Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset
Director⭐⭐🦐
For those of you not following SUEPA Facebook we caught up with Peter during the week (after previously thinking he might have passed away!)
Here is the post:
"Well, this is a surprise!
Peter Woods was a Shrimper from Feb 1972 to July 1973, and all previous attempts to trace him had drew a blank. Indeed, we had wondered whether he might have passed away as we did find a link to someone of the same name and age who had died in 2011, but we weren’t sure. We then yesterday received an email from a SUEPA follower who said he was alive and well, gave his location, we looked up his number, and bingo!
So, we can now truly say that we have every former player still alive from the 1971/72 season as a SUEPA member, and also in our ranks every one of the players who took part in that famous League Cup tie at Roots Hall in 1972 v Chelsea.
Peter was somewhat surprised to receive our call but happy to chat during which he retreated to his ‘den’ where he now keeps all his old football memorabilia (luckily his daughter had recently persuaded him during a clear out that all such things should be preserved – rightly so!).
Peter was born in Sale in 1950 and played in various local junior teams attracting the interest of Manchester United who signed him up on ‘associated schoolboy’ terms – that gave them first choice on signing him for the club at a later date which they duly did. Peter stayed with the Reds for six years, becoming a full-time apprentice and then a full-time pro at a time of course when the club was full of legendary names and winning the European Cup v Benfica in 1968. Peter vividly remembers his debut for the reserves at the age of 16 up at Blackpool playing with the likes of Jimmy Rimmer and Noel Cantwell. Ultimately the left-sided man never made the first team and so left for Luton Town in April 1970 with a bucket-load of memories to treasure including being an England schoolboy international.
It wasn’t long though before Southend came calling and snapped him up in February 1972 initially on loan and with the move then becoming permanent after Arthur Rowley offered the Hatters a £7,000 fee. He made his debut at Roots Hall on 25th February in the number 10 shirt as part of a wing and attack line up that included Billy Best, Gary Moore and Bernie Lewis. We ran out 2-0 winners and Peter kept his place in the team during our first ever promotion season until he picked up an injury seven games out away at Northampton. He still though has cuttings from that time which he recalls as being great days and that the first team dined out on their success for quite some time afterwards at the Peterboat in Leigh where they rarely had to buy a drink!
Appearances the following season were restricted to just 14 as a mix of injury and the form of others kept him out of the side. He did though come on as sub for Bob Bennett in that famous September 1972 cup tie at Roots Hall v Chelsea in front of over 24,000, and Peter recalls Peter Bonetti being in great form for the Pensioners.
Peter was happy at Southend but said that John Lattimer came to see him in his garden in July 1973 saying that Arthur wanted a word and not long after that, after making a total of 26 Shrimper appearances, he found himself up at Doncaster Rovers where the manager was his old Man U teammate Maurice Setters. Peter made 55 appearances for Rovers including one in an FA Cup tie up at Anfield where Donny came away with a 2-2 draw despite being bottom of Division Four at the time.
It was during his time at Belle Vue that he took up some part-time work in the building trade and ultimately that proved to be his long term career path, ending in having a senior role for a building supplies company from which he took retirement 13 years ago. During his early building trade days he also played part-time for Goole Town and then had a spell helping out at Thorne Colliery FC.
We ended a thoroughly enjoyable call with Peter leaving to go and explain to his wife why he had gone missing for 20 minutes chatting away about football to some total stranger. Well, Peter, we hope you see us as a stranger no more as we welcome you in to the ever-growing SUEPA family!"
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Here is the post:
"Well, this is a surprise!
Peter Woods was a Shrimper from Feb 1972 to July 1973, and all previous attempts to trace him had drew a blank. Indeed, we had wondered whether he might have passed away as we did find a link to someone of the same name and age who had died in 2011, but we weren’t sure. We then yesterday received an email from a SUEPA follower who said he was alive and well, gave his location, we looked up his number, and bingo!
So, we can now truly say that we have every former player still alive from the 1971/72 season as a SUEPA member, and also in our ranks every one of the players who took part in that famous League Cup tie at Roots Hall in 1972 v Chelsea.
Peter was somewhat surprised to receive our call but happy to chat during which he retreated to his ‘den’ where he now keeps all his old football memorabilia (luckily his daughter had recently persuaded him during a clear out that all such things should be preserved – rightly so!).
Peter was born in Sale in 1950 and played in various local junior teams attracting the interest of Manchester United who signed him up on ‘associated schoolboy’ terms – that gave them first choice on signing him for the club at a later date which they duly did. Peter stayed with the Reds for six years, becoming a full-time apprentice and then a full-time pro at a time of course when the club was full of legendary names and winning the European Cup v Benfica in 1968. Peter vividly remembers his debut for the reserves at the age of 16 up at Blackpool playing with the likes of Jimmy Rimmer and Noel Cantwell. Ultimately the left-sided man never made the first team and so left for Luton Town in April 1970 with a bucket-load of memories to treasure including being an England schoolboy international.
It wasn’t long though before Southend came calling and snapped him up in February 1972 initially on loan and with the move then becoming permanent after Arthur Rowley offered the Hatters a £7,000 fee. He made his debut at Roots Hall on 25th February in the number 10 shirt as part of a wing and attack line up that included Billy Best, Gary Moore and Bernie Lewis. We ran out 2-0 winners and Peter kept his place in the team during our first ever promotion season until he picked up an injury seven games out away at Northampton. He still though has cuttings from that time which he recalls as being great days and that the first team dined out on their success for quite some time afterwards at the Peterboat in Leigh where they rarely had to buy a drink!
Appearances the following season were restricted to just 14 as a mix of injury and the form of others kept him out of the side. He did though come on as sub for Bob Bennett in that famous September 1972 cup tie at Roots Hall v Chelsea in front of over 24,000, and Peter recalls Peter Bonetti being in great form for the Pensioners.
Peter was happy at Southend but said that John Lattimer came to see him in his garden in July 1973 saying that Arthur wanted a word and not long after that, after making a total of 26 Shrimper appearances, he found himself up at Doncaster Rovers where the manager was his old Man U teammate Maurice Setters. Peter made 55 appearances for Rovers including one in an FA Cup tie up at Anfield where Donny came away with a 2-2 draw despite being bottom of Division Four at the time.
It was during his time at Belle Vue that he took up some part-time work in the building trade and ultimately that proved to be his long term career path, ending in having a senior role for a building supplies company from which he took retirement 13 years ago. During his early building trade days he also played part-time for Goole Town and then had a spell helping out at Thorne Colliery FC.
We ended a thoroughly enjoyable call with Peter leaving to go and explain to his wife why he had gone missing for 20 minutes chatting away about football to some total stranger. Well, Peter, we hope you see us as a stranger no more as we welcome you in to the ever-growing SUEPA family!"
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