John Frederick Payne (3 January 1906 – 1981) was an English professional footballer who played as an outside left in the Football League for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, Brighton & Hove Albion, Millwall, West Ham United and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Playing career

Early years

An outside left, Payne began his career in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, playing for Botwell Mission, Lyons Athletic and hometown club Southall. Payne got his big break when he signed for First Division club West Ham United in 1926, but he managed just four appearances, scoring one goal, before departing in 1929.

Brentford

Payne dropped down to the Third Division South to sign for

in 1929. He scored 16 goals in 43 appearances during the 1929–30 season and was the club's third-leading scorer behind

Jack Lane John William Lane (29 May 1898 – June 1984) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside right. He is best remembered for his five years in the Football League with Brentford, for whom he made 234 appearances and was club cap ...

and

Billy Lane William David Lane (born February 6, 1970 in Miami, Florida) is an American builder of custom motorcycles, owner of Choppers Inc. in Melbourne, Florida, known for his 2009 conviction and imprisonment in Florida for a drunk-driving incident in 2006 ...

. Payne began the 1930–31 season as a first choice on the wing, but he fell out of favour and was dropped to the reserves, before leaving in January 1931. Payne made 53 appearances and scored 18 goals during 18 months with the Bees.

Manchester City

Payne joined First Division club

in January 1931. As at West Ham United, Payne struggled to break into the first team and made just four appearances, scoring one goal, before departing Maine Road in 1934.

Later career

Payne's made his final Football League appearances with Third Division South clubs Brighton & Hove Albion and Millwall.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, John 1906 births English footballers English Football League players Association football wingers Brentford F.C. players Footballers from Southall Hayes F.C. players Southall F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Southern Football League players 1981 deaths