Jon Sammels

Jon Sammels

Jon Sammels, November 1967
Personal information
Full name Jonathon Charles Sammels
Date of birth (1945-07-23) 23 July 1945
Place of birth Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Playing position Central midfielder
Youth career
1961–1963 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1963–1971 Arsenal 215 (39)
1971–1977 Leicester City 241 (21)
1978–1979 Vancouver Whitecaps 54 (7)
1979–1980 Nuneaton Borough
National team
1962–1963 England youth 7 (?)
? England U23 9 (?)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Jonathon Charles "Jon" Sammels (born 23 July 1945 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is an English former footballer.

Sammels joined Arsenal, in 1961, the club he supported as a boy, from his family home in Grundisburgh near Woodbridge in Suffolk. He was a regular in the reserves and a successful youth international winning seven caps for England. He joined Arsenal soon after fellow East Anglian Peter Simpson and played alongside him for several seasons. Jon scored on his first-team debut for the Gunners on 27 April 1963, against Blackpool. However, he only played sparingly — twice in 1963-64 and not at all in 1964-65 — and did not secure a place in the side until the departure of Geoff Strong, and later George Eastham.

Noted for his accurate passing and strong shooting, he broke through in 1965-66 and was an ever-present in the 1966-67 season. As well as being a regular for Arsenal, Sammels played for the England U23 side nine times. He played in both of Arsenal's League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969, before finally claiming a medal in the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; he scored Arsenal's winning goal in their 4-3 victory on aggregate over RSC Anderlecht, after Arsenal had trailed 3-1 after the first leg.

However, Sammels lost his first team place in the 1970-71 season, thanks to an ankle injury and the emergence of George Graham; although he played enough games to win a First Division winner's medal, he did not take part in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Liverpool that completed their Double-winning season. Sammels submitted a transfer request, and he was duly sold to Leicester City for £100,000. In all he played 270 matches for Arsenal, scoring 52 goals.

Sammels was a regular in the Leicester side for the next seven seasons, playing 265 matches for the Foxes, scoring 25 goals. Under Jimmy Bloomfield, Leicester were a talented and exciting side, but the only trophy they won was the 1971 Charity Shield, and they never finished above seventh in the League. Sammels left Leicester on a free transfer in 1978, and played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL for two seasons. He was a member of the Whitecaps team that won the league championship in 1979. After that, he retired from the game and returned to the UK. He now works as a driving instructor in Leicester.

External links

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