|
Reckless Meets John Margerrison Reckless "Spread it Marge!" I am not certain who was the first to bellow out that corny phrase but the fact is that John Margerrison could do just that with a football with nonchalant ease, pinpoint accuracy and monotonous regularity. This in a era at Barnet Football Club that boasted talented midfielders the likes of Steve Turner, John Docker, Ian Ferguson, Edwin Stein, Robert Codner and Noel Ashford. Marge scored 23 goals in over 200 games for the club - probably missing out on 30 odd more games due to injuries sustained during his 6-year spell.
John was born in 1955 in Bushey but grew up in Borehamwood. Tottenham was his team, Jimmy Greaves his hero and he dreamed of one day playing at White Hart Lane. At school he started as a goalkeeper "I soon got fed up with that" he chuckled and drifted into a central midfield position. While representing Hertfordshire Boys he was spotted by a local scout. Arriving home from school John's Dad told him "Well son you have got yourself a trial at Spurs". His dream had come true and he signed as a Youth in 1971 turning professional in April 1972. "That was so exciting and the players at the club were legendary, Gilzean, Mullery, Jennings, Perryman, Chivers, England, Knowles, Peters and I played in the reserves with Grahame Souness and Glen Hoddle." I suggested that Souness, Hoddle and Margerrison was a very decent midfield trio? Marge chuckled again, "Yeah not bad eh? Hoddle even then had extraordinary ability and it is a travesty that he didn't appear more in an England shirt. You build a team around a player of that calibre". Unfortunately John didn't make a first team appearance at Tottenham and moved to Fulham in 1975. "Before I knew it I was playing in a midfield alongside George Best!" Best had signed for Fulham along with Rodney Marsh and Fulham's attendances for a while literally doubled. "Now I can tell you some stories. George was frightening at times, what he could do with the ball was unbelievable. We would never in a million years have got into some of the places we got into being with Besty either and I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with him on tour and on away games. I played at some wonderful grounds too, Old Trafford, St James' Park, Roker Park although I never made it to Wembley". Marge was the regular penalty taker at Craven Cottage during one season making over 70 appearances in total. "Basically my form dipped a bit and I had a bit of a run in with Bobby Campbell and I moved to Orient. I was 24 and got a signing on fee that basically set me up. My girlfriend Sue and I got married and we are still together all these years on! I was earning £170 a week plus bonuses, not bad eh? To be honest I didn't really enjoy my time there although I played alongside very good players like Tommy Taylor, Billy Jennings, Mervyn Day, John Chiedozie, Stan Bowles, and Peter Taylor. "I left Orient and started training with Wimbledon, then had a spell at Wealdstone. Then I got a call to go out to America and played for a short while with The Kansas City Comets in the indoor league, that was a great time, Sue and I playing Cowboys in the mid West. I subsequently played in Holland for a while but Sue fell pregnant and we came back to England. I phoned around a few clubs and met up with Barry Fry and he signed me for Barnet, that was summer 1983." I think it is fair to say that Margerrison's first real performance in an amber shirt, at least the first one that made supporters sit up and realise what a major influence he was going to have on the team, was in the 10-0 thrashing of Trowbridge Town in the Alliance League Trophy in September 1983. While Steve Ragan scored four times and Steve Mahoney grabbed three it was Margerrison and Nicky Evans – who made his debut as substitute that evening and scored twice – who really stole the limelight. I then rattled off some names from that era and Marge had quotes for them all. Steve Mahoney - "Moggsy was amazing he used to score every other goal from a rebound off his knee!" Peter Brown – "We were great mates but Brownie always carried too many pounds" Nicky Evans – "God to us all, fantastic player but more worried about his tan" Edwin Stein – "said I was lazy and didn't run but we have been close friends for years, he is older than he pretends to be you know!" Robert Codner – "good player, strong player" Steve Ragan – "Ragsy was completely mental, broke a post at Yeovil and the game was postponed while we were winning 1-0, could only be Rags. He and I had a fair few good nights out! He was a boy all right, mental". He carried on, "The squad stayed overnight once in Gateshead and when we got to the hotel Baz said something like 'you can go out and have a drink but make sure you are all in bed by 3am!' So we went out and had a jolly. At half time we were losing 2-0 and all playing like you know what. Baz blew a gasket and went crazy shouting at everybody calling us all the names and nearly coming to blows, tea tray going everywhere. We went out second half and scored 3 to win the game with me scoring the first then Mahoney and Stewart Atkins. Baz's smile was a picture. Team talks were always fun and he used to say 'right you do this, so and so do this' then he would look at me and say 'you just do what you want Marge'" When Fry moved from Underhill to Maidstone in 1985 he persuaded many of his favourite players to follow him but Marge resisted. "Yeah I was very happy at Barnet and said to Baz, 'mate I can't be bothered'. Steiny went mad when he found out I was thinking of joining saying 'Ere' Margie you don't wanna go there!' When Barry returned 18 months later that was when I thought to myself we really do have the makings of a great side here. It was disappointing finishing second to Scarborough but we played some tremendous football." That 1986/87 Conference season was without doubt Marge's finest in a Bees shirt. Not only did he score a dozen goals but also he literally controlled the midfield whilst strolling around the pitch in an almost casual manner. He was extremely modest in his reply to that statement. "When you had the likes of Evans, Dave Sansom, Mahoney and Keith Alexander to set up it was a pleasure to play. We had a strong defence too, Stevie Humphries, Andy Lomas, Steve Cox, Brownie, Glyn Greaser and Kevin Millet. Barry Little was an underrated player so was Codner and of course there was Steiny. We should have won the FA Trophy that year for sure as we were up for it but we lost out to of all people Fareham after sweeping past some good sides, we couldn't believe it".
John then spoke fondly about Stan Flashman. "One season we were travelling in a draughty old coach next season we were getting on board waitress service. We were treated like Kings and even got a bit of summer wages, which was unheard of then. He was a very generous man for most of the time." He winked after that comment. The following season was virtually lost through niggling injuries and in the first game of that campaign at home to Lincoln City a reckless tackle put John in plaster for weeks. "That was tough but do you remember when I went in goal one game?" he asked. "Of course I do it was at Enfield and you replaced Andy Lomas who had suffered concussion and we lost 0-4. A Barnet fan of my age doesn't forget days like that although we would like to" I replied. "I think Barry thought I was having a stinker that day and should try my luck in goal" he laughed. Much to the disappointment of the fans and especially the West Bank, Onion (as in Onion Bhaji - Margie) was released in 1989 and joined Wealdstone for just £2,500 – a snip. He became a bit of a journeyman for some 10 years after that turning out for St Albans, Harlow Town, Dunstable Town and finally finishing his career with Brache Sparta managed by ex Bees Steve Brinkman and Bill Baldry. "I played there in my 40s! Brinks was a lovely man and it was obvious he was heavily influenced by Barry's style of managing, we had some fantastic times". Steve Brinkman, a gifted midfielder who made nearly 150 appearance for Barnet in three spells between 1979 and 1985 sadly passed away in 2001. Without hesitation Marge along with many ex Bees turned out in a benefit match for Brinks' family in 2002 at Dunstable Town. "I was devastated when I heard the terrible news and we made sure that all the old boys turned out for him".
"They keep on, so I might just go along one night and let Steiny do my running again!" He is still slim with his own hair although he admits he couldn't last 90 minutes any more. "The legs have gone now but I think the mind is still sharp enough!" I spent a very special hour or so in his company reminiscing with a beer or two. It was a real treat for me because Marge is in my all time Barnet team in centre midfield next to Kenny Lowe. He was I can honestly reveal a richly talented player, oozing class with a great touch and vision and was sincerely respected by the fans. Finally he reflected, "I had some brilliant times at Fulham, not so brilliant at Orient, but I simply loved it at Barnet just because they always played the way I wanted to play"
Pictures (top to
bottom) Article reproduced by kind permission of Barnet FC. |
||
| Homepage > 0708 > Articles > Back To Top |
He remains a special favourite of
many supporters simply because of his customary majestic
performances on what was in those days an Underhill pitch
which wouldn't have looked out of place on Hackney
Marshes. I had been so looking forward to meeting him
again and after all these years and he didn't let me down
when it came to the entertainment value, just like his
act on the pitch.
John 52 is now happily settled in
Northampton, working as a BT engineer, with his wife Sue
and they have been married for nearly 30 years. They have
two children – daughter Faye and a soon to be
married son Sam. Marge chuckled when he said "I play
a little golf and spend time fishing when I can, I take
it easy, laid back just like the way they said I used to
play". He keeps in touch with Edwin Stein and Kevin
Millet who are trying to persuade him to start playing in
their Vets League on a Friday night.