Where are they now?: David Nish

DAVID NISH was a Wembley loser with Leicester City 25 years ago, when Manchester City extended the Filbert Street club's painful FA Cup record to four defeats in four finals.

The adventurous blond left- back became a Foxes favourite, but after Brian Clough paid pounds 225,000 for him in August 1972, setting a British transfer record, Nish spent an equal proportion of his career with Derby County.

Derby reached the semi-final of the European Cup the following April and Nish justified Clough's outlay by winning five England caps. In 1980 he joined the exodus to America, playing for Tulsa, Seattle and San Jose.

Returning in 1983, he tried various ways of making a living. 'For a while I had a milk round in Swadlincote, near my hometown of Burton-on-Trent,' he said. 'Then I took on a pub at Donisthorpe, again in the same area, and after that a sub-post office in Derby.'

Now 46, Nish is on Leicester's staff again as youth development officer, a post he owes, indirectly, to staying in touch with Derby chums. 'I had a phone call in the post office, out of the blue, from Bruce Rioch. I was still involved with football as player-manager at Gresley Rovers in the West Midlands League and Bruce invited me to do some coaching at Middlesbrough, where I worked alongside Brian Little.'

Nish oversees the centre of excellence and an extensive scouting network at Leicester. 'With few clubs able to spend millions on new players, youth development has become one of the most important parts of the game.'

(Photograph omitted)