WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Scott Endersby

If the FA Cup is the romance of football it is also a provider of fleeting fame, of the kind Scott Endersby enjoyed on 26 November, 1978. That day he kept goal for Kettering in a first-round tie against Tilbury at the age of 15 years 288 days and thus became the youngest player to appear in the competition proper, a distinction he still holds. The occasion was swamped by media interest. By comparison, a professional career of more than 250 League games passed virtually unnoticed.

"I played in a Carlisle team that beat Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 in the third round in 1986 but that was the only day to compare, really," Endersby said.

Kettering won 1-0 but Tilbury queried the eligibility of the former Charlton and Leicester winger, Lennie Glover, just back from a spell in America. The match was declared void and Tilbury progressed at the third attempt, after a replay.

Nonetheless, the attention did Endersby no harm, leading eventually to a contract with Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town, that season's Cup winners. The first team at Portman Road remained out of reach, however, and he left after two years for Tranmere, subsequently serving Swindon, Carlisle and York before quitting the game in 1987 to become a publican. Now aged 34 and a qualified chef, he manages the Chequers, between Redbourne and St Albans.

"Trawling around the lower divisions is not a career I would recommend but, having said that, I have good memories of every club I played for," he said.

Jon Culley