Jon Sammels

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Jon Sammels
Personal information
Full name Jonathon Charles Sammels
Date of birth July 23, 1945
Place of birth    Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Playing position Central midfielder
Youth clubs
1961-1963 Arsenal
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1963-1971
1971-1977
1977-1978		 Arsenal
Leicester City
Vancouver Whitecaps		 215 (39)
236 (21)   
National team
1962-1963
?		 England youth
England U23		 007 0(?)
009 0(?)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Jonathon Charles "Jon" Sammels (born July 23, 1945 in Ipswich, Suffolk) is an English former footballer.

Sammels joined Arsenal, the club he supported as a boy, in 1961. He was a regular in the reserves and a successful youth international winning seven caps for England. He made his first-team debut for the Gunners on April 27, 1963, against Blackpool. However, he only played sparingly — twice in 1963-64 and not at all in 1964-65 — and did not secure a place in the side until the departure of Geoff Strong, and later George Eastham.

Noted for his accurate passing and strong shooting, he broke through in 1965-66 and was an ever-present in the 1966-67 season. As well as being a regular for Arsenal, Sammels played for the England U23 side nine times. He played in both of Arsenal's League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969, before finally claiming a medal in the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; he scored Arsenal's winning goal in their 4-3 victory on aggregate over RSC Anderlecht, after Arsenal had trailed 3-1 after the first leg.

However, Sammels lost his first team place in the 1970-71 season, thanks to an ankle injury and the emergence of George Graham; although he played enough games to win a First Division winner's medal, he did not take part in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Liverpool that completed their Double-winning season. Sammels submitted a transfer request, and he was duly sold to Leicester City. In all he played 270 matches for Arsenal, scoring 52 goals.

Sammels was a regular in the Leicester side for the next seven seasons, playing 265 matches for the Foxes, scoring 25 goals. Under Jimmy Bloomfield, Leicester were a talented and exciting side, but the only trophy they won was the 1971 Charity Shield, and they never finished above seventh in the League. Sammels left Leicester on a free transfer in 1978, and played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL for a single season. After that, he retired from the game and returned to the UK. He now works as a driving instructor in Leicester.

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