I made it to 407 games in the 1980’s – that’s 40 a year so it’s fair to say that I had become a fairly regular follower, both home and away. Indeed 157 of these games were on the road, and my knowledge of the highways and byways of England was growing. It was hardly the most successful of times. with but 135 of these games ending up with the Hatters victorious. And one of the features of a relatively unsuccessful club is the high turnover of players.
The summary of our performance in the 1980’s can be found on the MY COUNTY GAMES SUMMARY – 1980’s page. In the decade I witnessed 132 players of what can be termed differing abilities don the shirt. As in the 1970’s there are some that are fondly remembered; others far less so; and a great many more have long faded from the memory. So for a complete record here they are. (And just a reminder the stats relate to the games I saw and aren’t their complete County record).
..
I SAW THEM START A 100 TIMES OR MORE
Tony Coyle; Steve Sherlock; Oshor Williams; Bill Williams & Dean Emerson
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Andy Thorpe | 286 | 1 | 4 |
| John Rutter | 223 | 2 | 4 |
| Tommy Sword | 214 | 2 | 43 |
| Tony Coyle | 213 | 2 | 28 |
| Steve Sherlock | 194 | 2 | 6 |
| Oshor Williams | 165 | 0 | 26 |
| Bill Williams | 147 | 0 | 2 |
| Dean Emerson | 139 | 0 | 11 |
| Clive Evans | 134 | 2 | 17 |
| Mike Salmon | 109 | 0 | 0 |
| Nigel Smith | 108 | 7 | 2 |
| Andy Hodkinson | 100 | 4 | 16 |
..
The 1980/81 team
Back (L to R) Les Bradd; Dave Lawson; Andy Thorpe; Mike Rogan; Chris Galvin
Middle (L to R) John Rutter; Steve Sherlock; Steve Uzelac; Tommy Sword; Martin Fowler
Front (L to R) David Booth; Tony Coyle; Oshor Williams; Sean Maloney; David Sunley
Featuring of course the famous “Argentina” kit which was quickly replaced in April 1982.
..
THOSE WHO FEATURED BETWEEN 50 AND 100 TIMES
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Paul Hendrie | 99 | 4 | 6 |
| Brian Lloyd | 82 | 0 | 1 |
| David Sunley | 69 | 2 | 7 |
| Martin Fowler | 69 | 1 | 6 |
| Terry Park | 67 | 0 | 7 |
| Trevor Matthewson | 66 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Leonard | 63 | 0 | 24 |
| Mike Power | 62 | 5 | 15 |
| Steve Bullock | 61 | 8 | 1 |
| Paul Bowles | 61 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Colville | 59 | 3 | 19 |
| Mike Quinn | 59 | 1 | 39 |
| Les Robinson | 59 | 0 | 3 |
| David Lawson | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| Les Bradd | 52 | 0 | 10 |
| Andy Gorton | 52 | 0 | 0 |
..
QUINNY!!
Simply my favourite all-time County player.
I saw him play in 60 games, (1 as a sub), and in those games he hit the back of the net 39 times. He provided excitement; entertainment and at the same time, with his goals, a lot more hope that we could get results. There were 3 hat-tricks and 8 doubles. Hew was only at EP for 17 months before a move, reputedly for £52,000 to Oldham Athletic.
His career after leaving EP speaks for itself. Playing at the highest level, and becoming a cult hero wherever he was, he finished his career with 235 goals in 524 games. And that bears comparison with the best.
There’s a more fulsome appreciation of Quinny in the piece on Gresty Road.
For me …. simply the best
..
THEY PLAYED IN 20 – 49 GAMES
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Chris Galvin | 46 | 1 | 3 |
| Neil Bailey | 44 | 2 | 0 |
| John Cooke | 43 | 4 | 6 |
| Asa Hartford | 43 | 3 | 0 |
| John Kerr | 43 | 0 | 15 |
| Ian McKenzie | 42 | 9 | 0 |
| Trevor Phillips | 42 | 1 | 12 |
| Les Chapman | 41 | 0 | 3 |
| Brett Angell | 38 | 7 | 19 |
| Chris Marples | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| Levi Edwards | 36 | 7 | 3 |
| Wayne Entwistle | 33 | 7 | 9 |
| Graham Jones | 33 | 4 | 2 |
| Mark Payne | 33 | 1 | 2 |
| Nigel Hart | 32 | 1 | 2 |
| Brian Butler | 32 | 0 | 2 |
| David Logan | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Matthews | 31 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Uzelac | 30 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Walker | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Mossman | 27 | 1 | 5 |
| Mark Wroe | 23 | 3 | 4 |
| Rodger Wylde | 23 | 2 | 12 |
| Malcolm Brown | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Taylor | 22 | 0 | 9 |
| Ian Scott | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| Tony Caldwell | 21 | 1 | 5 |
| Barry Siddall | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Vernon Allatt | 20 | 1 | 8 |
| Ernie Moss | 20 | 0 | 6 |
..
Without a shadow of doubt the worst County team I have ever seen, (relative to status).
Jimmy Melia was in charge. He lasted 14 league games. When the axe fell his record was W1, D3, L10, F6, A29. In those games he used 23 players. It tells its own story.
Back Row, (L to R): Tom McAdam; Dave Mossman; Gary Walker; Trevor Matthewson; Clive Evans. Middle: David Wilkes; Jim Creaney; Bill Williams; Peter Grant; Mark Leonard; Paul Willis; Andy Cockhill; Martin Melvin. Front: Ronnie Glavin, (player coach); Paul Hendrie; Jimmy Melia (Manager); Andy Hodkinson; Neil Bailey
..
DOUBLE DIGIT APPEARANCES
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Alan Birch | 19 | 1 | 3 |
| Phil Brown | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| Micky Wardrobe | 18 | 5 | 2 |
| Andy Stafford | 18 | 4 | 1 |
| Ian McInerney | 18 | 3 | 3 |
| Craig Farnaby | 16 | 5 | 2 |
| David Booth | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Keith Edwards | 16 | 0 | 6 |
| Mike Pickering | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Wayne Stokes | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| Eddie Prudham | 13 | 1 | 7 |
| Frank Worthington | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| Mark Howard | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| Tony Hancock | 11 | 3 | 5 |
..
THESE ARE JUST FLEETING MEMORIES … MANY WILL PROBABLY CHALLENGE THE MEMORY OF LONG STANDING COUNTY FANS
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Steve Buxton | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| David Frain | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| Paul B Jones | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Lodge | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Nigel Batch | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Crawford | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Leonard | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Malcolm Poskett | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Denis Cronin | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Paul Edwards | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Mountford | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Paul Robertson | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Lester | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Smith | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| David Wilkes | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Willis | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Neil Mills | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Chris Beaumont | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Steve Burke | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Diamond | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Dwyer | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Simon Farnworth | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Henson | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary McDonald | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Newton | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Winston White | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Leigh | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| George Oghani | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Steve Cammack | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| John Ryan | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Phil Malley | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul O’Berg | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Willie Raynes | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Sertori | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| David Vaughan | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Downes | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Ronnie Glavin | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Ian Chandler | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Ken Brannigan | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Cockhill | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Crompton | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Devine | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Grant | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom McAdam | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Redfern | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Rogan | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Seddon | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Yates | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul R Williams | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| David Byrom | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Stuart Parker | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| John Connor | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Shepherd | 1 | 0 | 0 |
..
ALL THEY DID WAS COME OFF THE BENCH
..
| Games | Sub | Goals | |
| Ian Stevens | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Peter Fletcher | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| David Liptrot | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Martin Melvin | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Roy Mitchell | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Recent Comments