Now and then a player comes along that produces a ground swell of hopes amongst fans that we have found the new big thing. Ravel is that man nowadays and Joe Cole was over a decade ago. Back in the sixties the hopes were that John Sissons would be a new star to join the famous Moore, Hurst, Peters trilogy. Born in 1945, John played 263 league and cup games for the Hammers in an 8 year period between 1962 and 1970. In that period he scored 53 goals with a solitary hat trick in a League Cup 4th round 7-0 romp against Leeds. At the end of his claret and blue journey, John went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich and Chelsea before moving to South Africa and ending his career with Tampa Bay Rowdies and Cape Town City.
John Sissons made his debut for West Ham at the end of the 1963 season at Upton Park against Blackburn. A year later he would become the youngest player to score in a FA Cup Final when the Hammers beat Preston 3-2. John became a West Ham hero that day at the tender age of eighteen. A year later Sissons would play in the 1965 European Cup Winners Cup Final win, again at Wembley. In the mid to late sixties, Johnny was one of my favourite players. Harry Redknapp played on the right wing and John played on the left wing, although in earlier days Alan Sealey was John’s right wing partner. Whilst Harry was a popular figure with the fans, mainly for his speed, John was a much more crafted player with a brilliant left foot shot at his disposal. With Harry you knew what you got – all right foot and bring his defender into him, then push the ball ten yards past the defender and blind him with pace. Johnny Sissons was a much more cultured player. He had speed and trickery, but he could cut inside as well and he had a fearsome shot on him.
In the early days of his career, John and Harry were trained and developed in the art of the near post cross, a tactic revolutionised in English football by then manager Ron Greenwood. The wing duo would be finding the runs of Geoff Hurst or Martin Peters to the near post in an era when other teams were happy to cross to the back post or penalty spot. Greenwood had copied the tactic from the Hungarian team that he had seen beat England in 1953. Again, Sissons would develop this part of his game to perfection. West Ham scored many of their goals from this tactic. Greenwood made all the players spend hours of practice with the near post ball, even Bobby Moore. England were to later thank Ron when Moore’s free kick to the near post helped Hurst score the winner in the WC quarter final against Argentina. A goal that ensured Hurst’s place in the team for the rest of the tournament.
John at the tender age of 18 was truly one of the outstanding talents of his generation. However, he really should have gone on and become an England International but he never did reach his full potential. Ron Greenwood said of John that he worked hard, had a wonderful left foot and the sort of pace that put him in the same class of George Best. How and why it all went wrong, perhaps we will never know? He was certainly a very good player but never reached the lofty heights Greenwood or the fans expected. With those boyish looks, he is still fondly remembered though by many fans who watched him in the sixties.