John Crabbe did it the hard way. He racked up well over 300 League games but had to wear the colors of six different clubs to get there. Nicknamed “Buster”, after the actor, he was born in Weymouth and graduated through Southampton’s Youth ranks.

Having been introduced in a Third Round FA Cup-tie in January 1975 during which he came close to scoring (see left), he had a handful of games in midfield before Jim McCalliog arrived. There was room for the two of them for a few games towards the end of that season, but two substitute appearances in 1975-76 brought Buster’s first-team career to a close. He was on loan in Cape Town while the Saints were busy winning the FA Cup.

Loaned again in January 1977, now to Third Division Gillingham, he scored on his debut. Gerry Summers wasted no time in securing his permanent transfer for a bargain £10,000.

John certainly gave value for money over the next five seasons.

His 181 League appearances cost the Gills just over £50 per game. He would have played even more games had he not broken an arm. Joining Bob Stokoe’s Carlisle United at the start of the 1981-82 season, he and helped them achieve promotion to Division II. When dropped towards the end of the campaign, he joined Hereford, but couldn’t stop them finishing 92nd and bottom of the Football League. Now approaching 30, John had two solid seasons with Dario Gradi’s Crewe before winding down, after a Finnish summer, at Torquay. Despite frequent Achilles problems from his late 20s onwards, Buster next played non-league football in Kent and Sussex, latterly as a player-coach, with a return to Finland thrown in. After this, he returned to his home-town Weymouth to coach under Neil Webb, taking over as manager after the latter’s departure.

Following another spell coaching in Kent, he assisted in the Saints-in-the-Community scheme and turned out for the Ex-Saints – until he broke his neck in a kick-about with his son. Sidelined for some eight months, he returned to work as a carpenter in Weymouth.