John Fielding (footballer, born 1939)

John Arnold Fielding (born 2 September 1939) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Brentford, Southport and Grimsby Town. He later had a long career in non-League football and also played in South Africa.

John Fielding
Personal information
Full name John Arnold Fielding[1]
Date of birth (1939-09-02) 2 September 1939
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Position(s) Right winger, right midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1961 Wigan Athletic 19 (8)
1961–1963 Southport 77 (21)
1963–1965 Brentford 82 (18)
1965–1967 Grimsby Town 30 (8)
1967–1968 Port Elizabeth City
1969–1970 Wigan Athletic 27 (3)
Altrincham
Ellesmere Port Town
South Liverpool
Runcorn
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Early years

A right winger or midfielder, Fielding began his career at Lancashire Combination First Division club Wigan Athletic, scoring a goal every other game during the 1959–60 season and earning a £300 move to Football League Fourth Division club Southport in March 1961.[1][2] He broke into the team on a regular basis during the 1961–62 season, scoring 12 goals in 45 games.[3] He went even better the 1962–63 season, bagging 11 goals in 32 games before departing the club in March 1963.[2][3] Fielding scored made 86 appearances and scored 24 goals for Southport.[3]

Brentford

Fielding signed for Fourth Division high-flyers Brentford in March 1963 in a £7,000 deal.[2] He had impressed manager Malky McDonald with his performance while a Southport player at Griffin Park in a 3–3 draw earlier in the season.[2] After the return fixture, McDonald tabled a big-money offer.[2] Fielding made seven appearances in what remained of the 1962–63 season to help the Bees over the line to the Division Four title.[4] He made semi-regular appearances in the Third Division and made 31 appearances, before fully breaking into the team in the 1964–65 season, when he made 42 appearances and scoring 10 league goals.[4] After making just 9 appearances in the first half of the 1965–66 season, Fielding left the Bees in December 1965.[2][4] He made 93 appearances and scored 21 goals during two-and-a-half years at Griffin Park.[2]

Grimsby Town

Fielding joined Third Division club Grimsby Town in December 1965.[2] Though not a regular pick for the team, he managed eight goals in 30 league games before departing in 1967.[1]

Port Elizabeth City

Fielding moved to South Africa in 1967, where he linked up with former Brentford teammate Matt Crowe at National Football League club Port Elizabeth City.[2] He had a successful 1967 season, winning the league title and departing after the 1968 campaign.

Return to Wigan Athletic

Fielding returned to Wigan Athletic in 1969 for a second spell with the now high-flying Northern Premier League club.[2] He made 27 league appearances and scored three goals during the 1969–70 season and helping the Latics to a second-successive runners-up finish in the league. He departed at the end of the season.

Non-league football

Fielding wound down his career with spells at Northern Premier League clubs Altrincham, Ellesmere Port Town, South Liverpool and Runcorn.[2]

Honours

Port Elizabeth City

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southport 1960–61[5] Fourth Division 9 1 — — — 9 1
1961–62[6] 41 10 3 1 1 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 1 45 12
1962–63[7] 27 10 2 1 3 0 — 32 11
Total 77 21 5 2 4 0 1 1 86 24
Brentford 1962–63[4] Fourth Division 7 3 — — — 7 3
1963–64[4] Third Division 28 4 0 0 3 0 — 31 4
1964–65[4] 38 10 4 1 0 0 — 42 11
1965–66[4] 9 1 2 2 0 0 — 11 3
Total 82 18 6 3 3 0 — 91 21
Career total 159 39 11 5 7 0 1 1 177 45
  1. Appearance in Liverpool Senior Cup

References
  1. "John Fielding". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  2. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 56. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  3. "Johnny Fielding". Port Online. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 387–388. ISBN 0951526200.
  5. "Player Details". Port Online. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  6. "Player Details". Port Online. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  7. "Player Details". Port Online. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
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