Firm: Neil John (Neil)

1976-1982 (Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Bradford: 23-01-1958

Debut v Manchester City (a): 16-02-1980

6’3” 13st 9lb (1982)

Firm came up through United’s junior ranks before turning professional in January 1976. He was effective in the air but sometimes lacked control on the ground. He came through the Juniors with Billy McGhie, Neil Parker, Glen Letheran and Byron Stevenson and became a Reserve team regular but could not break through into the first team on a regular basis, as Gordon McQueen and Trevor Cherry, and later Paul Hart, Byron Stevenson and Kenny Burns, blocked his route to regular first-team football. Firm was loaned to Oldham Athletic in March 1982 and played nine times, before joining Peterborough United in August of that year for £15,000. His debut came on 28th February 1982 in a 1-1 draw at Stockport County. He did a good job for Peterborough, playing in front of former Leeds Reserve and Junior goalkeeper David Seaman, until a prolonged knee injury forced him out of full-time football in January 1986 and he played his final game on 13th April 1985, in a 1-4 home defeat by Southend United. He made seventy-two League appearances, one of which was as a substitute, and scored three times for “Posh”, where he also played four games in the League Cup, one as a substitute, made four starts in the F.A. Cup and featured in two other games. He joined Ramsey Town, then Diss Town and later ran a pub for a year before joining the police force. He was a constable on the beat for three years before joining CID and rose through the ranks to become a Detective Inspector by 2005.