John Edward South (born 8 April 1948) is an English retired professional
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 ...
who made one appearance as a
centre forward in the
Football League for
Brentford. In his subsequent career in
non-League football, South spent nearly 10 years with
Metropolitan Police.
Playing career
Brentford
South began his career in the
youth system
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
at
Fulham, before moving to
West London rivals Brentford in November 1966.
He made just two appearances before suffering a severe knee injury in training.
In a period of financial uncertainty for the
Griffin Park club, South was released as a cost-cutting measure at the end of the
1966–67 season.
Non-league football
South dropped into
non-League football to sign for
Southern League Premier Division club
Guildford City
Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the .
Histo ...
in 1967.
After suffering further injury woes, he joined
Metropolitan Police and stayed with the club for nearly a decade.
Personal life
South's brother Ernie also played football and was a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
for the Brentford
junior team.
Career statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:South, John
1948 births
Footballers from Lambeth
English footballers
Brentford F.C. players
English Football League players
Fulham F.C. players
Guildford City F.C. players
Association football forwards
Metropolitan Police F.C. players
Southern Football League players
Isthmian League players
Living people