Where Are They Now is designed for you if you are a football fan who is as curious as us to find out what happened to your favourite footballers after they retired from playing.
Have you ever wondered what happened to all of those players that you have seen come and go over the years? The heroes and the villains? The saints and the sinners? The stars that you talked about for years after they had retired and those you instantly forgot?
If so, Where Are They Now? is definitely for you!
Not all players end up running pubs or become TV pundits! It's no secret what Gary Lineker is up to these days but what about the many thousands of players who have slipped from public view? The first edition of "Where Are They Now?" uncovered some fascinating post football stories including the former Arsenal striker who became Iceland's Finance Minister; Millionaires; Bankrupts; Vicars; Comedians; Singers; a Phil Collins lookalike... and one or two publicans!
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Where Are They Now Books
This whole project began with a book entitled 'Where Are They Now? - Life After Soccer'.
This proved to be incredibly popular and led to the formation of this site as well as a number of club specific titles. So far, the series comprises of Manchester United, Chelsea, Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Forthcoming titles include Arsenal, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion - watch this space!
Updated: 11-08-22 Psalm 23
Saw Ian Hamilton today (10/08/2022), working for a scrap metal recycling company. Looks very well and seems happyUpdated: 11-08-22 Eric Carlisle
I was a good friend of your brother Alan. We served in The Royal Green Jackets together in Germany, Northern Ireland, and Winchester. I just wondered if he is still around so we could catch up after nearly 45 years. My email address is attached. I would be most grateful.Updated: 11-08-22 John Hannah
Hi there. I played for Eden FC in Auckland and Vic had just arrived a few months earlier as their coach. He played in a few matches. Fond memories of him. Nice jovial man and a very good coach. I wish him everything of the best.Updated: 11-08-22
Alan was truly one of the greats. He was Sheff. Utd's best player for many a season and I will never know why none of the big clubs came in for him, or if he would have moved anyway.Updated: 10-08-22 Mike Cockayne
Hi Kevin. Been trying to get in touch with you for years. I was a Stoke City FC apprentice in the mid-70s as a goalkeeper under the watchful eye of the great Gordon Banks, but you were my hero between the sticks. I still hate Ray Graydon for his very lucky penalty rebound off the post goal in the League Cup final in 1975. You were the best goalkeeper in the world in my eyes and wish I could either meet you or get in touch somehow, please. All the best. MikeUpdated: 10-08-22 Pete
Scored with looping header v Fulham on Boxing Day in front of 55,003 fans!Updated: 10-08-22 Chris Bray
Played one Saturday morning for the school with him. We won 5-3 and he scored all 5.One goal going around 3 defenders and the goalkeeper. I was standing on the other post but he still wouldn’t pass it across and walked away grinning! LOL Some player he was!Updated: 09-08-22 Colin McDermott
Heard Steve Coppell in interview where he said that Derek Statham was the most difficult opponent he had to regularly face and rarely got the better of him. Praise indeed.Updated: 09-08-22 Keith Hayward
Played with Alan at Charlton between 1967 and 1969. Please send him my best wishes when you see him next time.Updated: 09-08-22 John Lewis
Great player.
When we researched the first printed edition of 'Where Are They Now?' in the 1990's, footballers were already incredibly well paid by conventional employment standards but prior to that, players had to find a new career once they had hung up their boots.
This meant that we unearthed plenty of interesting and un-expected stories, many of which are found on the site. Sadly, there were some we could not re-produce for legal reasons - sorry!
Playing professional football, particularly at the highest level should ensure that modern players should not have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. Thankfully, this has not limited the number of fascinating tales for us to tell. For example, were you aware that former Sheffield United midfielder Curtis Woodhouse became British light welterweight champion when he took up professional boxing, having apparently 'fallen out of love' with football? If the rumours are true, he was not just a winner in the ring! At one point, he was considered to be 50 to 1 outsider to win the title and a successful £5,000 scooped him a cool £250,000 when he defeated defending champion Darren Hamilton.
As well as our regular club based pages, we also occasionally add more detailed player pages and would welcome your feedback. See: Did Tresor Kandol Score the Most Important Goal in Leeds United’s History?, Arsenal Greats, Ruud Gullit, Roy Bentley, Trevor Francis, Gavin Peacock, Carlos Valderrama, Graham Potter, Matt Holland, Liverpool's 2005-06 FA Cup Winning Team, and a look back at some of the best strikers to grace English football.
When do you think that the Premier League should re-start?
Where are they now? – Boro players who played League Cup’s season opening game 8 years ago.
If you know of any other stories that may interest fellow fans, please do let us know.