John Leslie Sissons (born 30 September 1945) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Career

Sissons started his career as an apprentice for

in 1961. He joined the club along with Peter Bennett after the pair were spotted by scout Charlie Faulkner while playing for Middlesex Schoolboys. He played for

England Youth England national under-18 football team, also known as England under-18s or England U18(s), represents England in association football at under-18 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in Englan ...

in the

1964 UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1964 Final Tournament was held in the Netherlands. Teams The following teams entered the tournament: * * * * * * * * * * * * * (host) * * * * * * * * * * * Group stage Group 1 ...

and scored the fourth goal in the Final, a 4–0 win over

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in Amsterdam. He had played as an

inside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

for Middlesex and England Schoolboys, but was moved to

outside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

by Hammers manager

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

. He made his senior debut for the east London club on 4 May 1963, a home game against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. Sissons became the youngest player to score in an

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, in May 1964, and second youngest to appear, behind his

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

counterpart

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

. He went on to play 213 league (37 goals) and 52 cup (16 goals) games for West Ham. Sissons moved to Wednesday in 1970 for £60,000. He made 115 league appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to Norwich City, where he rejoined former teammate John Bond. Chelsea signed Sissons for £70,000 from Norwich in August 1974. He made his debut on 17 August 1974 in a 0–2 home defeat by

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. He made 11 appearances during the 1974–75 season but failed to establish himself in a struggling Chelsea side who were relegated at the end of the season. In March 1975, he joined up with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

. He was part of the championship-winning team which featured other English exports

Clyde Best Clyde Cyril Best, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 24 February 1951) is a Bermudian former Association football, football player. He was one of the first Black people, black players in Football League First Division, First Division footbal ...

Stewart Jump Stewart Jump (born 27 January 1952) is an English former footballer in the Football League for Crystal Palace, Fulham and Stoke City. He also had a successful career playing in the United States, and was chosen as the MVP of the 1975 Soccer ...

, Stewart Scullion, Paul Hammond and

Mark Lindsay Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders. Early life Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon, and was the second of eight children of George and Esther Ellis Lindsay. The ...

. After his release from Chelsea, Sissons emigrated to South Africa and finished his career with two seasons at

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Career statistics

Honours

West Ham United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1963–64 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1964–65

References

External links

*
Tampa Bay Rowdies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisson, John Sissons, John Sissons, John Chelsea F.C. players English footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football forwards North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Norwich City F.C. players Sissons, John Sissons, John Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players Expatriate soccer players in South Africa English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers FA Cup Final players English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa National Football League (South Africa) players