Where Are They Now is designed for you if you are a football fan who is as curious as us to find out what happened to your favourite footballers after they retired from playing.
Have you ever wondered what happened to all of those players that you have seen come and go over the years? The heroes and the villains? The saints and the sinners? The stars that you talked about for years after they had retired and those you instantly forgot?
If so, Where Are They Now? is definitely for you!
Not all players end up running pubs or become TV pundits! It's no secret what Gary Lineker is up to these days but what about the many thousands of players who have slipped from public view? The first edition of "Where Are They Now?" uncovered some fascinating post football stories including the former Arsenal striker who became Iceland's Finance Minister; Millionaires; Bankrupts; Vicars; Comedians; Singers; a Phil Collins lookalike... and one or two publicans!
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Where Are They Now Books
This whole project began with a book entitled 'Where Are They Now? - Life After Soccer'.
This proved to be incredibly popular and led to the formation of this site as well as a number of club specific titles. So far, the series comprises of Manchester United, Chelsea, Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Forthcoming titles include Arsenal, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion - watch this space!
Updated: 27-01-26 John Devine
I remember Tony when he was playing for Celtic reserves he also trained to be a draughtman whe I was about 14 years old he asked who my favourite football player was. I said Jimmy Johnston and believe it or not the next week he brought me in Jimmy Johnston boots ( still with mud on the souls).Updated: 27-01-26 Rob
Was at a wedding with him on Loch Ness in 2018. We both wore kilts despite neither of us being Scottish. Funny where life takes you.Updated: 23-01-26 John condon
Amateur played left wing watched play. In the same team as Francis Lee. I grew up with Jimmy.Updated: 23-01-26 Ken maskell
I managed PRA football team in the Russell forster league.Updated: 23-01-26 Brian day
I remember barrie way back at school in the early 60s,tremendous at all sports ,but just once I beat him in a hurdling competition ,he was just in the lead from me but I remember him hitting the final hurdle and falling allowing me to hop over and win. A great lad though.Updated: 23-01-26 Andy Hunsley
I went to John Marley lower School in the late 70’s Mr Hilley was a great teacher who drove you to be the best you could be. He gave me a different perspective on running which helped me improve and be a decent 800 and 1500 hundred runner keeping the routledge twins at bayUpdated: 02-01-26 Colin Stubbs
I signed school boy and YTS with Chelsea in 1985 but left in 1987 to join Sunderland. I went on loan to Hartlepool in 1989 and suffered a severe knee injury in 1989. I played many times for HUFC in the Northumberland Cup and for the youth/reserve team but never actually made it in to the first team before injury ended my career. I am now a BSc (hons) and employed as an Account Manager for a leading OEM.Updated: 02-01-26 Steve Wilkins
Gary bought my sons house within the last 2 years and now lives in Burton on Trent, where he was born.Updated: 02-01-26 Stuart Gray
When Joe Baker signed for Raith Rovers we knew we had a seriously great player. My memory of him was a game against Berwick Rangers he scored 5 goals in an 8-1 victory for Raith.Updated: 29-12-25
Had the pleasure of playing against my boyhood hero for Kings Lynn v Burton Albion. Ian was player manager and he tore us apart…..0-5
When we researched the first printed edition of 'Where Are They Now?' in the 1990's, footballers were already incredibly well paid by conventional employment standards but prior to that, players had to find a new career once they had hung up their boots.
This meant that we unearthed plenty of interesting and un-expected stories, many of which are found on the site. Sadly, there were some we could not re-produce for legal reasons - sorry!
Playing professional football, particularly at the highest level should ensure that modern players should not have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. Thankfully, this has not limited the number of fascinating tales for us to tell. For example, were you aware that former Sheffield United midfielder Curtis Woodhouse became British light welterweight champion when he took up professional boxing, having apparently 'fallen out of love' with football? If the rumours are true, he was not just a winner in the ring! At one point, he was considered to be 50 to 1 outsider to win the title and a successful £5,000 scooped him a cool £250,000 when he defeated defending champion Darren Hamilton.
As well as our regular club based pages, we also occasionally add more detailed player pages and would welcome your feedback. See: Ex-footballers who retired and got normal jobs, Did Tresor Kandol Score the Most Important Goal in Leeds United’s History?, Arsenal Greats, Ruud Gullit, Roy Bentley, Trevor Francis, Gavin Peacock, Carlos Valderrama, Graham Potter, Matt Holland, Liverpool's 2005-06 FA Cup Winning Team, and a look back at some of the best strikers to grace English football.
When do you think that the Premier League should re-start?
Where are they now? – Boro players who played League Cup’s season opening game 8 years ago.
Where are they now? – some other celebrities.
If you know of any other stories that may interest fellow fans, please do let us know.