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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

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 * Coac ...

. He made 100 appearances as a player for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

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 simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

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

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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

and Chelsea 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 ...

and had a short spell at

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, 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 ...

club

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

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 . History ...

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. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, 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 was in a predominantly resi ...

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 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 Reg Newton 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 association football, 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 Establis ...

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 organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, 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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

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 the London Borough of Haringey People from Wood Green English men's footballers Men's 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 20th-century English sportsmen