Tottenham missed out on the signing of future Wales legend John Toshack when he was just 15-years-old in 1965, believing he wasn’t good enough to compete at the required level they needed.
A young player plying his trade in the Cardiff City academy, Toshack received an invitation from Tottenham to head to London for trials with the club, with Spurs having heard about the young striker’s goalscoring exploits in Wales.
“I went with two other team-mates to a residence next to the old White Hart Lane,” Toshack recalls exclusively to FourFourTwo. “We trained, and I thought they were going to give me a chance. But when I returned home, I got a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t believe I was good enough. I was gutted.”
Tottenham missed out on Toshack, but he soon started setting records
Toshack, however, soon began breaking barriers locally. His first-team debut for Cardiff came aged 16, against Leyton Orient. Back then, only one substitution was allowed per team.
“I came on with 10 minutes to go and scored a goal,” he says. “I can still visualise it today, if I close my eyes. A week later, we travelled up north to Middlesbrough. I started and scored two goals in 20 minutes. We won 4-3. It was a dream start.”
Making a name for himself in the Second Division, Toshack caught the eye of Fulham in 1968, though a move never materialised.
“Bobby Robson came in with an offer of £60,000, which was good money at the time,” he says. “But I thought London was too big for a boy from South Wales, and turned it down. The Cardiff management were outraged at my decision. The transfer would have been a big money-spinner for them.”
Instead, Toshack remained in the Welsh capital for another two seasons before eventually taking the plunge, this time with Liverpool. The Reds forked out £110,000 overall to bring him to Anfield, where he formed a formidable partnership with Kevin Keegan.
The pair helped Liverpool win two league titles the European Cup, the UEFA Cup on two occasions and the FA Cup.
In FourFourTwo’s view, there are hundreds of stories about clubs missing out on players who later go on to bigger and better things, so, while it’s certainly a mistake, it’s impossible to tell the future ability someone might have.
