I’ve been toying with writing this article for some time and the first thing that’s been a hurdle to jump over is the inevitable debate and conjecture it will cause between anybody who knows the club, past or present. Take it with a pinch of salt and I am sure there are many differing opinions in and around the club! This list is personal to me, for differing reasons over differing periods.

Having seen my first game at the age of 8 back in 1989, I have seen the best and the worst of times at Lowfield and feel somewhat qualified to offer my thoughts on an all time Hoddesdon Town XI. Bear in mind that this isn’t a list of who I think the best 11 footballers are, more the 11 players I have enjoyed seeing wearing the shirt, taking to the field and representing the club over the last 34 years.

This is also a First Team Best XI, so those of you who predominantly played Reserve Team football, I will probably do a Reserves version at a later date!

So let’s begin.

Goalkeeper

As a fully paid up member of the goalkeepers' union, this is perhaps the toughest choice for me. I have had the pleasure of working with some goalkeeping greats at Hoddesdon in my role as goalkeeping coach and as part of the management team at various stages. Some of my best memories at the club are of Thursday night training sessions, coming up with new drills for the goalkeepers to try out and throwing ourselves around in the mud for an hour and a half.

Some honourable mentions here, including Reece Buck (now plying his trade for our tenants Broxbourne Badgers), Lee Robinson and Simon Dent from the Kelsey era and our very own Liam Nugent who is quickly becoming one of the most well regarded goalkeepers both at the club and in non league football.

But my choice goes to Mark Foster. “Fozzy” as he was affectionately known, pulled off some quite incredible saves at his peak, his athleticism and flexibility often defying the laws of physics and as Hoddesdon stoppers go, he’s my number 1 pick.

Defenders

I am going for a straight 4-4-2 system with this team and picking only 4 defenders is tough.

I will start with Richie Simmonds, an absolute rock in the centre of defence during the Alan Moore years and “Simmo” was a main stay for many years with over 300 appearances.

Next up, I’ve gone for someone from the Andy Crawford era, Kevin Metivier. Kevin was an excellent full back who belied his diminutive appearance and could be relied upon to both work hard in defence while still managing to get forward up the wing and supply the attacks. Kevin has been seen recently up at the club and it’s always great to see old faces return to Lowfield.

My third defender is another member of Alan Moores exciting side from the mid 90s, Ian Barnes. “Barnesy” was a member of a group of players affectionately known as “The Spice Boys” who partied almost as hard as they played football. Ian was a tough tackling, no nonense defender and part of a core of lads who hailed from the Enfield area.

My final defender, and I am probably crowbarring him in a little bit as a defender, is Pablo Ardiles. Not only did Pablo bring the star power to Lowfield with the Ardiles name already legendary to most Spurs fans, his close control, tricky runs and tenacious style always lit up Lowfield, and he completes my back four with over 400 appearances in the white shirt.

Honourable mentions to the likes of Danny Nichols, Damien Thomas, Steve Magona, Dean Stuber, Charlie Morgan, Paul “Manno” Mann and Stuart Parker, a man who embodied the spirit of Hoddesdon and in later years, had an award created in his name that is still presented to this day.

Midfield

Let’s start on the wing, and one of my favourite Hoddesdon Town players of all time. Spencer Knight was what would be known these days as a “luxury player” but to me, he was pure entertainment. The ability to beat several players, an eye for goal, skilful and played the game like it came to him with ease. And let’s not forget those flowing boyhood locks!

Staying out wide, I couldn’t name an all time XI without Joel Miller. Similar to Spencer in ability, Joel was the thinking mans footballer and with the ball at his feet, he was capable of doing the unthinkable. Joel also holds the distinction of my favourite ever goal celebration, jumping into a nearby wheelie bin and closing the lid after burying the ball into the far corner. Joel is also an incredible stats man and we would often spend many an evening in the clubhouse testing his knowledge and never being able to trip him up.

No Hoddesdon Best XI would be complete without the clubs leading appearance holder, and with over 600 games for the club, Jeff Cross truly was Captain Fantastic. It is brilliant to see Jeff in the dugout these days and in his day, Jeff wasn’t just the best player at the club, he was up there with the best in non league football. Jeff went about his business with minimal fuss but knew how to control a midfield and dominate a game, all while being a leader and an example to his team mates.

My final midfield pick with over 300 appearances and the godfather to one of my children (so yes, I am a bit biased) is Neil Conner. Neil played under many managers at Lowfield, from Alan Moore to Geoff O’Vell through to Bill O’Driscoll, and was an attacking player capable of unlocking a defence and very often, grabbing an all important goal near the end of a game. Neil also went on to be the most successful reserve team manager in the clubs history with 3 Floodlit Cup wins in a row and it was an honour to be his assistant during that golden period.

Honourable midfield mentions go to Gary Simmonds, Ricky Light, Barrington Brotherton, Connor Bolton, Jackson Gash, Matt Negus, Dave Ayers, Aaron Tourlamain, Connor Scully, Andy Martin, Jamie Brandon, Tyler Hatherly and Paul Evitt.

Forwards

The goal scorers. The ones who made us stand up, shout and cheer on a Saturday afternoon when the net bulged and the roar could be heard from the towns Clock Tower.

There are so many brilliant forward players to choose from over the years but I can only pick two, so here we go.

First up in my team is Richard Howard. Richie came from behind the iron curtain at local rivals St Margaretsbury and made an instant impact at Lowfield. He was a fan favourite and an absolute goal machine and until recently, was still banging them in at Vets level over at Wormley.

My second striker is Ryan Redford. I don’t think I have seen a more exciting young player than “Ryno” burst onto the non league football scene and his ability and an eye for a goal was incredible. Ryan had huge success in non league after leaving Hoddesdon and was revered in the local game. Ryan came back to the club for a second stint that was cruelly cut short with a broken leg in a cup game against newly formed FC Romania in a horrendous clash with their goalkeeper at Lowfield, but I still have the photos of Ryan giving the thumbs up from the back of the ambulance as he was carted off to the Queen Elizabeth II hospital. In later years, it was an honour to play with Ryan for local Sunday side Harts and he even teed me up for a goal against Lemsford during a late substitute appearance over at Hartham Common, which, as a goalkeeper, was my only ever goal in senior football!

Honourable forward mentions to goal machines Barry White and Dave Russell, Simon Eden, Rocco Tona, Mark Summers and fan favourites Dean Barker and Ben Andreos.

So there we go. I am SURE I have forgotten loads of players and will probably kick myself when this goes to print, but I look forward to the text messages and phone calls from those who didn’t make it!

Who makes your team? Let me know in the comments.

Come On You Lilywhites!

The Team

Mark Foster
Richie Simmonds
Ian Barnes
Kevin Metivier
Pablo Ardiles
Spencer Knight
Joel Miller
Jeff Cross
Neil Conner
Richard Howard
Ryan Redford