104 Lyndon Simmonds

From the Legends night 2008 - Lyndon is of course second from the left

Position : Forward

Played : 1986-7 (on loan from Leeds United) ; 1987-88 to 1988-89 (didn't appear in latter season)

Appearances : 65

Goals : 22

Lyndon arrived from Leeds on loan in February. He was a former Welsh Youth international who’d made a spectacular full debut for Leeds scoring twice against Portsmouth in 1985. He was unable to win a regular place in the side and earlier in 1986-7 went on loan to Swansea for 8 games his one goal being the winner against Dale in November.



When he first arrived I thought he was too small to make an impression in the Fourth Division but he soon proved me wrong. A fiery little character in the Paul Dickov mould and much better in the air than his height would suggest , he played with passion and aggression and could finish when it mattered too. He was good at winding up the opposition and sometimes his own team-mates – I remember him being very rude towards temporary strike partner Derrick Parker for dithering on one occasion, shouting over “Are you going or what ? “ He was a lifesaver in our bid for survival scoring 10 goals including the winner at home to Stockport that clinched it. He was carried off the pitch on fans’ shoulders at the end of the game. It also meant he overtook John Bramhall to become our top scorer. Probably his best goal was our second at Preston with a 25-yard free kick that I predicted was “going into the sea “ !



Signing him permanently in the summer was a no-brainer and Leeds only wanted a few grand despite his success with us. The following season was a big disappointment. With Newport out for the count and Carlisle nearly as bad we never looked like going out but never looked like we were going to start climbing the table either and Lyndon’s in/out form was one of the reasons. One game he’d be fine , the next lethargic ; perhaps the pelvic trouble that was to end his career was beginning to affect him. Against little competition he finished leading scorer with 12 goals but hadn’t been impressive.



In the summer he went in for treatment to his pelvis and never played again. He stayed on the books the following season and was cheering us on from the stands in our 4-4 draw at Hereford but it soon became obvious he wouldn’t return. Lyndon is now a manager with food company R F Brookes in Wales and inevitably is rather rotund these days.