John Leslie Sissons (born 30 September 1945) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward for West Ham United, Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City and Chelsea.
Career Sissons started his career as an apprentice for West Ham United in 1961. He joined the club along with Peter Bennett after the pair were spotted by scout Charlie Faulkner while playing for Middlesex Schoolboys. He played for England Youth in the 1964 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and scored the fourth goal in the Final, a 4–0 win over Spain at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
He had played as an inside-left for Middlesex and England Schoolboys, but was moved to outside-left by Hammers manager Ron Greenwood. He made his senior debut for the east London club on 4 May 1963, a home game against Blackburn Rovers. Sissons became the youngest player to score in an FA Cup Final at Wembley, in May 1964, and second youngest to appear, behind his Preston North End counterpart Howard Kendall. He went on to play 213 league (37 goals) and 52 cup (16 goals) games for West Ham.
Sissons moved to Wednesday in 1970 for £60,000. He made 115 league appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to Norwich City, where he rejoined former teammate John Bond.
Chelsea signed Sissons for £70,000 from Norwich in August 1974. He made his debut on 17 August 1974 in a 2–0 home defeat by Carlisle United. He made 11 appearances during the 1974–75 season but failed to establish himself in a struggling Chelsea side who were relegated at the end of the season. In March 1975, he joined up with North American Soccer League club Tampa Bay Rowdies. He was part of the championship-winning team which featured other English exports Clyde Best, Stewart Jump, Stewart Scullion, Paul Hammond and Mark Lindsay.
After his release from Chelsea, Sissons emigrated to South Africa and finished his career with two seasons at Cape Town City.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsWest Ham United1962–63First Division100000——101963–64First Division1437310——2261964–65First Division3882110921051111965–66First Division365219141—5181966–67First Division3572163——43111967–68First Division3783220——42101968–69First Division3241021——3551969–70First Division2021000——212Total213371882151331026653Sheffield Wednesday1970–71Second Division3630010——3731971–72Second Division4181021——4491972–73Second Division3235020——3931973–74Second Division600000——60Total115146051——12615Norwich City1973–74Second Division172003100002031974–75First Division000000001010Total17200310010213Chelsea1974–75First Division1101010——130Tampa Bay Rowdies1975NASL195————195Career total375582583071332044576
Honours West Ham United FA Cup: 1963–64 FA Charity Shield: 1964 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1964–65 Football League Cup runner-up: 1965–66
References
External links
Tampa Bay Rowdies profile