Burnley-born Walter Pollard had joined his home-town club while only 16 and had made occasional First Division appearances for them, when he swapped their claret-and-blue shirts for those of West Ham.

The Hammers had been relegated to Division II by the time he left, not yet 27, to try his hand at player-coaching in France. Unable to gel with some of the Gallic temperaments at Sochaux, he returned to England’s Second Division, briefly with Fulham – where he didn’t get a game – and then, for a season-and-a-half, with Southampton.

An industrious inside-forward, he was a regular in the 1934-35 run-in, as the Saints eased clear of the drop.

His appearances were more spasmodic the following season, although his experience as a coach enabled him to help some of the younger players the cash-strapped club was hoping to bring on. After which, he spent a season at Third South Brighton, but didn’t get a game. He then played non-League football in Kent for a while, before going to work in the electricity department of Ilford Borough Council, where he coached the works-team. That all came to an abrupt end when he died of a heart attack, aged only 38.