanley - who were a very competitive League One club before their relegation last year.
Shepherd Murombedzi could be a case of ‘if only’…
Fitting into Lobster’s description of ‘’ones who just came, did a job and moved on without much fanfare’’, Shep played for us for free in a six-week period, while we were in a financial crisis in Marcus Bignot’s tenure. He travelled from Birmingham every day as well, and I can’t recall many people going on about it at the time, so he deserves praise for that. On the playing side of things, Shepherd didn’t offer much in an awful side, however he’s since gone on to be a mainstay in a Brackley Town outfit who always find a way of finishing in the play-offs. Our midfield, as of now, is stacked with quality, so there’d be plenty of competition, but in any other season I reckon he’d get into our team no problem.
Craig Hobson had his fair share of criticism during his time here, however he did step up in key moments. He grabbed our equaliser during our 2-1 win over the goats, and it was a very impressive goal as well given he flicked the ball in facing away from goal. If it weren’t for that, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t be celebrating the 22nd September every year!! Also, Hobson was a hero in our last gasp 1-2 win away to Macclesfield Town in 2014. We were 1-0 down in the 90th minute in that Cheshire Derby, before a certain Tom Peers equalised for us. However, it was Hobbo who grabbed the headlines in the 94th-minute, to ensure the three points went to West Cheshire. I was on holiday in Crete at the time, and went bonkers when that went in 😅. I agree that Craig was frustrating to watch most of the time, but I’ll always respect him for those two goals.
Kane Richards was a bit of a character. Had an attitude problem sometimes and was late for the coach to Lincoln City in 2017 as well, but on the whole I thought he did okay. We’ve certainly had worse strikers! I’ll give him credit for scoring against the goats in our 3-2 win over them in 2015, and he was great with the kids at the soccer schools too. Certainly no Michael Wilde, but not a Jamie Rainford either.
The signing of Shaun Tuton was a really bizarre one. He joined us on the eve of our first season back in the National League North, and I was very excited by it considering he had a good record at that level. 20 days later, he left to join Spennymoor Town - the team we played on the opening day of that campaign. Tuton even did an interview for Chester FC TV (very rare we do player interviews nowadays) after our 0-3 win at Curzon Ashton, as well. He’s played for nine clubs since 2018 - currently at Handsworth - so definitely no loss there.
I’ll always have a lot of time for Ben McKenna on a personal level. He came across as a very down-to-earth lad in his stint here. When we played Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC away in February 2019, Ben was injured, so he stood with me for a bit while the game was on, and we had a nice chat. Also, a bit later that year, my dad was doing a ‘JustGiving’ campaign to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance, and Ben chucked in a tenner for that. Unfortunately things didn’t work out for him here, as he had a couple of injuries, but prior to that he was a very talented player for our level. A bit like Shaun Tuton, McKenna’s played for a few clubs since so it’s a shame really. Josh Askew’s very similar as well, in the sense that he’s a talented lad but can’t quite progress in his career. I still speak to Ben every now and again, so wish him well.
As for players who signed for us and did absolutely nothing (literally), then I raise you the likes of Nathan Vaughan, Ryan Crump, Jake Burton, Josh O’Keefe, Ryan Rainey, Peter Winn, Ben Barber, Dylan Forth, Luke Woodland, Josh O’Hanlon, Will Marsh, Jason Gilchrist, Karl Cunningham, Jorome Slew, Nathan Sheron, Will Jääskeläinen, Theo Roberts, Sean Miller, Dan Griffiths, Harry McHugh, and David Okagbue.
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lj19
Full Member
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Post by lj19 on Feb 16, 2024 16:21:17 GMT
Kurt Willoughby
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Post by Blockhead on Feb 16, 2024 16:35:03 GMT
George Thomson is a player who went under the radar a lot, and somebody who rarely gets mentioned on this forum. George has gone on to have an excellent career at Harrogate Town, as he’s their longest-serving player, helped them win two promotions, while he’s a regular in a Harrogate side who’ve consolidated themselves in League Two. 56 goals in 256 Harrogate appearances is an impressive feat for a central-midfielder, so hats off to him. Sean McConville’s a bit similar to Thomson, in the sense that he was underrated here and has since established himself in the EFL. Again, he’s the longest-serving player - this time for Accrington Stanley - who were a very competitive League One club before their relegation last year. Shepherd Murombedzi could be a case of ‘if only’… Fitting into Lobster’s description of ‘’ones who just came, did a job and moved on without much fanfare’’, Shep played for us for free in a six-week period, while we were in a financial crisis in Marcus Bignot’s tenure. He travelled from Birmingham every day as well, and I can’t recall many people going on about it at the time, so he deserves praise for that. On the playing side of things, Shepherd didn’t offer much in an awful side, however he’s since gone on to be a mainstay in a Brackley Town outfit who always find a way of finishing in the play-offs. Our midfield, as of now, is stacked with quality, so there’d be plenty of competition, but in any other season I reckon he’d get into our team no problem. Craig Hobson had his fair share of criticism during his time here, however he did step up in key moments. He grabbed our equaliser during our 2-1 win over the goats, and it was a very impressive goal as well given he flicked the ball in facing away from goal. If it weren’t for that, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t be celebrating the 22nd September every year!! Also, Hobson was a hero in our last gasp 1-2 win away to Macclesfield Town in 2014. We were 1-0 down in the 90th minute in that Cheshire Derby, before a certain Tom Peers equalised for us. However, it was Hobbo who grabbed the headlines in the 94th-minute, to ensure the three points went to West Cheshire. I was on holiday in Crete at the time, and went bonkers when that went in 😅. I agree that Craig was frustrating to watch most of the time, but I’ll always respect him for those two goals. Kane Richards was a bit of a character. Had an attitude problem sometimes and was late for the coach to Lincoln City in 2017 as well, but on the whole I thought he did okay. We’ve certainly had worse strikers! I’ll give him credit for scoring against the goats in our 3-2 win over them in 2015, and he was great with the kids at the soccer schools too. Certainly no Michael Wilde, but not a Jamie Rainford either. The signing of Shaun Tuton was a really bizarre one. He joined us on the eve of our first season back in the National League North, and I was very excited by it considering he had a good record at that level. 20 days later, he left to join Spennymoor Town - the team we played on the opening day of that campaign. Tuton even did an interview for Chester FC TV (very rare we do player interviews nowadays) after our 1-3 win at Curzon Ashton, as well. He’s played for nine clubs since 2018 - currently at Handsworth - so definitely no loss there. I’ll always have a lot of time for Ben McKenna on a personal level. He came across as a very down-to-earth lad in his stint here. When we played Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC away in February 2019, Ben was injured, so he stood with me for a bit while the game was on, and we had a nice chat. Also, a bit later that year, my dad was doing a ‘JustGiving’ campaign to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance, and Ben chucked in a tenner for that. Unfortunately things didn’t work out for him here, as he had a couple of injuries, but prior to that he was a very talented player for our level. A bit like Shaun Tuton, McKenna’s played for a few clubs since so it’s a shame really. Josh Askew’s very similar as well, in the sense that he’s a talented lad but can’t quite progress in his career. I still speak to Ben every now and again, so wish him well. As for players who signed for us and did absolutely nothing (literally), then I raise you the likes of Nathan Vaughan, Ryan Crump, Jake Burton, Josh O’Keefe, Ryan Rainey, Peter Winn, Ben Barber, Dylan Forth, Luke Woodland, Josh O’Hanlon, Will Marsh, Jason Gilchrist, Karl Cunningham, Jorome Slew, Nathan Sheron, Will Jääskeläinen, Theo Roberts, Sean Miller, Dan Griffiths, Harry McHugh, and David Okagbue. That's because he was shite 😂
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 16, 2024 16:39:04 GMT
George Thomson is a player who went under the radar a lot, and somebody who rarely gets mentioned on this forum. George has gone on to have an excellent career at Harrogate Town, as he’s their longest-serving player, helped them win two promotions, while he’s a regular in a Harrogate side who’ve consolidated themselves in League Two. 56 goals in 256 Harrogate appearances is an impressive feat for a central-midfielder, so hats off to him. Sean McConville’s a bit similar to Thomson, in the sense that he was underrated here and has since established himself in the EFL. Again, he’s the longest-serving player - this time for Accrington Stanley - who were a very competitive League One club before their relegation last year. Shepherd Murombedzi could be a case of ‘if only’… Fitting into Lobster’s description of ‘’ones who just came, did a job and moved on without much fanfare’’, Shep played for us for free in a six-week period, while we were in a financial crisis in Marcus Bignot’s tenure. He travelled from Birmingham every day as well, and I can’t recall many people going on about it at the time, so he deserves praise for that. On the playing side of things, Shepherd didn’t offer much in an awful side, however he’s since gone on to be a mainstay in a Brackley Town outfit who always find a way of finishing in the play-offs. Our midfield, as of now, is stacked with quality, so there’d be plenty of competition, but in any other season I reckon he’d get into our team no problem. Craig Hobson had his fair share of criticism during his time here, however he did step up in key moments. He grabbed our equaliser during our 2-1 win over the goats, and it was a very impressive goal as well given he flicked the ball in facing away from goal. If it weren’t for that, then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t be celebrating the 22nd September every year!! Also, Hobson was a hero in our last gasp 1-2 win away to Macclesfield Town in 2014. We were 1-0 down in the 90th minute in that Cheshire Derby, before a certain Tom Peers equalised for us. However, it was Hobbo who grabbed the headlines in the 94th-minute, to ensure the three points went to West Cheshire. I was on holiday in Crete at the time, and went bonkers when that went in 😅. I agree that Craig was frustrating to watch most of the time, but I’ll always respect him for those two goals. Kane Richards was a bit of a character. Had an attitude problem sometimes and was late for the coach to Lincoln City in 2017 as well, but on the whole I thought he did okay. We’ve certainly had worse strikers! I’ll give him credit for scoring against the goats in our 3-2 win over them in 2015, and he was great with the kids at the soccer schools too. Certainly no Michael Wilde, but not a Jamie Rainford either. The signing of Shaun Tuton was a really bizarre one. He joined us on the eve of our first season back in the National League North, and I was very excited by it considering he had a good record at that level. 20 days later, he left to join Spennymoor Town - the team we played on the opening day of that campaign. Tuton even did an interview for Chester FC TV (very rare we do player interviews nowadays) after our 1-3 win at Curzon Ashton, as well. He’s played for nine clubs since 2018 - currently at Handsworth - so definitely no loss there. I’ll always have a lot of time for Ben McKenna on a personal level. He came across as a very down-to-earth lad in his stint here. When we played Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC away in February 2019, Ben was injured, so he stood with me for a bit while the game was on, and we had a nice chat. Also, a bit later that year, my dad was doing a ‘JustGiving’ campaign to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance, and Ben chucked in a tenner for that. Unfortunately things didn’t work out for him here, as he had a couple of injuries, but prior to that he was a very talented player for our level. A bit like Shaun Tuton, McKenna’s played for a few clubs since so it’s a shame really. Josh Askew’s very similar as well, in the sense that he’s a talented lad but can’t quite progress in his career. I still speak to Ben every now and again, so wish him well. As for players who signed for us and did absolutely nothing (literally), then I raise you the likes of Nathan Vaughan, Ryan Crump, Jake Burton, Josh O’Keefe, Ryan Rainey, Peter Winn, Ben Barber, Dylan Forth, Luke Woodland, Josh O’Hanlon, Will Marsh, Jason Gilchrist, Karl Cunningham, Jorome Slew, Nathan Sheron, Will Jääskeläinen, Theo Roberts, Sean Miller, Dan Griffiths, Harry McHugh, and David Okagbue. That's because he was shite 😂 I know he was 😂 but still deserved a bit of credit for it though.
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Post by Anders on Feb 16, 2024 16:53:27 GMT
Steven Beck. Was a regular in the first title winning team in 2010/11 after signing half way through. Nobody ever mentioned him at the time never mind since.
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Post by leedsutd234 on Feb 16, 2024 16:57:44 GMT
Ibou Touray sent off at Alty and never played for us again. Went on to play for Salford in L2
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Post by Harry Lime on Feb 16, 2024 17:27:45 GMT
That's because he was shite 😂 I know he was 😂 but still deserved a bit of credit for it though. Was he one of the Bignot signings who "played for free", but who's expenses cost us more than our other players wages? Think he was a likely candidate for that. Their hotel and travel costs were excessive according to a previous chairman's comments at a cfu meeting.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Feb 16, 2024 17:33:06 GMT
I know he was 😂 but still deserved a bit of credit for it though. Was he one of the Bignot signings who "played for free", but who's expenses cost us more than our other players wages? Think he was a likely candidate for that. Their hotel and travel costs were excessive according to a previous chairman's comments at a cfu meeting. He commuted from Birmingham on a daily basis, so that probably was the case. Think Jordan Gough and Reece Hall-Johnson did the same too.
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Post by ilshifomd on Feb 16, 2024 17:48:59 GMT
Dave Hankin. He's only ever been mentioned twice on here.
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Post by archwhopper on Feb 16, 2024 18:18:34 GMT
Craig dove, very underrated, did a fantastic job for us, last time i saw him was on homes under the hammer, he was a local estate agent asked round for a valuation
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Post by Lobster on Feb 16, 2024 18:24:58 GMT
I know he was 😂 but still deserved a bit of credit for it though. Was he one of the Bignot signings who "played for free", but who's expenses cost us more than our other players wages? Think he was a likely candidate for that. Their hotel and travel costs were excessive according to a previous chairman's comments at a cfu meeting. I think that accusation was made of Dom Vose. No idea whether it was true though. I thought it was shocking really that we were still signing players while publicly appealing for donations to keep us afloat. Even if they were "expenses only", we shouldn't have been spending a penny more on the playing squad than we needed to.
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Post by martyntrumpcaster on Feb 16, 2024 19:03:01 GMT
Eeeee nobody talks about Darren Donnelly any more.
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Post by archwhopper on Feb 16, 2024 20:28:55 GMT
Give it a couple of days.. owen windsor
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Post by brooklaneblue on Feb 16, 2024 21:02:31 GMT
Dave Hankin. He's only ever been mentioned twice on here. Hankin was quality, a tall target man.
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Post by league2 on Feb 16, 2024 21:25:52 GMT
Hankin was a gangly winger a sought of poor man's criss waddle who played down the right hand side and tall
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tooth
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by tooth on Feb 16, 2024 22:09:08 GMT
Here one going back in time mark Leonard he was class no one talks about him
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2024 22:30:37 GMT
Going completely against the thread topic because god knows he was discussed to death on here during his time, but unless I've missed it has anyone mentioned what a great Job Craig Mahon is doing at Curzon Ashton.
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Post by vandycandy on Feb 16, 2024 23:15:28 GMT
Derek Asamoah.
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tooth
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by tooth on Feb 17, 2024 5:50:19 GMT
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tooth
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by tooth on Feb 17, 2024 5:51:34 GMT
Going completely against the thread topic because god knows he was discussed to death on here during his time, but unless I've missed it has anyone mentioned what a great Job Craig Mahon is doing at Curzon Ashton. yes he is considering Lakeland is struggling at kings Lynn I thought when he left they would struggle but hands up
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Post by martyntrumpcaster on Feb 17, 2024 8:12:27 GMT
Here one going back in time mark Leonard he was class no one talks about him I thought he was useless in the air.
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Post by muchwenlock on Feb 17, 2024 8:14:55 GMT
Going back a bit but Keith Bertschin played a season for us while at Macc striker I think. Remember him being utterly shite don't think he scored . Also goalkeeper Barry Siddal shite as well .
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Post by RonD on Feb 17, 2024 9:32:21 GMT
Going back a bit but Keith Bertschin played a season for us while at Macc striker I think. Remember him being utterly shite don't think he scored . Also goalkeeper Barry Siddal shite as well . Bertschin scored once in a 4-0 FA Cup replay win against Leek Town at Macc. Big Baz past his best when he played his few games for us!!
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Post by southernblue on Feb 17, 2024 10:33:33 GMT
Going back to when I first started supporting the Blues in the mid 80s, many have fond memories of the likes of Graham Barrow, Milton Graham, Stuart Rimmer, Graeme Abel, Lee Dixon and Welsh international defender Andy Holden. But there are other players from that time who never get a mention: Goalkeeper John Butcher, defender Martin Lane, also Ricky Greenough and here's one some might remember: Wakeley Gage.
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Post by weareblues on Feb 17, 2024 10:35:23 GMT
1)George Thomson (underutilised by Burr), 2)Stuie Jones solid full back first season, never missed a header, scored a late winner at Prescot Cable new years day, miserable weather, forced myself to go after swine flu, crap game, remember walking through the houses around the ground to a chorus of Jingle Bells........o what fun it is to see Chester win away. 3) Wes Baynes steady player in our second or third season. Would agree with Tony Gray too This & Mahon Swap plus 25k for John Johnston by far the worst transfer buisness we've made since reformimg.
Never understood why Thompsom went to fc united on loan in first place was levels above what we had in midfield.
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Post by noddy on Feb 17, 2024 12:06:10 GMT
Going back to when I first started supporting the Blues in the mid 80s, many have fond memories of the likes of Graham Barrow, Milton Graham, Stuart Rimmer, Graeme Abel, Lee Dixon and Welsh international defender Andy Holden. But there are other players from that time who never get a mention: Goalkeeper John Butcher, defender Martin Lane, also Ricky Greenough and here's one some might remember: Wakeley Gage. David Glenn as well from those great days.
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