Most Obscure Former Players

His middle name was definitely not out

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Mathieu Manset

It’s fair to say that Gareth Barry went on to have slightly the more distinguished career, out of the two…

World beater vs Leicester in The friendly still remember it. Thought to myself what a striker

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Ledesma was a suprising signing

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Can any older guys help me with this one .
In my younger days - at Fellows Park, I remember a Centre Half called John Saunders .
Mid 70’s ??

He wasn’t a regular by any means , but I recall a home game at FP when he was so bad that all of the Street End were singing - Saunders off - Saunders off !!

He was replaced , and I am not sure if he played for us again.
I haven’t heard a home crowd turn on a player so badly before or since

just thought of Jason Price, had an afro not sure he played many games

John Saunders played a fair few games for us. He wasn’t well liked but, when it came to the F A Cup match against Newcastle, he kept the best striker in England quiet for the whole game and won plaudits all around.

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Played against Newcastle as a centre half and helped mark McDonald and Tudor out of the game. We signed him from Leeds, I’m not sure if he ever played a game for them. Leeds had signed him from Newport, who had signed him from B’rum for whom he had played in a Youth Cup Final.
He used to play right back or centre back, and I think he had the odd game in midfield when Doug Fraser became manager.
I remember him scoring a goal when he was playing full back, he crossed the ball into the middle and it flew in the net. Can’t think who the opponents were, but it was an early Doug Fraser game I think.
He played at right back in both games against ManUre and also the defeat to Blues.
I was never a big fan of his but the Newcastle game made me eat my words.
I think he was injured the season after the cup run and retired.

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Don’t know how accurate it is but have came across a record on the web of us having signed a German defender by the name of Franz Berger before the start of the 96/7 season but he only stayed until the following January. I have absolutely no recollection of that at all - anyone else recall anything about him? I assume he was a STM special.

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No recollection at all. Sounds as though we signed him, then flipped him and moved him on.

https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/franz-berger/

Looks like he was only a kid at the time, and didn’t have a particularly stellar career altogether. A “promising youngster” who failed to live up to expectations?

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Still talking of Michaels, Michael Husbands. I think he was yet another ineffective Merson signing.
Played in a Youth Cup final with the equally ineffective Stefan Moore, and the rather more effective James O’Connor.

Yes he played for us 99 times over 3 years. He was originally signed by Leeds as a replacement for Jack Charlton but he never quite made the grade. A decent player for us. He was never a favourite but I do not recall him being unpopular either.

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How about Frank Kletzenbauer? Came to us from Coventry and played just 12 times.

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Added some balance to midfield alongside Matt Richards. Rather than the MR - Taundry CM partnership we were lumbered with before. Then Marc Laird came in after alonside Gbarrsin.

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Danny Sonner. Twice. Once was too often in my book

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Thanks for this. I recall seeing a German registered car at Bescot on numerous occasions during this period (when in my mid-20’s) & wondering who it belonged to! Must have been this chaps car. Don’t recall him ever playing for us.

Don’t remember that occasion, but John Saunders used to lodge with a family in Darlaston. The mother of the family worked with my mom and they arranged for him to come to our house for my 11th birthday.
Signed my autograph book and took it away to get it signed by the rest of the players.
Never a great player, but top bloke all the same.

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Sounds like a good guy. But my memory of the era is of three half-backs (that dates me!) who were all pretty useless and all had surnames beginning with S. John Saunders, Graham Sissons and Terry Simpson. Given that I was probably 10 or 11 at the time, so it’s 54 or 55 years ago, it might be that they were decent players, but at the time I thought that they were all rubbish.