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English Football Legends Series

"The word great rolls off the tongue quite easily these days but Johnny Haynes really was. He was the best passer of a ball I have ever seen - I don't know anyone who could pass a ball as accurately. Anyone who saw him will know what a great player he was."
Alan Mullery

Johnny Haynes

Clubs: Fulham

Position: Midfielder

Games: 594

Goals: 147

Honours: None

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* League appearances and goals only

John Haynes is Fulham's greatest ever player.

Fulham

An ardently loyal servant to the Cottagers, he spent his entire career with the club despite the fact that they were either in the Second Division or struggling in the lower reaches of the First, during his time there.

Signed by the club as a schoolboy in 1950, he had loan spells at Feltham, Wimbledon and Woodford Town before turning professional in May 1952, at the age of 17.

He made his debut at 18, and went on to record 658 appearances for the club, scoring 158 goals.

England International Career

Despite playing for an unfashionable club, his vision and sublime passing saw him establish himself as an England regular in the 1950s.

Haynes was a regular scorer in his 56 England appearances, with 18 goals, but he was noted more as a creator of goals for other players.

In 1959, he was named England captain, and was a stand-out performer in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, helping England to the quarter-final in the latter tournament.

Soon after the 1962 tournament he was seriously injured in a car crash, effectively bringing an end to his international career.

The First 100 pound-a-week player

He continued playing for Fulham for another seven years, becoming the game's first 100 pound-a-week player in 1961.

During this time Fulham rejected an 80,000 bid from AC Milan which would have been double the world record transfer fee and would have made Haynes the best paid player in world football.

He had a brief spell in as Fulham manager in 1968, taking charge after the dismissal of Bobby Robson, but it was never his intention to go into coaching.

Life after Fulham

'The Maestro' ended his Fulham career in 1970, and emigrated to South Africa, where he joined Durban City, helping them to the league title - his only winner's medal in club football.

Death and Legacy

In 1984, Haynes returned to the UK and lived in Edinburgh until his death, from a brain haemorrhage in 2005.

Haynes was an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

The Johnny Haynes Stand at Fulham's Craven Cottage, is named in his honour, and there is also a statue of him at the ground.

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