*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Mick John
Appearances: 4+2 Goals: 0
Date / Year of birth: 29th May 1958
Position: Left-back
Season of first appearance: 1974/75
Season of last appearance: 1975/76
Also played for: Charlton Athletic (0), Sheffield Wednesday (0) and Ramsgate
Son of 1960's Margate player Ray John who was born in Exeter during his father's spell with the city's Football League club.
After playing in local schools football Mick had a six-week trial with Charlton during the 1972/73 campaign when Theo Foley, father of future Margate player Paul Foley, was the Addicks' manager. Mick played in several youth matches during his spell at The Valley and in 2012 he said "I was very young and it was quite overwhelming really. The thing I remember most was the training, at local level I was pretty fit and training twice a week at Margate and playing at weekends and in school sports, but when I went to Charlton it was at a different level. I think I was physically sick at every session for about two weeks. It taught me a valuable lesson quite young to realize that at local level I was something of a catch but when you step up you soon learn that the standard required to actually make a living is on a different level altogether."
In addition Mick remembered travelling with Charlton when the first team played in a cup tie at Brighton and said "The club all went down on the train and it was in the bad old days of football violence, there was trouble as we went through the station and a young lad who was the best young goalkeeper I had ever seen had his hand crushed against a hand rail by a police truncheon in the melee, I cannot remember his name I'm afraid."
Mick also recalled how long-serving Charlton player Keith Peacock assisted young players and said "He always had time to spend with all us kids when his training was finished, offering help and advice and having a kick about with us. Great guy."
Mick started playing for Margate's reserves at the beginning of the 1973/74 campaign and his father Ray was the team's manager at the time. During that season Mick had a trial at Sheffield Wednesday but unfortunately he was injured playing in a practice match for the youth team at the Owl's impressive Hillsborough stadium. Mick chipped a bone but also trapped a vein although it wasn't spotted initially. An infection set in and he ended up being bed-ridden for around two months as a result. The injury ended Mick's trial and in 2012 he said "I was quite small in those days and was asked to go back when I had 'built up a bit'."
He continued to play regularly for Margate's reserves during the 1974/75 season and Mick also made a one-off appearance for the first team, playing at left-back in a Kent Messenger Trophy tie against Ashford at Hartsdown Park on 3.4.75 several weeks before his 17th birthday.
He had his first senior outing of the 1975/76 campaign as a substitute in a 1-0 win at Dover in the Kent Floodlight Trophy on 11.2.76 and Mick then made his first start of the season wearing the number three shirt in the reverse fixture at Hartsdown Park on 24.2.76 as Margate won 4-0.
On 6.3.76 he was sent off for remarks made to a linesman during a reserve team match against visitors Tonbridge and Mick then made three more first team appearances, the last of them at left-back in a 1-0 defeat at Hillingdon on 12.4.76. That was his Southern League debut but it also turned out to be Mick's final game for Margate as he left the club at the end of the season when the reserve team was disbanded for financial reasons.
In the summer of 1976 Mick joined Ramsgate and he stayed with the club until giving up football altogether during the 1978/79 season aged only 20 after a clash of heads in a Rams game knocked out four of his teeth and left him with blurred vision in his left eye, a problem which continued to affect Mick in later life.
He became a keen golfer and eventually played off a single figure handicap at the Westgate and Birchington Golf Club before giving up the game after the death of his father Ray in 2009.
In 2012 Mick was living in Broadstairs and working for a printing firm in Aylesford. He was still occasionally in contact with former Charlton manager Theo Foley who'd invited him to several Arsenal matches as a guest during his time as George Graham's assistant at Highbury.
Looking back on his football career Mick said "Playing a youth game at Hillsborough was definitely the highlight for me, what a stadium." He also told a story about his father's influence, saying "When I was about 10 my father was always saying that really good left sided players were in short supply, and I was right footed. So to 'encourage me' to use my left foot he used to soak an old ball (with laces) in a bucket of water to make it heavy, and then take me to the park and we would play with me only having a left boot on. It was obviously quite painful to kick the heavy ball with my right foot in just stocking feet. But it worked, I went to Margate and Ramsgate and the trials as a left sided winger / left back but I could equally use my right foot." Mick added "In those days the end justified the means. Dad was a hero to me and just wanted to help the best he could, and you cannot argue with the results."
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KMT | |
|
1974/75 (MFC) |
1 (66) |
0 |
0 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (7TH OF 22) |
4QR |
2R |
RU |
2R |
GR |
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KFT | |
|
1975/76 (MFC) |
3 (65) |
2 |
0 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (11TH OF 22) |
3QR |
2R |
1R |
SF |
W |