William Thomas Sperrin (9 April 1922 – 21 June 2000) was an English football

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He made 100 appearances as a player for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

and was later a member of the coaching staff at Hillingdon Borough for 12 years.

Club career

Early years

, Sperrin began his career as an amateur at

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and also represented Middlesex Schools. His career was interrupted by the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1939, but he managed to make 27 wartime appearances for the club, scoring six goals. He also played as a guest for

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former ho ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

during the war. After the war, Sperrin dropped into

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

and had a short spell at

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this ...

club Finchley and then spent a season with Southern League club

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . Histor ...

Brentford

Sperrin joined Second Division club

in September 1949 and made his debut in a 1–1 draw with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

on 1 October 1949. He gradually broke into the team and scored 11 goals in 35 appearances during the 1951–52 season. Sperrin's appearances subsequently tailed off and he made just 23 appearances between August 1952 and his final appearance in September 1956. In 1956, he was jointly awarded a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

with George Bristow, Ken Horne and

Reg Newton Reginald William Newton (26 June 1926 – 21 November 1976) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Brentford and Leyton Orient. Playing career Leyton Orient A goalkeeper, Newton began h ...

against an International Managers XI. Sperrin made 100 appearances and scored 30 goals during his seven years at

Non-league football

Sperrin dropped back into non-league football in 1956, linking up with fellow Brentford departee

at Kent League First Division club Tunbridge Wells United. He ended his career with a 14-year spell at Southern League club Hillingdon Borough and finally

North Greenford United North Greenford United Football Club is a football club based in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. History Established in 1944, original ...

Coaching career

After his retirement as a player, Sperrin went on to serve Yiewsley (later named Hillingdon Borough) for 12 years in the trainer,

assistant manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

roles. As assistant manager, he had the honour of leading the team out for the 1971 FA Trophy final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Jim Langley had included himself in the starting lineup.

Personal life

Sperrin's brother James was also a footballer and the brothers' early careers mirrored each other, with both on the books at Tottenham Hotspur and later signing for Finchley. Sperrin's son Martyn was also a footballer.

Honours

Hillingdon Borough * Southern League First Division second-place promotion: 1965–66

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperrin, Billy 1922 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Wood Green English footballers Association football inside forwards Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Finchley F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players Hillingdon Borough F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Clapton Orient F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Millwall F.C. wartime guest players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. wartime guest players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. wartime guest players Chelsea F.C. wartime guest players North Greenford United F.C. players Kent Football League (1894–1959) players