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: 20-10-21 Donna
My grandad was still alive until the 13th August 2003. At 8.20pm he took his last breath in front of me at 83 yrs old. I loved him with all my soul and felt like part of me has been missing ever since that night. I’ve got his medal and all his photos as I was the apple of his eye and he was my hero.Updated: 20-10-21 Eamonn Mc Donnell
As a young boy I met Jim Iley at a friendly match against my local Irish team Coleraine FC. Peterborough were on an Irish tour late 60s. I got him to sign his autograph in my scrapbook. His photo was with his Newcastle shirt. Good luck.Updated: 20-10-21 John Love
In May 1986, Leeds played the last game of the season at Norwich. Norwich were already champions and Leeds were in the doldrums. My university mate, in his Leeds top and me, in my Celtic top stood behind the goal in the Norwich end and sang all day, the locals obviously wary of our apparent madness gave us plenty of space. In the second half Mervyn kept on looking behind at us and smiling, shaking his head. Near the end, came the news I had been praying for from Scotland that Celtic had sensationally won the league. I fell to my knees letting out a huge roar that Mervyn spun around at.Updated: 20-10-21 Fred Collins
Hi DelUpdated: 19-10-21 Andi Saunders
Sadly Kit died aged 75 in South Africa in March 2019Updated: 19-10-21 Anthony Otway
I watched Peter Rattray when he played for Norwich City. In the FA Cup replay against Tonbridge, I played hooky from school, the only time in my life I did that. John Summers scored the only goal in the last minute and he was offside. Peter did not play many games for Norwich City.Updated: 18-10-21 Michael Hawthorn
I think I worked with Carl after he left football and worked on the railway. This would of course be required to check if he remembers this...it would be about 2014.Updated: 18-10-21 Bob Henzell
I wish he was playing for Newcastle United now! They need good Scottish defenders as they had in their heyday, so many years ago.Updated: 18-10-21 Sue Truman
Watching Kenny as I was growing up was what got me into football, and I have been a Wolves fan ever since. I finally got to meet my idol when I was about 49. Through a good friend Jim Fisher he arranged with Kenny for a meet up with me outside Molineux. I was living in Pittsburgh at the time and used to come back to Wolves once a year. As promised, Kenny was there for a chat, photos and to sign a few things for me.. He was a true gentleman, a legend in my eyes. A Wolves Legend forever.Updated: 18-10-21 Simon Hedley
I remember his testimonial. After the final whistle, I ran on with a massive banner that I had made in the garage. It said “King Zak is Magic!”
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.