Billy Jennings (born 20 February 1952) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He also played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

for

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

. A former youth player with

, Jennings made his professional debut for the Hornets on 10 April 1970, a third place play-off game against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the 1969–70 FA Cup campaign at

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

which the team lost 2–0. He made 10 League appearances that season, 16 in 1971–72, and 19 in 1972–73. The 1973–74 season ended with Jennings as Third Division top scorer on 26 goals, and

Watford Player of the Season Watford Football Club are an English football club, from Watford, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club has competed in the Football League since 1920 and since the 2015–16 season have competed in the Premier League. F ...

. After 100 appearances for Watford, and England Youth international honours, Jennings signed for

for £110,000 in September 1974, an early signing for new manager

John Lyall John Angus Lyall (24 February 1940 – 18 April 2006) was an English footballer and manager primarily known for his 34 years at West Ham United. He played for the club as a youth, then as a first-team player before injury cut short his career. ...

. The fee was almost double Watford's previous record for a received transfer fee, and was £5,000 less than West Ham's record spend. Jennings scored on his Hammers debut on 7 September 1974, against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, and was a member of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winning team of 1974–75. The following season, West Ham got to the Final of the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, with Jennings scoring two goals in the away leg of club's quarter-final. The second-leg home game against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

saw the Hammers score three, to bring the aggregate score to 5–5, and go through on

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. In 1977, Jennings spent three months on loan at NASL club

, playing with fellow Englishman Ronnie Moore and Scot

Willie Morgan William Alix "Willie" Morgan MBE (born 2 October 1944) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Club career A winger, Morgan started his career with Burnley, making his first-team debut against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in 1963. ...

. On his return, he suffers an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

injury, after which he failed to hold on to a regular place in the West Ham team. After 127 league and cup appearances and 41 goals for West Ham, he moved to

in August 1979. Jennings scored 26 goals in 78 appearances for Orient before moving to

. Although he retired after two substitute appearances for the Hatters, he later played for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

clubs

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

and Heybridge Swifts. Jennings later worked as a

football agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

, running the Premier Management agency, whose clients included former West Ham players Hayden Mullins and

Kevin Nolan Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and coach, who manages Northampton Town. He has represented England at under-21 level. After growing up in Toxteth, Liverpool, Nolan signed for Bolton ...

. He left the company in 2005.

Honours

West Ham United *

: 1974–75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Billy 1952 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Hackney People from Hackney Central English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Watford F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Leyton Orient F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Dagenham F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Heybridge Swifts F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players British sports agents English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers