John was
educated at St. Mary’s School, Southampton and, at 13, he
became their first pupil to play for the Southampton Schools
XI. By playing his part in the side that reached the final
of the 1954 English Schools trophy, only to lose out to
Liverpool, he came to the notice of Saints. In August 1955
he joined CPC Sports who doubled as a Saints’ nursery side.
In due course John became part of the successful 1956-57
Southampton Youth side which did so well in the FA Youth Cup.
Saints lost out 7-5 to Manchester United on aggregate but
Sydenham's lasting memory of the cup adventure was of
Manchester United manager Matt Busby going into the Old
Trafford dressing room and congratulating them on their
performance. The young Saints side had just won 3-2,
becoming the first side to beat United in the Youth Cup, but
the damage had already been done in front of a 20,000 crowd
at The Dell where the Busby Babes had won the first leg 5-2.
He was now
well on his way to a successful career in football and
having been selected for England Youth five times, he joined
Southampton as a professional in April 1957. John made his
debut for the Southampton first team on 4 May 1957 at home
to Newport County. At this time John first joined forces
with another young winger, Terry Paine, and before long both
players were regulars in Saints’ first team, tearing Third
Division defences to pieces.
He became famous for having an incredible burst of speed and
would simply knock the ball past an opposing defender and
then outsprint him to reach the ball first.
He first received International honours in the 1959-60
season being twice selected for the England Under-23 team
including against Scotland, which match ended 4-4. A young
Denis Law netted all four goals for the Scots while Jimmy
Greaves converted a hat-trick for the English.
Like most players at this time, his progress was interrupted
by National Service in July 1960.
On his return to the club, he soon regained his place on the
left-wing and played an important part in helping
Southampton reach the First Division in 1966. Unfortunately,
by the time of Saints’ arrival in the top flight wingers
were dropping out of favour, and John was often not selected
for away games in preference for an extra defender.
Uncomplainingly, he remained loyal to the club and on 16
August 1969, he enjoyed a spectacular afternoon at Old
Trafford, when he laid on all four of Ron Davies' goals to
set up a memorable 4-1 victory against Manchester United.
To Saints fans from the 1960s, the words "Paine and Sydenham"
roll off the tongue as effortlessly as "peaches and cream",
and the two of them will always be remembered as the club’s
finest ever pair of wingers.
John made 401 League and Cup appearances for the Saints,
scoring 40 goals.
Eventually,
he was slowed by age and lost much of his effectiveness
and, after a testimonial match against Portsmouth, in
March 1970 he moved to Aldershot (under old team-mate
Jimmy Melia), for whom he made 59 appearances before
moving on briefly to Bath City , managed by another
ex-Saint David Burnside.
He first went to Perth, Western Australia in 1974. He
stayed just for the one year, but in that time faced
Chelsea with the State side in May and won a Top-Four
medal with Floreat Athena before jetting back to England.
He was lured back to Western Australia in 1980 to take on
a player-coaching role at the Greek-backed club Athena,
where both Alan Ball and Ted MacDougall played for him,
and succeeded in returning the side back into the State
League as Second Division champions.
Today, with his wife Jean, he lives in Perth where he runs
an insurance company he formed 20 years ago. Since the demise
of their academy in Australia, Sydenham is Saints'
representative there, keeping a close eye on any talent coming
through.
Interview
arranged by Spanish Saints in 2006
What do you think of the current situation at
Southampton Football Club? Obviously like all supporters I'm very
disappointed with the current situation How do you think football has changed since you were
playing? Basically the game is still the same, it's still all
about passing the ball to each other and scoring goals and being able to
defend, but I'm
sure it's a lot more physical now and the money has definitely
changed things
and we now have agents involved. All I can say is I am so glad I
played when I did, didn't make any money but sure had a lot of fun!!
Do you still look out for Southamptons results in
Australia? Due to the time difference I am often up in the middle of
the night listening to the live commentary so the answer is yes As one of our quickest ever wingers, what do you make of
Nathan Dyer? Watching Theo and Nathan in the youth cup when I was over
last year was one of the highlights of my trip. I just wish Terry Paine
had been with me as I know he would have enjoyed it also. I'm sure Nathan has
all it takes
to go a long way in the game especially if he developes
physically. When you consider the amount of money being
offered for Theo Wallcott (£10-15m). How much do you think yourself and Terry
Paine would cost at todays values, when you and him began to terrorise
defenders? Must
be be at least the same for both of you. Thank you for some
fine memories. guess that's something we'll never know although in my
opinion Terry would have to be worth at least as much as Theo, as for me
you'll have to find a real old fan to give an opinion on that!! but it's
great that you
have some fine memories.
Do you think enough is being done to
commemorate the 'Great' Ted Bates? No I don't. although I was pleased to see Rupert has
donated 5,000
pounds to the fund. I'm not sure what the current situation is but
I really think the club should get on with it now. How often in the course of a year do you manage to get
back 'Home'? Usually at least once a year Are you currently associated with any Football Clubs in
Australia? No Do you think at the moment 'Saints' are equiped
financially and otherwise to return to the Premiership? They should be equipped financially but at the end of the
day it's all
about spending money wisely as in all businesses.I just hope the
players being brought in at the moment have the passion and commitment
needed to turn
this disastrous period around
.
Do you know the current wherabouts of my namesake Ron
Davies, I would like to correspond with him, I know he was last known to be
in the States. Thanks John for some happy memories and for taking the
trouble to come on
to our Forum, can I wish you Good Luck in the future The last news I have of Ron was not good. Terry Paine
told me last
year he'd heard Ron was living in Mexico and had fallen on hard
times. I've not heard any more since then, maybe David Bull knows more?
Thank you very
much for your comments and good luck to you also in the future. What is your most memorable game/goal The most memorable game for me personally would have to
be beating Wolves 9-3 at the dell in 1965. I scored 2 that day and one
of them was a bit special, the only disappointment was I didn't get a hat
trick as I hit the post late in the game Who, in your opinion was the hardest player you
played against and the most skillful you played with. I think I would have to say Billy Bremner at Leeds was
the hardest.The most skilful player at Southampton in my opinion was Terry
Paine How does the fitness/physio side of the game compare
to when you
were playing No comparison, the game is definitely more physical and
players are
much quicker and stronger than when I was playing. Whether that
makes it more exciting or not is debatable, personally I don't think so. As the fans were very close to the pitch at The Dell
can you
remember any funny and/or comical remarks/comment from the crowd
The closeness of the fans to the players at the dell is
what made it such a special place, Apart from the guy who would
continually yell out " use your weight Sydie" ( I was all of 9 and a half stone
soaking wet!!!!) which gave everyone a good laugh including me I don't
remember any thing particular Hi John. Thanks for taking the
trouble to answer
a great wad
of questions! Looking back, did you find your National Service
of any benefit to you or did you miss football too much to notice? National Service was great for my own personal
developement but I believe did quite a lot of harm to my football career. To
have two years taken away from the Saints at that time could easily have
finished me. I
had been picked to play in the England under 23's and we had
just won
promotion into the second division Although I managed to get away for
a few games I was never at training which made it difficult. Thankfully
Ted Bates stuck with me and it all worked out o.k in the end You faced defenders from Division 3 [League One]
to Division 1 [Premiership]. What were the differences that most impressed
you?
As you progress through the various leagues defenders
are better in
all departments. Not only are they quicker and stronger they
think about the game much more and from a wingers point of view it becomes
harder to get
into the game at all. Who were the outstanding footballers you faced
in opposition
in any division? I was fortunate to have played against most of the great
players of
the sixties including all those that played in the world cup in
1966, also people like George Best, Denis Law, Jimmy Greaves and the
great John
Charles and many others. If there is a favourite moment, big or small,
peculiar, humourous, tragic or simply wonderful; which is it that you
find you remember most often from your days at Southampton FC? I think the last week of the 1966 season when we finally
clinched promotion to Division one. The fantastic game at Leyton
Orient where we
got the point we needed and then the last game at Man City where
we had to
avoid a 6-0 defeat You tormented Shay Brennan at OT during the
memorable 4-1 win.Has he ever forgiven you? Sadly Shay Brennan is no longer with us, he passed away
a few years
ago but I'm sure he forgave me!! My memories are of you flying down the wing in
not too many strides [hardly the proper way to sprint according to the
text-books, but you did it]. Were you ever coached in your sprinting, and
were you ever officially timed over a distance? I never realised I wasn't text book!! No I was never
coached in my sprinting that just didn't happen in those days and I can't
ever remember being timed. All I do remember is when Micky Channon arrived
as a young
lad he went by me as if I was standing still!! Thanks for your
comments and
I am so pleased to have played a part in making you a saints
fan Thanks for doing this. I saw you play at The Dell
back in the early-mid sixties, when I was about 11-13 years old. Must
say, you were
one of my favourite players, along with Ron Davies and Terry
Paine. Is it true that you are an old boy of St. Mary's College in Bitterne
Park? I ask because I'm one myself ('64-'69). Do you have any
footballing memories of playing with school teams? Yes I am an Old Simmarian( 48-54) Brother Gregory ran
the school team and he was the one who recommended me for trials with
Southampton Schoolboys. I often wonder what would have happened if he
hadn't done that Did you play for any other local and/or regional
teams before
you joined SFC? I played in many teams in the 2 years after leaving
school at 15
untill signing pro at 17, including Bitterne Nomads, B.T.C, and
C.P.C( the Saints nursery team) and also in the Sunday league for Bitterne
Park and Manton
Utd Which do you think was (were) your peak year(s) playing for
Saints? All through the sixties When you've had a couple of beers, and are waxing nostalgic
about your
days playing in the red-and-white stripes, is there one "great
moment", or one specific game that stands out from all the others? I've already mentioned one game against Wolves but
another favourite would have to be against Man City in the 3rd round of the
cup in 1960. We beat them 5-1 at Maine Rd and when you consider we were in
the 3rd
Division and they were in the first it really was an incredible
result. Derek
Reeves scored 4 goals that day and I recently donated the ball from
the game to
the Ted Bates Trust
If you don't mind me getting personal, do you still retain
any close friendships with players (or non-players) you worked with at
SFC. All the best; and thanks for the memories! For many years after my career ended I played for the
ex-saints in charity games so a lot of us kept in touch that way. We've
also had quite
a few re-unioins over the years. I'm glad you have so many
memories Big fan...grew up watching you!! The only let down
I ever
enjured during your illustrious career was losing to those skates on
your Testimonial. Do you draw any similarity between the rampant
and inspirational Sydy/Painer combo and the embryonic Nate/THE-O
partnership? Number 11, a total legend I must admit even though it was my testimonial I didn't
enjoy that
game much!! Yes I could see a similarity what a shame they are
not together
any more. Lets hope Nathan keeps on developing and lets hope we
can keep
him!!! Thanks for your comment In the Dream Fans DVD, you said every player wanted
to play for Ted Bates. What was so special about him that made everyone want
to play for him? Ted was totally commited to S.F.C and was a very honest
person and he always stood by his players through the good and the bad
times.Although we had our differences over all those years I still always had
enormous
respect for him and I think most of the players felt the same Do you believe Lawrie McMenemy should someway be involved
with the club? To be honest I've never really understood why Lawrie
hasn't been involved with the club. He achieved so much during his time
and the
players he managed to attract to the club was absolutely amazing and
it was great entertainement, certainly a lot more exciting than what we
get now.
Obviously like all supporters I'm very
disappointed with the current situation
in charity games so a lot of us kept in touch that way. We've
also had quite
a few re-unioins over the years. I'm glad you have so many
memories