Former Player - Peter Woods

[SUEPA]

Hi all, hope you do not mind this post.

I run the former player group known as the Southend United Ex Players Association (SUEPA) which currently has 316 ex player members who have signed up to join. It is free (which helps) but that's not a bad total (in just over three years), indeed from research done it possibly makes us the largest former player group in the UK (Southend doesn't have much else to crow about at the moment).

You can check SUEPA out on Twitter or Facebook, or me personally on my Roots To the 92 Facebook page (the title of a book I wrote five years ago which has now sold over 1,500 copies to fans of all teams with royalties donated to charity).

Anyway, I'm not here to harp on about the book. SUEPA continues to grow and there are some seasons from the 70's and 80's where we have every squad member still alive as part of SUEPA. Back in 1972 we played Chelsea in a League Cup tie and every one who played that night is part of SUEPA bar the sub that eve - Peter Woods.

Peter, who started his career at Man U the Luton without making any appearances, moved to Southend in 1972 and made 26 apps before moving to Doncaster in 1973 and went on to make 55 apps (two goals) in a two year spell. There the trail goes cold!

We would love to contact Peter to invite him to join SUEPA - can anyone help please?

Running a former player group is hard work but rewarding. As well as running social media sites and issuing a quarterly newsletter  we hold from time to time (well, pre Covid) match day reunion events. Re-uniting former players who have not seen each other for perhaps forty years is good for the soul. They often remark that Roots Hall has not changed much - at present it is crumbling badly and starting to make Belle Vue in its final days look swish.

We've also as an organisation (we are part of the supporters group The Shrimpers Trust) helped former players in need, raised money for charity, raised money for the Trust (and so ultimately the club) via a Retro Shirts range (using our 'SUEPA models') and helped in some community work. Indeed, we so believe in what we do (which we feel is a win=win for all concerned) that we are currently in talks with the PFA (working with the Blackpool Former Players Association) to see if a national network of former player groups can be established.

I know of about 45 UK former player groups though I do not know if Doncaster have one.

Anyway, if anyone can help us with any leads for contacting Peter it would be really good to hear from you. We have had some success in the past going via fan forums, indeed back in March the good folk of Burnley helped us contact one of Peter's former team mates (who coincidentally now lives in Doncaster).

I'm also very happy to respond to any questions about SUEPA or former player groups in general.

Good luck for your 2021/22 League One campaign (League One, I remember that ...)

Cheers,

Andy Leeder, SUEPA Organiser/Shrimpers Trust Board Member

[DRCraig]

I am sure Southend will get straight back in to the football league.

[tommy toes]

I remember Peter Woods as a small slim dark haired winger.
Been a long time so could be wrong.

[roversdude]

Andy I’ve asked a former player who is asking around

[Bollinger]

Had forgotten that Southend connection. The only other ex Southend player to have played for Rovers that I can bring to mind is Ray Ternant but I’m sure there must be others

[raithy]

Could it be the same Peter Woods that worked at Jewsons in Bentley as a sales representative in the late 70's early 80's?

[roversdude]

Could be apparently lived in Sprotbrough

[Dutch Uncle]

Had forgotten that Southend connection. The only other ex Southend player to have played for Rovers that I can bring to mind is Ray Ternant but I’m sure there must be others

IIRC the great Bob Gilfillan came to us from Southend in 1965.

[Surrey Rover]

Had forgotten that Southend connection. The only other ex Southend player to have played for Rovers that I can bring to mind is Ray Ternant but I’m sure there must be others

Micky Stead
Steve Yates
Dave Cusack
Alan Little

[belton rover]

I’m sure we had a young, local striker on our books (late 80s/early 90s) who went on to play for Southend. Can’t rememember his name.

Gary Something, maybe?

[Dutch Uncle]

Gary Jones played for Southend after leaving Rovers, but after 3 years non league first

[EasyforDennis]

Could it be the same Peter Woods that worked at Jewsons in Bentley as a sales representative in the late 70's early 80's?

Yes Peter did work for Jewsons. He then went into property development. Buying houses and doing them up to sell on.

[Bollinger]

Had forgotten that Southend connection. The only other ex Southend player to have played for Rovers that I can bring to mind is Ray Ternant but I’m sure there must be others

Micky Stead
Steve Yates
Dave Cusack
Alan Little

Of course. Thanks. Not sure how I overlooked Animal.

[belton rover]

Gary Jones played for Southend after leaving Rovers, but after 3 years non league first

That’s him, Dutch. Thanks. I didn’t realise there was a 3 year gap.

[SUEPA]

Andy I’ve asked a former player who is asking around

Dear All, thank you for your comments, appreciated. No joy as yet it seems but Roversdude if you do get any joy from your contact please do let me know.
Based on your comments re property development there is a Peter Woods letting agency but that is based i London and seems unlikely. I also searched for Peter and Spotbrough but one search came up with a man called 'Peter' who was 'in the woods' so I gave up on that one!

All of the other former players you mention with common links are in SUEPA already - Steady is a taxi driver in London and we hope to get him back to Roots Hall for a match day event next season. Steve Yates was his partner full back at Southend in one of our better eras at the start of the 80's under Dave Smith and I found him after someone mentioned his birthplace town so I joined the Facebook page for that place and his daughter responded to a request to make contact (that's a ploy that has worked a few times). Big Dave Cusack was also n the team with them and we got Dave back to Roots Hall as part of a big reunion of the Dave Smith era back in March 2019, if I can find out how to attach pics to posts on your forum I'll put one up of that day. Alan Little managed us in the 90's after playing for us in the 70's - a good player in his day. Gary Jones was a striker for us in the mid 90's and he came back to Roots Hall back in 2019 for another match day event, still looking very fit, he lives in Yorkshire now.

By the way this is a great forum, very similar in set up to our own 'Shrimperzone' and like that one yours is also one of the best, a good many out there are about as knackered as Roots Hall with not much traffic.

If anyone wants to give your supporters club or even the club itself a hint about setting up an ex players group please do ask them to get in touch if they would like any advice on it all. Running such a group is good for the soul - since my last post we've edged our numbers up a little to 318 having just tracked down a former player to the Australian outback, no one is safe.

Cheers, Andy

[EasyforDennis]

Andy I’ve asked a former player who is asking around

Dear All, thank you for your comments, appreciated. No joy as yet it seems but Roversdude if you do get any joy from your contact please do let me know.
Based on your comments re property development there is a Peter Woods letting agency but that is based i London and seems unlikely. I also searched for Peter and Spotbrough but one search came up with a man called 'Peter' who was 'in the woods' so I gave up on that one!

All of the other former players you mention with common links are in SUEPA already - Steady is a taxi driver in London and we hope to get him back to Roots Hall for a match day event next season. Steve Yates was his partner full back at Southend in one of our better eras at the start of the 80's under Dave Smith and I found him after someone mentioned his birthplace town so I joined the Facebook page for that place and his daughter responded to a request to make contact (that's a ploy that has worked a few times). Big Dave Cusack was also n the team with them and we got Dave back to Roots Hall as part of a big reunion of the Dave Smith era back in March 2019, if I can find out how to attach pics to posts on your forum I'll put one up of that day. Alan Little managed us in the 90's after playing for us in the 70's - a good player in his day. Gary Jones was a striker for us in the mid 90's and he came back to Roots Hall back in 2019 for another match day event, still looking very fit, he lives in Yorkshire now.

By the way this is a great forum, very similar in set up to our own 'Shrimperzone' and like that one yours is also one of the best, a good many out there are about as knackered as Roots Hall with not much traffic.

If anyone wants to give your supporters club or even the club itself a hint about setting up an ex players group please do ask them to get in touch if they would like any advice on it all. Running such a group is good for the soul - since my last post we've edged our numbers up a little to 318 having just tracked down a former player to the Australian outback, no one is safe.

Cheers, Andy

If it helps with your search Andy. Peter Woods wife was called Maureen.

[SUEPA]

Thank you Easy.

Sadly that clue leads me to think he may have died back in 2011 as in a search using both their names I came across the following:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/peter-cummins?experiments=b2c_fundraising_page_donation_prompts%2Cb2c_trending_donations_on_fundraising_page%2Cb2c_009_fundraising_make_donate_more_prominent%2Cb2c_024_donate_button_text&successType=StaticDonateButtonClick&alertType=error&alertMessage=donationError

The picture of him shows him to have been about the right age (he was born in 1950) and that pic also very much looks like him as seen in the Southend 1972/73 squad pic (second right back row in following link):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382896363745

I have sent a message to Just Giving to see if they might be able to forward a message on to Maureen though I suspect they will not be able to help.

Hopefully I'm wrong but if anyone has any further help to share please let me know. I can also be contacted by email at the SUEPA email address suepassoc@gmail.com

Thanks

Andy

[EasyforDennis]

Thank you Easy.

Sadly that clue leads me to think he may have died back in 2011 as in a search using both their names I came across the following:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/peter-cummins?experiments=b2c_fundraising_page_donation_prompts%2Cb2c_trending_donations_on_fundraising_page%2Cb2c_009_fundraising_make_donate_more_prominent%2Cb2c_024_donate_button_text&successType=StaticDonateButtonClick&alertType=error&alertMessage=donationError

The picture of him shows him to have been about the right age (he was born in 1950) and that pic also very much looks like him as seen in the Southend 1972/73 squad pic (second right back row in following link):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382896363745

I have sent a message to Just Giving to see if they might be able to forward a message on to Maureen though I suspect they will not be able to help.

Hopefully I'm wrong but if anyone has any further help to share please let me know. I can also be contacted by email at the SUEPA email address suepassoc@gmail.com

Thanks

Andy

Looking at that photo I fear you may be right.