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Local Born Heroes - John Flood
Local Born Heroes - John Flood
Friday, 24th Jun 2011 09:45

A look at a player that you might not have heard of

John Flood was one of eight footballing brothers, playing his youth football in the New Forest he was signed by Saints as a 17 year old having gained County & International honours.

For several years he plied his trade in the youth and reserve teams before finally getting his chance in the penultimate game of the 52/53 season as Saints routed Blackburn Rovers 6-1 he netted the 5th to make it a scoring debut.

But it was bad news for Saints as they learned that Bury had won 2-0 and so Saints were condemned to relegation to Division 3 South.

With a drop to a lower division and several players having played their last games for the club in that relegation season. Flood finally got the opportunity for an extended run in the side, he didnt figure in the opening two games of the season but he played in the third and again scored to make it two goals in two games, a week later he scored a hat trick in the four goal demolition of Newport County and Saints were looking good for promotion back at the first attempt.

By the turn of the year Saints would sit in 2nd and John was averaging a goal every two games, but then in January Saints form dipped, after John hit both in a 2-0 win over Aldershot in mid January, Saints would win only four of the remaining nineteen games (three out of eighteen to be more exact as they did win the following game) and the goals dried up for John as well as he hit only one more that season.

Saints would finish thirteen points off top spot in the days when only one went up as the season petered out, but Flood had played 37 times and scored 14 times albeit 13 in the part of the season, for the record he was second top scorer behind Eric Day on 26 and between them they accounted for over half the Saints total of that season.

1954/55 saw John's chances limited Billy Foulkes arrived to contest the number 7 shirt with him so he made only 20 appearances scoring five times, sadly for Foulkes a serious back injury meant his Saints career lasted less than a season.

The following year saw John play more regularly although new Saints manager Ted Bates would know exactly what he could do having played him in his reserve side and as Bates rebuilt Flood was pretty much a regular for a season or two, however he had a new threat for his position coming through, a youngster called Terry Paine, such was Paine's skill, in 1957/58 John would only play two games the second of which would be his final game for the club. John left Saints still aged only 25 having played 129 times and scored 29 times, not a bad total for a winger,, he would probably have played a lot longer and a lot more at the Dell if it hadnt been for the emergence of Terry Paine.

In the summer of 1958 John crossed the New Forest and joined Bournemouth, not so much as a step down but a move sideways and Bournemouth actually finished above Saints that season in the new non regionalised Division Three.

But his time at Dean Court would be short, only 17 games to be exact and in the summer of 59 he joined non league Headington United (Soon to be Oxford United) but his career there was short and by 1961 he was in the Hampshire league for Cowes still only aged 29.

After he retired from football he remained in the Southampton area but there the trail goes cold, unless anyone can fill in the gaps.        

Photo: Action Images



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