John Fairbrother
John Fairbrother (born 12 February 1941) is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He scored 153 goals from 352 appearances in the Football League playing for Watford, Peterborough United, Northampton Town, Mansfield Town and Torquay United. He also played in the Southern League for Worcester City, Bath City and Barnet, and continued his non-league football career with Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted Town and Leverstock Green. He continued playing with Garston veterans into his early 50s . Life and career Fairbrother was born in 1941 in Cricklewood, London, and moved to Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in 1953. He played youth football in the Hemel area and spent the 1958–59 season with Luton Town's junior side before moving to Watford. He scored four goals on his debut for Watford's reserves and signed professional forms immediately afterwards. He was prolific in the reserves, but did not make his senior debut until October 1960, when he scored in a 5–2 loss to Derby County in the League Cup. His first appearance in the Third Division came on 12 November against Hull City, and he scored his first Football League goal a week later in a 1–1 draw with Reading. He played increasingly regularly in the 1961–62 season, but his progress was interrupted when he broke a leg during a match in February 1962, just before his 21st birthday. Watford confirmed immediately that he would be retained for the following season and would be kept on first-team wages during his recovery. He scored five goals in the first four matches of 1962–63, but soon dropped out of the side, and finished the season with 22 goals from 45 matches in all competitions over his three-year Watford career. After two seasons with Worcester City, during which he scored 51 Southern League goals, and 87 in all competitions, Fairbrother joined Peterborough United for a £5000 fee. Worcester did not want to sell, and their supporters' club offered to pay £2000 towards keeping him, but the player was determined to return to the Football League. He spent three months short of three seasons with the Third Division club, and top scored in the second and third. In February 1968, Fairbrother began three-and-a-half years with Northampton Townone-and-a-half in the Third Division and two in the fourthduring which he was a first-team regular, top-scored in all three complete seasons, and was ever-present in 1969–70 with 56 appearances, which included an FA Cup fifth round match in which Fairbrother had two chances to open the scoring for Northampton. The first chance was a one-on-one with the keeper but Fairbrother was fouled on the edge of penalty area. The second chance came after Stepney pushed the ball onto the post but the angle was to narrow for Fairbrother to score. George Best scored six goals in Manchester United's 8–2 win. Mansfield Town signed Fairbrother a month into their 1971–72 season in the Third Division, at which point they had not scored a league goal at home. That state of affairs