Johnny Ayris

John Patrick Ayris (born 8 January 1953) is an English former football right winger.

Johnny Ayris
Personal information
Full name John Patrick Ayris[1]
Date of birth (1953-01-08) 8 January 1953
Place of birth Wapping, England
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Fulham
West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1977 West Ham United 57 (1)
1975 → Cape Town City (loan)
Wimbledon 0 (0)
Brentford 0 (0)
International career
1971 England Youth 7 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Ayris began his career at Fulham, before joining West Ham United after being spotted by a West Ham scout playing eight-a-side football in Mile End. On 3 October 1970, after excelling for West Ham's 'A' team in the Metropolitan League, Ayris made his debut for West Ham, at the age of 17, recording three assists for Geoff Hurst in a 3–1 home against Burnley. As a result of his impressive debut, manager Ron Greenwood offered Ayris a professional contract two days later. The following month, Ayris started in Bobby Moore's testimonial, scoring West Ham's second goal in a 3–3 draw against Scottish champions Celtic. On 11 September 1971, in a home game against Chelsea, Ayris was on the receiving end of a challenge from Ron Harris, leading to Ayris being substituted off. Hospital tests the following day confirmed Ayris had developed an air bubble on his lung.[2] As a result of the challenge, Greenwood was reluctant to play Ayris regularly, wanting to protect Ayris and his diminutive figure against the First Division's more robust defenders.[3]

In 1975, finding his first-team opportunities limited, Ayris spent three months on loan with South African side Cape Town City, missing West Ham's victory in the 1975 FA Cup Final as a result.[4][2]

Ayris' last game for West Ham came on 16 October 1976, being substituted on in a 2–0 loss against Ipswich Town. In total, Ayris played 68 games in all competitions for West Ham, scoring two goals.[5]

In the summer of 1977, Ayris signed for Wimbledon, who had been newly elected to the Football League. Ayris failed to make a league appearance for Wimbledon, later joining Brentford, for whom he also failed to make a league appearance for.[1][6]

International career

In 1971, Ayris made seven appearances for England Youth. Ayris' only goal for the side came in the 1971 UEFA European Under-18 Championship final in a 3–0 win against Portugal.[7]

References
  1. "Johnny Ayris". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. Sharratt, Ben; Blows, Kirk (2004). Claret and Blue Blood: Pumping Life into West Ham United. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1840188783.
  3. "The Boy Never Quite Made It: Johnny Ayris". Under The Hammers. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. "On this day: 8 January". West Ham United F.C. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  5. "John Ayris". West Ham Stats. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  6. "Player search". English National Player Archive. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  7. "Match Results Under 18". England Football Online. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
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