Mike Surridge
Mike ‘Old boy’ Surridge, is a true legend of our club, a former player, a pupil of Henry Thornton school in Clapham (Where our club name comes from), a current committee member and a staunch supporter of Old Thorntonians FC.
You can usually see Mike on the side-lines of one of our home games every Saturday, wind, rain or shine in his flat cap, cheering on the boys.
Mike has organised donations of trophies, wall plaques and kit and usually comes to all our big social events, including the booze ups!
His passion and love of the club is an inspiration to us and we hope it rubs off on you too.
You can see some of Mikes old team photo’s up on the walls of our clubhouse and check out his ‘match-worn’ yellow kit that we had framed on the wall too.
A proper Old Thorn.
Good on you Mike!
Richard Lundie
Einstein, Darwin and Hawking were all great thinkers of their time. But none of those mugs ever kicked a ball for Old Thorntonians. On that fact alone they will never enter our Hall of Fame. There is, however, one visionary who, as of today, will join the great Onions of the past by achieving this feat.
Richard Lundie, an intellectual free spirit and ‘outside of the box’ thinker has, for years, been the driving force behind all the best things that the club do. Crystal Palace and Spurs days, training with Julian Dicks and the Berlin tour are just a few examples of his brilliance in the field of football/social innovation.
Richard is unburdened by the simple details that could hold a lesser man back. Questions such as ‘Can we afford this?, ‘how will we get there?’ and ‘have I spelt his name right?’ never enter his mind. Richard is the man that makes playing for this club different and is a major part of why we are the best amateur club in the land.
Despite his handicap, dog walking and babysitting responsibilities Richard continues to play a leading role for the club and is already on top of the 2014 tour as well as a few other surprises. It’s because of his tireless enthusiasm that we welcome him into the hall of fame as well as re-naming the Clubman of the Year award – ‘The Richard Lundie Award’.
Congratulations and thank you, Richard
Ozzy Powell
For a guy who didn’t take up football until his early 50s Osric “Tripod” Powell has made quite an impact on this football club (and Fish’s head). Chairman, goalscorer extraordinaire and the glue that bound the club together in the early days of La Révolution, he also found time to be an all-round good egg, preposterous claims to being the fastest Onion aside. His sharpness and eye for a goal were of immense benefit to the first and, in his even later years, the second team. Equally as importantly, his gigantic, err, round buying at any given club function had Onions flocking to him like the cheapskates they are, and partially made up for his point blank refusal to put his hand in the his pocket at any other time of year; “Mine’s a Guinness”, anyone?
But by far the most irritating aspect of his character, however, is the fact that every single person who has ever met him can’t help but like the guy. Seriously, try it. I like him. You like him. Your Mum likes him. Your Boss likes him. The guy who tried to bottle Leighton likes him. The long list of drunks who have tried to attack Joe Fletcher like him.
Oz started playing for the OTs before many of the current squad were born, and 13 years of service produced 104 goals and countless made up assists before the lovely Tania broke all of our hearts by whisking him off to Australia, where he plays for the Old Thorntonians Expat Geriatrics XI. Probably.
A representative panel of society were asked to describe Oz in one word. Top came “like a baby’s arm holding an apple” but that not being one word, “legend” was the de facto winner. The word “legend” is bandied about too often in modern society – Francis Jeffers; Peter Andre; Ronny Rosenthal; Silvio Berlusconi; Jason Dozzell; Jeremy Kyle. None of these ‘people’ (you, Kyle) can hold a candle to our very own legend in every single-possible-conceivable-other-worldly sense of the word, Osric Powell – the man the DVLA would only allow to drive if he had ‘OAP’ incorporated into his number plate. No Onion missed as often on the pitch, nor been missed as much off it.
James ‘Foxy’ Rodriguez
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and elite performances in big games, from James Rodrigues.
Half human and half fox, James Rodriguez is a box of tricks and a bag of stats (or ‘probable’ stats since we don’t quite know for sure). He is probably the longest serving current player at the club; most likely the clubs all-time top scorer, and possibly the most fouled player. It is also the general consensus that this unorthodox attacking midfielder/striker has scored the most worldies and the most important goals in OTs recent history. Numerous volleys, several 45 yarders, and a load of last minute, title-winning goals, season after season… despite his old age, creaking body and receding hairline. It’s about time we cement the Foxy paw print into the OTs hall of fame.
Internet hearsay debates the origin of his nickname. Some sources inform us that his it was derived from his long-time crush on Sonic The Hedgehog’s mate Tails. Others explain that it was coined following the time he had to retrieve a ball from a family of foxes living in Richmond Park after he blazed a shot so high and far over the crossbar playing footy for Roehampton University 2.2 miles away (yes he scores some great goals but he also attempts a load and misses a lot). But legend says he stayed with the fox family for days and continues to visit them on a weekly basis. Apparently, the grass is greener and a lot stronger on this side of the fence. Foxy Rodriguez. Always amazing, and always blazing… (err shots over the bar)!
On game day when you see the squad-list, you often wonder who this James is. But when you realise it’s Foxy you can relax. However, when there is no mention of the man who I have seen score goals in a pair of Sports Direct Lonsdale trainers/slippers, panic can set in as the squad for that day becomes materially weaker. He is honestly that good. You want him on your team every Saturday, you want him on your five a side team each Thursday, your pool team on Tuesdays, your darts team on Mondays, and you don’t ever want to compete with him on the golf course on Sundays – he only has eyes for the green remember.
Almost elite in everything he does, Foxy has more ability than the rest of the Hall of Famers put together and is the guy we all look to, to pull something out of the bag when we need it most… But not on a night out, you’ll be wise to leave him at home as his chat with the ladies absolutely stinks. Bravo Foxy!
Boro joined the Onions way back in 2006/07 season. Playing for the 3’s, under fellow hall of fame inductee Nathan Gilligan, this parmo loving beanpole of a Teesider quickly endeared himself to everyone at the club with both his footballing ability and infectious personality.
Following a sabbatical travelling the globe, Boro returned to the Thorns fold in 2010 going straight into the first team, where he would reside for the best part of a decade, becoming captain and the true heartbeat of the team. Things you could guarantee from this canny lad on an almost weekly basis included turning up with no socks, goals and assists, scabby knees, marauding runs, puns, go-go gadget tackles, hilarious dressing room chat, header after header won and of course, plenty of yellow cards.
In the 2014/15 season, the 1’s won the Senior 1 Division Championship to reach the AFC Premier League, and in having an individually outstanding season Boro had truly cemented his place in the pantheon of Onion legends. One particular highlight from that year saw our talisman score a last minute 25-yard volley to win a game, which he later described as the second-best moment of his life, narrowly behind Fabrizio Ravenelli’s debut hattrick for Middlesbrough way back in the 90’s.
Producing as many all action displays as he did, the ensuing years saw injuries begin to take their toll which diminished his playing time. Nonetheless he would often play with knocks, representing every team in the club, and when the pain was too much to bear he’d still turn up on away days in the depths of outer London to support his beloved club.
Wanting to put his love for the club to more use, Boro took on various backroom roles within the club. He helped organize various socials and for a while he oversaw the laborious task of compiling (fiddling) the OTPI stats. But it was his work and commitment on the clubhouse bar secured him Clubman of the year in 2017. Boro spent much of his free time working on this project, often giving up weekends and evenings to head down to the REMPF to lend a hand. On one occasion he spent the evening lacquering the bar top in just his pants, so as not to dirty his work suit. An image which still haunts Chairman Scott to this day.
When he isn’t meditating or taking his kids to raves, Boro still occasionally turns out for the T’s and is often on the side-lines cheering us on, showing just how much the club still means to him. In turn, we hope that he knows just how much he means to everyone at the club, and what better way to show than inducting him into the Old Thorntonians Hall of Fame. Everyone here is eternally grateful for your commitment to the club over the past 16 years both on and off the pitch. Congratulations Boro!
Mark ‘Boro’ Rowntree
Richard “Scotty” Scott
Current chairman of the mighty OTs has been at the club since 2009, has led the club in the same vein as former predecessors in bringing almost unrivalled success to the club.
Known for his ‘can’t score tap-ins, only screamers’ mentality which also directly somehow relates to his corner taking, Scotty has played for every team in nearly every position. This versatility lends itself to his stewardship of the club where he has overseen the historic 2021-22 season of 5 promotions with 2 league wins.
In all roles Scotty has undertaken in the club his hard work and extraordinary dedication to the club has reaped its rewards and been an inspiration to all. When all are taking a break from football when the season is over Scotty is consistently plotting the route to success the following season. With the hangover of awards day still fresh Scotty will be writing adverts, planning campaigns and giving Morris sleepless nights by overspending the recruitment budget. Consistently year on year the strong recruitment campaigns have underpinned the success the club has had and Scotty is always at the heart of it. Without a doubt however his greatest attribute in official roles in the club is the ability to effectively chair committee meetings while absolutely plastered.
Playing wise Scotty’s mentality echos the ethos of the club, he is happy to play for any team and always gives 100%. This is however offset by steadfast refusal to pass to his teammates when he is in shooting range. Our historians have assured us Scotty has scored over 150 goals for the club. It could be more, record keeping was not a strong point when Scotty first joined the club. You can certainly bet he will be adding to that tally in years to come as he looks to reclaim his beloved top scorers trophy.
In an absolutely selfless act and in no way looking to increase his goals tally for the season, Scotty was responsible for the addition of the Vets team in 2019.
From Club Fixture Secretary to Chairman, from his love of Leeds United to his hatred of Manchester and his herculean journeys from Borehamwood (soon to be Bedford!) to the mighty REMPF, Scotty was earmarked for legendary status early in his ‘career’. He continues to be a legend and finally takes his worthy (about time too) place amongst the pantheon of OTs Legends! Cheers Scotty!
TAfter many years of faithful service to Old Thorntonians as a Manager / Fixtures Secretary / Accountant / Social Secretary / Player and overall good egg. Nathan earns his place amongst OT’s folklore by being inducted into the OTFC Hall of Fame.
Everyone should know if they did not already, that if it wasn’t for Nathan’s enthusiasm and hard work, the club might not be here today.
Back in the day the club used to run 3 completely closed squads with each team rarely coming into contact with each other. The league got wind of what was happening and threatened to kick us out of the league unless we did something about it.
After a minor blip whereby Nath accidentally coped in the then League Secretary on an email that was definitely not intended for him (oops!). Nath set to work on a complete restructure of the club. It was this reorganisation that laid the foundations for the extremely strong position we find ourselves in today, with a growing and connected club.
Congratulations & thank you Nathan.
Nathan Gilligan
