Westminster born former Spurs Academy player Jamie Reynolds is a talented and determined footballer, who can play in midfield or at left-back. Very good at getting forward with the ball, at linking-up with the winger on his side of the pitch as a left-back during his Spurs days, and at creating chances for the forwards, the now 22 year old footballer is also a tenacious player who is strong in the challenge. Formerly with Chelsea as an Academy player, prior to joining Spurs, Jamie Reynolds often played in midfield during his first season as a scholar with Spurs. However, he played much of the following 2017/18 season at left-back. He was an important member of the Spurs Under 18 side during the 2017/18 season, and in my opinion he did really well. However, Jamie unfortunately picked up a bad injury in an Under 18 Premier League South game away to Norwich City, late on during that season. He had an operation following that injury, and would later have two further operations during the following 2018/19 season. He returned for the first time however, during the October time of the following 2018/19 season, with the then Spurs Under 23 side, but after playing some games for them during the remainder of that season he was unfortunately released by the club at the end of that season.

Jamie has since gone on to play for non-League side Billericay Town, and also Cheshunt, who he is currently playing for. He helped them to win promotion to the National League South for the new 2022/23 season, and he is doing really well for Cheshunt. I recently had the great pleasure of speaking to Jamie, about his memories of his days at Spurs, as an Academy player. 

What are your earliest footballing memories?

Jamie: I remember playing for my local team, and I was probably about five years old. And I remember winning this tournament, and I scored a goal after the ball came off my hair from a throw-in, and the referee ended up giving the goal. So that is my earliest footballing memory.

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs? And how did you come about joining the club?

Jamie: When I was playing with my local team, I was playing with people who were a year older than me. And the manager’s son was at a Tottenham development centre, and so after being scouted by a couple of clubs the manager, Gary Waters, asked the person at the Spurs development centre whether I could join as well, as he obviously thought that I was good. And so I got pushed further and further up after that. My earliest memory of being at Spurs, is actually my first game for them which was against Everton for the Under 6’s team. We won that game 1-0.

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

Jamie: Growing up I always wanted to be like Lionel Messi, but obviously that was a bit unrealistic. Then when I got a bit older and I started playing in the number ten position, I started to watch David Silva quite a lot. But as for heroes I didn’t have someone in particular, but I just idolised Messi. And so whenever he’s playing a game I try to watch him.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

Jamie: Matt Wells is probably the biggest one, and also Michael Donaldson and Roger Miller, as well. My favourite year was with Matt Wells and Scott Parker as the coaches of the Spurs Under 18 side, and that was when I transitioned to the left-back role, but I wasn’t really playing left-back, apart from when I was out of possession of the ball. So I was really still playing in midfield. I was always injured, and so I never really got to play as much as I’d like, but during that season I got to play week in, week out. So I had almost a full season of playing, and I enjoyed playing for people that believed in me.

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

Jamie: I don’t want to sound like I’m being big headed, because I’m not big-headed one bit, but I just didn’t really feel like there was anyone who played like me. I did look at Tom Carroll when I was a midfield player at the club, because he was also a left footed midfield player, who was technically quite good. So I would say that I looked at someone like Tom Carroll.

During your time at Spurs as an Academy player, you played quite a bit with current Spurs first team player Oliver Skipp. What was he like to play with? And just how good was he in your opinion at that stage of his career?

Jamie: In my first ever game for Spurs against Everton, Oliver Skipp also played in that game, even though he is a year younger than me. The whole time that I was at Spurs growing up Oliver Skipp was always playing in my age group, and never playing in his own age group. So every time that he was on the pitch he was one of our best players. Even though he was younger than the rest of us he was still good physically, and technically he just got better and better. I can remember Bradley Allen really trying to help him to improve his technique, when we were both playing for the Spurs Under 15 side. But every game that I’ve ever played with Skippy, he’s always been one of the best players, and one who has always stood out.

Who has been the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with, so far?

Jamie: I’d have to say that it’s got to be either Marcus Edwards, Skippy or Tashan Oakley-Boothe. 

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the various Spurs Academy sides?

Jamie: Making my debut for the Spurs Under 19 side in the UEFA Youth League against Monaco is one. I think that I played really well in that game. Even going to different countries all over the world was really good. Literally just last week me and my mum were listing all of the countries that I’ve been to. And I’ve been to so many different countries around the world, which I would never have visited if I didn’t play for a top football team. So I went to South Korea, where we had a really good tournament, and also we went to America as well. You are talking about unreal experiences. I remember that we went to Latvia and won a tournament, as well as a tournament in America that we won. Also, the day that I was told that I was getting a pro contract beats everything else, as I was on the highest high after being told that. I had been at Spurs since I was six, and it was something that I had worked for. To go through all of the age groups at the club made me so proud to be able to get that pro contract at Spurs, and that was a massive deal for me, and I was very proud of myself, and I was also very proud to be able to tell my family about it. I felt so good about everything, but then obviously everything went wrong just a couple of months later.

During that 2017/18 season Spurs’ Under 18 side was very good. You were a key player for Scott Parker’s side. What was it like to play for that side so often during the season?

Jamie: I think that we were one of the best teams in the country, tactically. It was such an enjoyable team to play in, as there was just so much fluidity in the team that you could just do what you wanted on the pitch. Because you just knew that someone else would fill in for you, and also know what to do when you weren’t there. So you had so much freedom to do what you wanted, but everyone had an idea of how to play as we got coached that way so much. But it wasn’t a boring way of coaching, as everything was enjoyable. Obviously it all paid off when we started winning games, and we became a really good team.

Who has been the toughest player that you have had to defend against, so far in your career?

Jamie: I’ll always remember playing against Arsenal at home, in an Under 18 Premier League Cup semi-final tie. I was playing against Bukayo Saka, who was playing on the right flank against me. He scored one goal and went past me a few times, and he beat me for pace. So he did everything in that game, as well as nutmegging me in that same game. So I would say that either him or Dujon Sterling for Chelsea would the two most difficult players that I’ve had to defend against, as he was rapid with the ball.

You often used to play quite a bit as a midfielder during your days at the Spurs Academy. How did your move to left-back come about?

Jamie: I started the first one or two games of the 2017/18 season in midfield. I don’t think that we really had a left-back, but we did have quite a few players who played at right-back. I think that because I’m left footed, that I got picked to play at left-back, but to be honest it suited me perfectly and I loved it. I think that because I knew Matt Wells so well and also as he knew how intelligent I was as a footballer, I think that he knew that I’d adapt well to it quite quickly. So him and Scott Parker gave me loads of clips of Oleksandr Zinchenko and the way that he played at Man City. And so I would see that players like him and also Kyle Walker would come inside with the ball into midfield, to make an outlet that way. So I think that they knew that I was able to handle it mentally and tactically. Obviously I wasn’t a defender before, so they did a lot of work on my defending. But I’ve got to mention that Matt Wells and also Scott Parker put in the time for me to learn that left-back role, and that season with them both coaches of the Spurs Under 18 side, that was my favourite season at the club.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

Jamie: I’d say that it was a bit of a bumpy road. There were good times and also a lot of bad times. But everything that I did was something that I enjoyed, although if I could just take back some of those injuries then maybe things might have been a bit different. But obviously there’s no point dwelling on the past, and I don’t think that I realised how much I loved my time at Spurs until I was released. When I got released I realised then that that was the opportunity of a lifetime, and everything that I wanted. Now I’ve got to work from nine to five, and so you don’t realise what you have until it’s gone. But looking back on it I couldn’t have asked for a better group of lads at Spurs, and all of the team were really funny, and everyone got on really well. There were no real arguments or anything like that, as it was just a really good experience. 

What has been the greatest moment of your footballing career so far?

Jamie: It would be getting promoted last season with Cheshunt to the National League South. I think that it was because no one believed that we’d get promoted, and that really people were predicting us to finish in mid-table, but we got into the play-offs and we beat Bishop’s Stortford in the semi-final, to get to the final. Everyone doubted us but we still got there and got promoted.

Could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites, so far?

Jamie: I was injured after I left Spurs, but as I hadn’t trained at all I was doing rehab  sessions at Spurs. I was told that I could get maybe half an hour in a pre-season friendly with Ebbsfleet, because I was going to Fulham on the Monday, and I was going out to Portugal with them. I was doing really well at Fulham, and I remember that I got called in on the Friday, and I was told to keep doing what I was doing. They said that they had a contract for me to sign when I came back, and I was so happy. They told me to just stay fit, but then when we played Porto on the Saturday I did my quads, and so that was off the table. Then after that I went to Billericay, but I wasn’t there for too long, but I was training with Watford at the same time. They said to me that if they didn’t already have two left-backs, then they would have signed me. I was still at Billericay for another week or so, before I went to Sunderland. I thought that I did really well at Sunderland, and we played Manchester United at Old Trafford and we lost 3-0. But nothing ended up coming from that, and then after Sunderland I went to Cheshunt, and I haven’t looked back since. Obviously I want to be climbing back up the ladders and playing league football, if I’m being optimistic. 

I look back on things in my career so far, and I think what could have been. I think that I had so much unfulfilled potential that I didn’t really grasp. But obviously everyone’s got their own path, and my one is different to everyone else’s, but hopefully I get back to where I want to be. 

Were there any players at Spurs who you were particularly close to?

Jamie: Charlie Freeman was one. He was playing with me in my first game for the club against Everton, and even now I still keep in regular contact with him, and I see him here and there. So Charlie was probably my best mate at Spurs, but during the early days at Spurs Nnamdi Ofoborh and me were good mates, and I was also good mates with Olly Skipp, as well. Also, I’m in quite a bit of contact with Reo Griffiths. Reo didn’t get moved to the centre-forward position until he was in the Spurs Under 16 side, as before that he was playing at centre-back. But he’s a player who is strong on the ball and good with both feet, and he’s fast as well. So he is everything that you could want for a modern day striker, and in the 2017/18 season he was scoring goals every week, and he was also a leader on the pitch for our side, who would get people up for the games. Also, another player at Spurs who was a good mate of mine, was Tariq Hinds. I shared digs with him for two years, and while we weren’t that close before, us living together made us become very good friends. And we are still in contact now.

What would your advice be to the young Spurs players of today as they look to break into the first team?

Jamie: Don’t let outside influences affect what you want to do, and I think that you should just practice, practice, practice. I don’t think that I did enough individual stuff. Off the pitch I was quite good in regards to injury prevention, but with ball work I think that you’ve just got to need to practice, practice, practice. Also, don’t be afraid to go up to coaches and ask to do extra work, or to ask them how to improve your game. At the end of the day you need to just stay motivated, as when I was injured it was hard for me as it was easy for me to get demotivated and I’d end up doing stuff that I shouldn’t be doing. I’d say that you need to find an environment where you’re not going to be distracted by outside things. If I could take it all back now, then I’d just focus on football rather than focusing on anything else. Also, just believe in yourself, as I didn’t have enough self-belief. So believe that you are better than the player you are trying to get in front of in the first team. Say if you’re an Under 14’s player playing in an Under 15’s match, then believe that you are better than the person who you are playing against.

It’s been over three years since you left Spurs. How do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites? And is Spurs a club that you still hold close to your heart?

Jamie: I always have been and I always will be a Spurs fan. When I was there and in and around the club, I didn’t support the club as much as I would do, if you know what I mean. As an Under 16 I would support Spurs and watch them week in, week out, but when I was actually at Spurs I feel like I didn’t support them as much as I could have done. But I’m a big Spurs fan, and I watch the games week in, week out now, and it’s a club that has made me the person that I am now. They brought me up as a footballer and I wouldn’t be half as good as I am now, if I was at another club. Especially when I was growing up, my height and stature would have meant that other clubs would have released me, but Spurs actually had the belief in me to keep me and to help me to get better technically. In the end I ended up getting a pro  contract, and so I’ll always love them for that. I can always say that at one point in my life, that I was at Spurs. So they’ll always be close to my heart.

“ Chris was a very quick defender. He was solid defensively, but could also get forward and create opportunities for others. In essence he was the template for the modern day full-backs like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Luke Shaw, Kyle Walker and Ben Chillwell. ” (former Spurs youth and reserve team player Andy Rollock)

Christopher William Gerard Hughton is without doubt one of the finest players to have ever played at full-back for Spurs. At his peak he was arguably one of the best left-backs in European football, and he was a left-back with a really good balance to his game. Someone who came up through the youth system at Spurs and into the first team, Hughton was such a consistent footballer for the club, and his association with them goes a lot further than the 398 competitive first team games that he played for them. A coach at youth, reserve and also first team level at Spurs for many, many years before embarking on his own career in management, the former Republic of Ireland international is a true Spurs legend. Born in Forest Gate, London, in the December of 1958, Chris Hughton attended St.Bonaventure’s Secondary School, and would later represent Newham Schools and also play football for a local side during his youth. It was during the 1970s that Hughton joined Spurs, as a junior player. He would sign amateur forms with the club, as he progressed through into the youth team set-up, because he was also doing an apprenticeship as a lift engineer. His brother Henry Hughton, would later join Leyton Orient, which was where he started his footballing career.

During his Spurs youth team days in the late 1970s, Hughton was part of some great Spurs youth sides. Sides which also included the likes of Paul Miller, Micky Hazard and Stuart Beavon. He played both as a winger and also as a full-back on occasions during his Spurs Youth team days, and he was a part of some cup successes, but he was unlucky not to have won the FA Youth Cup during the late 1970s with Spurs, as that team was so, so good. The then part-time professional would make a good number of appearances for the Spurs reserve side in the old Football Combination League. He even made his first team debut as a part-time professional, in a friendly with Swedish side IFK Gothenburg in late 1978, before signing professional forms with Spurs during the following year. The right footed left-back made his competitive debut for Spurs’ first team in a Football League Cup match against Manchester United in the August of 1979. 397 competitive matches and three major cup winning successes later, Chris Hughton would have enjoyed one of the finest Spurs careers’ of any defender in the clubs’ history.

The Londoner qualified for the Republic of Ireland through his Limerick born mother, Christine. The former Spurs player won an impressive 53 international caps for Ireland in an international career that started in 1979, and ended in 1991. He represented Ireland at UEFA Euro 1988, and also traveled with the squad to the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Hughton showed just how good he was as a footballer, adapting to an international team that played completely differently to Spurs, and yet the former Spurs player did so well for Ireland over the years. Perhaps one of his finest game in a green jersey, actually came in a 1-0 loss to The Netherlands at UEFA Euro 1988 (in a group game), when Chris had a fabulous defensive game against great players such as Ruud Gullit. Getting back to his Spurs days, the very consistent left-back who had great pace to his game, was always very determined in games. He was a really good defender, who did both sides of the game really well, but going forward he showed just why he was often selected as a winger during his youth team days at the club. He formed a great relationship with Spurs’ winger Tony Galvin during the early 1980s, under the tutelage of the great Keith Burkinshaw. And Hughton’s link-up play with Galvin on the left flank, was consistently so very good.

Strong in the challenge and classy on the ball, the full-back had a good eye for goal and he loved to get forward. From watching old Spurs matches that were played during the 1980s, you get to appreciate what a fabulous all-round player Chris was for Spurs, and also, how important he was to Keith Burkinshaw’s side of the early 1980s. Playing in both the first match and also the replay of the successful 1981 FA Cup final against Manchester City, the left-back would subsequently be part of the Spurs sides that won the 1982 FA Cup and the 1984 UEFA Cup, and he also started the 1981 FA Charity Shield game between Spurs and Aston Villa, which was shared that year. Of course the Spurs youth team graduate also started the 1987 FA Cup final against Coventry City, which Spurs unfortunately lost. Injuries affected Chris Hughton during the latter years of his time at Spurs, but he ended up staying at the club until late 1990, when he joined West Ham United on loan initially, before soon joining them on a free transfer. He left West Ham in the March of 1992, and would end his playing career with Brentford, helping them to win the Third Division during the 1991/92 season. Chris had to retire from the game because of injury in 1993.

Chris Hughton joined Spurs again, this time as head-coach of the new Spurs Under 21 side for the start of the 1993/94 season, although he would also work closely with reserve team manager Pat Holland during that season, his first as a coach. Hughton would then take charge of the Spurs reserve side for a good number of years, and he was very well respected by the reserve team players that he coached. Hughton would also lead Spurs’ reserve side to the 1994/95 Football Combination League title. The then promising young coach would later move up to the Spurs first team set-up, where he worked as an assistant manager to several Spurs managers (he was also caretaker manager of the club on a couple of occasions). The last Spurs manager that the former Spurs player worked with, was Martin Jol. Hughton has since gone on to have a very successful managerial career of his own, such as at Newcastle United, Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion. While not as a head-coach, his most recent role has been with the Ghana senior national team as a technical advisor. A gentleman of the game, from the many ex-Spurs players who played for the club at all levels that I’ve interviewed, so many who were at the club while Chris was there as a player and also as a coach, have told me what a great man Chris is.

So loved by the supporters of Spurs to this day, Chris Hughton has had a wonderful career both as a player, coach and as a manager, and I’m sure that he’ll continue to have a wonderful career as a manager. Chris is a true Spurs legend.

“ Chris Hughton was a great guy at Spurs, who had time for everyone and took an interest in everyone. I had a lot of respect for him, not just because he played for Ireland, but because of just how decent he was. ” (Former Spurs youth and reserve team player Darren Grogan on Chris Hughton as a coach)

John Lacey was a left-back during his days at Spurs as a youth team player during the 1960s. From Tottenham, John made the most appearances for the Spurs Youth team in the South-East Counties League, during the 1963/64 season. Quite a defensive left-back, after leaving Spurs Lacey would play in the non-League for Finchley. I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of speaking with John about his memories of his time at Spurs.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

John: I played for my school team (Devonshire Hill) when I was about seven. I’ll always remember that the teacher saw me playing football in the playground, and he asked me if I was an attacker or a defender. And not really knowing the difference between them, I said that I was a defender. And so I ended up playing at centre-half for Devonshire Hill, for three or four years, until I was 10. I then played for Tottenham Schoolboys, where I played in my own year and also the year ahead of me as well. When I was 13 I was approached by Harry Evans, who was Bill Nicholson’s right hand man, and he came to my house and spoke to my mum and dad, and me, and asked if I wanted to sign on as an amateur. So I did sign for Spurs as an amateur, and so I just started going training on a Tuesday and a Thursday at the ground. 

What are your earliest memories of Spurs?

John: My grandad was a big Spurs supporter, while my dad was West Ham. I’ll always remember that I saw Racing Club of Paris versus Spurs, and so that was my first game at Spurs as a spectator. So it stuck with me since then, and I still go now to watch Spurs, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

John: The two players that really stuck out to me were Dave Mackay and John White, and there was also Jimmy Greaves as well. Later on in life there were people like Mike England, Cyril Knowles and many others, but when I first went to Spurs as a 13 year old there was a man called Jimmy Joyce, who used to be in charge of the second youth team. I think that we used to play in the Wood Green and Metropolitan League, which I played in for a couple of years, before obviously progressing into the youth team. Although you never used to train with the senior players of the double winning era, you used to just stand there and admire them. 

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

John: It would really have been just watching the first team play in the games and also in the training sessions as well, which was just a dream to be that close to them. 

Could you describe to me what type of player you were? And what positions you played in during your time at Spurs?

John: I used to play at left-back for Tottenham Schoolboys, which was why they used to pick me there. I was probably more of a defensive player rather than an attacking player, and so I used to like to making sliding tackles and heading the ball. But I wasn’t the kind of player who was rushing down the wing putting crosses in, and so I was a more defensive player.

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

John: Obviously I looked up to Ron Henry, as he used to play in the same position as me. Whenever we used to finish playing in the morning we would go over and watch the first team, and we used to sit down by the pitch where the old scoreboard things used to go up. So I used to watch Ron Henry all of the time, to see how he did and how he played, and try and copy what he did on the pitch.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

John: I really enjoyed it. I was local to the ground, and it only took me about 15 minutes to walk to the ground, and so I’d look forward to the training on a Tuesday and Thursday, and also to the matches as well. It was a dream to go on the coach to Cheshunt to play home games, and then also to play away games against West Ham and Arsenal, and also Leyton Orient. So I thoroughly enjoyed it.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

John: Firstly it would have been joining them, and then secondly it would have been playing for London Schoolboys. Unfortunately we never won the South-East Counties league or the FA Youth Cup while I was at Spurs, but we did win some cups, such as the Winchester Cup and one other as well. 

What was future Spurs first team player Jimmy Pearce like to play with in the same team?

John: Jimmy Pearce was a year younger than me, but he used to play in my team in the Tottenham Schools team, and he used to play on the wing. He was a really good player, and back then he was very small and slim, but very quick and very good with the ball, and also at scoring goals.

Who was the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with? 

John: I would have to say people like Harry Redknapp and John Sissons, and also Joe Kinnear. I played against Ron Harris, but apart from that no one else really springs to mind.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the Spurs Youth side?

John: Getting to the finals were good, but I used to thoroughly enjoy the pre-season training and mixing with the professionals and the reserve team players, but the whole thing was just great. It was a bit disappointing when I was told that I wasn’t going to make it there, but not everyone makes it and I knew that. 

Some players that you played with for the Spurs Youth team went on to have very good careers. What was it like to play for that side?

John: I thoroughly enjoyed playing for that side, which was a really good side. Everyone got on well together, and as far as I’m concerned there were no natural stars in the team and everyone played for each other. Obviously some are better than others and they progressed and made it, and had good careers.

Who was the toughest player that you ever came up against?

John: It was probably Harry Redknapp. He was very quick, and I remember playing against him before I joined Spurs, when he played for East London Schoolboys. When he had the ball I always used to show him on the outside, and he used to run to the corner, and nine times out of ten he overran it and I tackled him and got the ball, but I would have to say Harry Redknapp, to answer your question. 

Were there any players at Spurs who you were particularly close to?

John: Tony McGurk was someone who I was close to at Spurs. As I used to play for Tottenham Schoolboys with him, but I’d also have to say Jimmy Pearce and Joe Kinnear as well, because Joe used to play on the other flank to me as a full-back.

What prompted you to leave Spurs? And could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites?

John: Well I left because Bill Nicholson rang me up one evening and said that he didn’t think that I’d make it. Because I went to grammar school, the best thing that he advised me to do was to get a job, and also play football as well. He introduced me to Finchley amateur side, as he knew the manager. And so I went there to play for Finchley for a couple of years, but when I left school I started off working for an insurance company in London, before working for a travel agency. And then when I was 21 I joined the Metropolitan Police, and I played for their Notting Hill side and later the Metropolitan Police side.

What would your advice be to the young Spurs players of today as they look to break into the first team?

John: You need to train hard and not get distracted at all with anything, and listen to your coaches. Also, you should watch other players to help you to improve, and just work hard and try your best.

After all these years how do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites and is Spurs a club that you still hold close to your heart?

John: Yes they are. About a group of 30 of us go to all of the home games  and most of the away games and European games, and I thoroughly enjoy it. To be honest Spurs has been my life. 

John Kearney was a tough and talented centre-half, who was also good in the air during his playing days. From Kilburn in London, John played for Spurs at youth team level (he would later have a good non-League career) during the late 1970s/early 1980s, and he would often play for the Spurs Youth side in the South-East Counties League Division 2. I recently had the great pleasure and privilege of interviewing John, who is a great guy, about his time at Spurs.

What are your earliest footballing memories?

John: It would be kicking a football up against the coal shed in the backyard, and that would have been when I was about four/five. So I was just constantly kicking this football up against the coal shed wall, and obviously the faster that you kicked it, the faster it came back at you. So I would try and hit it against the wall without it hitting the floor, but that would probably be my earliest memory.

What are your earliest memories of your time at Spurs? And how did you come about joining the club?

John: I used to play for the school team on a Saturday morning, and I was obviously  selected to play for the borough, which was Camden Borough at the time. On Saturdays the lads were aware that was some talk that there were scouts watching us in the matches, but I think that most of the time that it was just talk. So my earliest memory was that we definitely knew that was someone there, and I think that it was a gentleman called Jack Price, who approached me and asked me if I would like to train with the Spurs Youth team on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. So I was obviously delighted with that, and then when I got back in the changing room all of my mates were asking me what the man was asking me, and so I told them. So I was quite delighted with that. If I’m going to be honest I can’t really remember if I followed Spurs as a supporter, but they were always there or thereabouts. I think that my dad used to watch QPR a bit, because of where we lived and where he worked. So we went to one or two of QPR’s games, but I think that Spurs was a club that I wanted to go to, and to be honest it was like a dream come true to go and train with them. 

So my earliest memories of my time at Spurs felt strange, as I arrived there after a long train journey from Kilburn, before getting some buses. So I went in there not knowing if I was the only lad who was there on his first night, but I saw that some of the other lads knew each other and so I presumed that they were regulars. But we got on and trained, and no one said too much to me, but all the time I was wondering what was next in other words. I actually didn’t return to training for a couple of weeks, because no one had said to me that they’d see me on Thursday, or whatever. So I didn’t know if I was turning up uninvited, and so I turned up for one session not realising that it was to be continued. So I started attending training on a Tuesday and Thursday, and being around the club you got to see one or two of the first team players, but you were sort of spoken to in a way not to approach them, and to just get on with your training. I also remember that I think I first went to the club with an injury, and so there was George McAllister and Mike Varney, who were the two guys in the treatment room. So a lot of my early days there I would get treatment, before being sent out to do training or jogging with a couple of other lads.

I remember finding out later on that the lads who I had been training with were Danny Greaves, which was Jimmy’s son, and also Gary O’Reilly, who was on the verge of good stuff at the club. 

Did you have any footballing heroes/inspirations and if so who were they?

John: As a youngster who watched the World Cup, people like Pelé and Bobby Moore were people who I used to like to watch. There were also one or two hard players such as Micky Droy and Dave Watson, who were very tough players, as well as Dave Mackay of Spurs. So people that you didn’t want to mess around with too much were people that appealed to me.

Who were your greatest influences at Spurs?

John: I would say that Robbie Stepney was the person who I really listened to, and he seemed to get his message across very well to us. So I enjoyed working with him, as he just had a way of explaining things, and he knew if you weren’t giving it your all then he knew what to look out for. So he really did influence me and I thought that he was a great guy. Although he wasn’t at Spurs when I was there, Terry Dyson was my school teacher, who knew me from school, and who was my mentor. 

Could you describe to me what type of player you were? And what positions you played in during your time at Spurs?

John: Although I was not the tallest of players I was a centre-half, although I always had a really strong head and quite a leap as well. So my legs were very, very strong from an early age. I can remember being in the treatment room once and Mike Varney did a measurement of my thighs compared to Ricky Villa’s, who had big thighs. And they were having a bit of a laugh and a joke that as a 15 year old my thighs were almost bigger than Ricky Villa’s at the time. But centre-half was my position, and I felt that I was a good reader of the game. A lot of teams at that time were playing with what they called a Beckenbauer, who was a good sweeper. So someone like Simon Webster, who was also a colleague of mine who played alongside me, if he was going for the main ball then I’d usually sweep up behind. So I can remember one time in a training game against the reserves when they put me in central midfield. And I had the most awful sort of training game, that I think that I got pulled up twice for just giving the ball away. So I was totally out of my depth in that game, but I’m not sure if they were trying to see what type of an engine I had. Although I could play anywhere in the back four, I liked playing in central defence because of my heading ability.

Were there any players at Spurs who you would watch closely to try and improve your game or look to learn from?

John: The player that I admired and always looked to model myself around was Graham Roberts. I felt that Graham was not the tallest of centre-halves, but he was a very tough player who was an all-rounder who could play in various positions, and always be an eight or a nine out of ten, and never below. So he was always a player that I looked to.

What was your time at the Lilywhites like on the whole?

John: As a youngster it was an exciting time, but I suppose looking back it was also a little bit frustrating. One because of two injuries that I had there, but amongst my time there there were maybe 30 to 40 junior players that came and went, but I came to realise that it was possibly only my parents who were the only ones who hadn’t attended the club with me, because my father worked unsociable hours. I could also see that when I was training at the time that some of the lads’ parents were pushing their case for their lads to the back room staff. That is a normal thing to do, but I also found it a little bit frustrating. Although at no time did I resent the fact that my parents couldn’t come to the matches, as dad had to work and that was that. But I loved my time at Spurs, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Going anywhere else after Spurs, which we all tried to, it was never going to be the same as Spurs, because it was the very best and also the place to be.

What was the greatest moment of your footballing career?

John: I think that the greatest thing that there could be was being selected to train for Spurs. I mean we all pick moments in games that we’ve gone up for a corner in and scored a great goal, or we’ve won a cup final or won medals, but I think that all these years later, the greatest thing for me, like yourself and one or two people remember, was being selected to play for Spurs. So that’s got to be my greatest moment, without a doubt. 

Who was the greatest player that you have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with? 

John: I think that in non-League terms it would have to be a lad called Paul Shields. And although he was only a left footer, he was a great all-round centre-half who I could learn off everyday. But years later Paul would say that he learnt his game of me, although he was three years older than me. But he was definitely one of the best that I’ve seen on a pitch, and he could defend, was tough, observant and could score goals. And he also had a wonderful left foot. There were many other wonderful players who I shared a pitch with, but they were probably all too wonderful to mention really.

Could you talk me through some of your favourite memories or ones which stand out from your time in the Spurs youth sides?

John: The standout memories would be Saturday mornings at Cheshunt, which no matter who the opponent was, eight of the 11 players on our team would be the same every week. So we’d be forming relationships on the pitch, playing with a guy who I went to school with, called Allan Cockram, Simon Webster, Tony Parks in goal,  while up front there was Andy Rollock and Paul Wilkins. Also, you had Paul Baxter and Martin Duffield in the side, and so they were the regulars who we would be building a good relationship with. 

What was that talented Spurs Youth side that you were a part of, like to play for?

John: I think that it was a very talented side, and also now when you look back the majority of the guys that I played with would go on to have a career in the game. So I think that it was a very talented team that we had, with the likes of Ian Crook, John Cooper, Simon Webster, Mark Bowen and Allan Cockram all having good careers in the game. And also Martin Duffield had a non-League career, but they all had reasonable careers, and so I thought that it was a very talented side.

Who was the toughest player that you ever came up against?

John: The toughest player without a doubt was John Fashanu, who was very tough, although I can’t remember where I played against him. So he was definitely the toughest opponent who I ever came up against.

Were there any players at Spurs who you were particularly close to?

John: It would be Allan Cockram, because we went to school together, and we also traveled to training together as well, as Allan’s father used to drive us everywhere. So Allan was definitely the player who I was closest to at Spurs. I remember when Allan broke a leg in a game on a Saturday that I wasn’t involved in, but I heard about it. So I had to travel to training on my own for the next six months, as Allan was getting rehabilitation elsewhere at the time. I can remember buying records with Allan, and going to his house we would sit together as he had his leg in plaster, with his mum making us cups of tea. I myself had a very serious break on the 26th of January 1980, against Swindon Town at The County Ground. Spurs’ first team were playing Swindon in the afternoon in the FA Cup, but we played against them in the morning. So I had a very serious break in that game, and I got taken to the first team dressing room and Chris Hughton and Ossie Ardiles were there. And Ossie Ardiles gave me his tracksuit top and some stuff to keep me warm, before I got taken off to hospital. And Chris Hughton spent some time with me as well, giving me some encouragement and saying that I’d be back playing in no time. So I remember that very well. 

What prompted you to leave Spurs? And could you talk me through your career after you left the Lilywhites?

John: So I received a letter saying that I was going to be released, and so I took it straight off to Terry Dyson to find out what I was to do next. As I was very unsure and I didn’t have a father figure to guide me where to go, and so Terry put me in touch with a fellow at Charlton called Ian Salter. I don’t think that I went down to Charlton, but Terry advised me to go to the non-League circuit for a year or two, and then work my way into the game that way, rather than go to the big clubs and just get knocked back again, so to speak. So I ended up going to Tring Town, then Hendon and then Wembley Football Club. I seemed to play in the non-League for quite some time, but I had to get myself a job as well to earn some money. So I was earning money and also playing some part-time football hoping that I was going to get back in, but unfortunately it never materialised.

What would your advice be to the young Spurs players of today as they look to break into the first team?

John: Well for the way that football has gone, it would be very difficult for me to advise a young footballer at Spurs now. The opportunities are totally different to when I was around, but like everything in life I think that you need a little bit luck to go with your dedication and all of your hard training. You do need a little bit of luck, and maybe a certain amount of guidance as well, but my advice would be to keep the training as hard as you can and to keep playing football, as there’s nothing better than playing football in the fresh air.

After all these years how do you look back on your time at the Lilywhites and is Spurs a club that you still hold close to your heart?

John: I’m so proud of myself that I went to Spurs, and I had a great time at the club. I do think that things could have gone what you call differently for me, when I saw people forge careers who weren’t as good as me in certain areas, and I’m not saying that I was brilliant. But looking back now I thought to myself for a few years, I wish, I wish, I wish. But then you start to realise that it’s a very short career. It might be ok for the young players of today who earn a lot of money, but back then it was expenses, and that was it.