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: 16-05-22 John Sanderson
I worked with Alan at North Eastern Motors, Leamington in the 1980s. He was a friend of the manager Ted Handy. He was a good lad, always telling us stories.Updated: 16-05-22 Ian Newell
I grew up with Paul in Keswick Avenue. One of my great memories is Paul scoring a goal in The Sun newspaper boys 5 a-side football tournament semi final against Bournemouth. Though we had great days growing up together.Updated: 16-05-22 Rob
My first time that I watched Derby County play was in 1967 and two players really stood out for me. One was Ritchie Barker and the other was Alan Durban. What a player he was. I will always remember him coming over to the kids end at the end of the match. He was a fantastic player and man and will never be forgotten by the Derby fans. Long may he live.Updated: 16-05-22 Brian Wilson
Still up in Blackpool. It would be good to hear from any old boys.Updated: 16-05-22 Peter Spiers
Howard is an old friend from his playing days at Gillingham and Maidstone. Was just wondering how he is?Updated: 14-05-22
Now lives in Cheshire.Updated: 14-05-22 John
Went to college with Gill. Would love to talk.Updated: 14-05-22 Chris Vernon
World class. Hugely under rated. Saw him leave many international defenders punching the turf in his wake.Updated: 14-05-22 giom
Actually played against him in an over 30 league in N.Y. Went uo to defend him, somewhat aggressively when he stopped and said.."hey...we can play that way if you want." He was a heavy smoker and did so when off the field.Updated: 14-05-22 Trevor Dolling
I remember Mr Dyson from Hampstead Comprehensive School and Kingsbury FC. I was once left out the the school team because some idiot teacher allowed one of the pupils pick the team. I turned up anyway with my boots. It turned out that a few players didn’t turn up, Mr Dyson was stunned that I wasn’t picked and insisted that I played as striker, although I usually played in defence.
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.