Keith Mercer

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Keith Mercer
Personal information
Date of birth	(1956-10-14) 14 October 1956
Place of birth	Lewisham, England
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Watford
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1972-1980	Watford	134	(46)
1980-1983	Southend United	132	(35)
1983-1984	Blackpool	31	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Keith Mercer (born 1956) is an English former footballer who played as a striker for Watford, Southend United and Blackpool.

Career

Mercer began his career at Watford where he was a product of their youth team. He made his debut at 16 years 125 days old on 15 February 1973 as a substitute against Tranmere Rovers, when he became the youngest ever player to play for the Hornets, a record which still stands.^[1] He was still at school and Watford had to obtain permission from his headmaster to play.^[2]

His full debut didn't come until a year later in 1974, however he did score. In the 1976-77 season he averaged a goal every two games and was voted both the "Young Player of the Season" and "Player of the Season". In the 1977-78 season after he suffered a knee ligament injury in September before a recurrence in December put him out of action for four months. He then caught pneumonia, but still scored thirteen goals that season. At the start of the following season, Mercer was still first-choice striker, but was then injured in a game against Exeter City. Then three games into his comeback, he had to come off the pitch with ankle trouble. In February 1980, after 134 games and 46 goals for the Hornets he was sold to Southend United.^[3]

In 1983 Mercer signed for Blackpool, and was joint top scorer with Paul Stewart in the 1983–84 season as the Seasiders finished sixth in the Fourth Division. However, he retired in 1984 at the age of 28 with a knee injury.^[3]

Post-retirement

After he retired from playing football, Mercer stayed on the Fylde coast, living in Poulton-le-Fylde. He now works as a taxi-driver in Blackpool where he still attends and supports the Seasiders at Bloomfield Road.^[2]

Honours

Watford

Fourth Division: champion

1977-78

Southend United

Fourth Division: champion

1980-81

References

↑ "Watford FC Club Records". Watford F.C. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Burgess, Ben (2 May 2009). "Big Ben speaks to Keith Mercer". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Turner, Tim. "Keith Mercer - The Young and the Restless". Blind, Stupid and Desperate. Retrieved 2009-02-28.

Watford F.C. – Player of the Season

1972–73: Rankin
1973–74: Jennings
1974–75: Rankin
1975–76: Jenkins
1976–77: Mercer
1977–78: Garner
1978–79: Jenkins
1979–80: Bolton
1980–81: Sims
1981–82: L. Taylor
1982–83: Rostron
1983–84: Rostron
1984–85: McClelland
1985–86: Coton
1986–87: Coton
1987–88: McClelland
1988–89: Hodges
1989–90: Coton
1990–91: James
1991–92: Gibbs
1992–93: Furlong
1993–94: Porter
1994–95: Miller
1995–96: Mooney
1996–97: Miller
1997–98: Chamberlain
1998–99: Palmer
1999–2000: Page
2000–01: Mooney
2001–02: Chamberlain
2002–03: Gayle
2003–04: Mahon
2004–05: Helguson
2005–06: King
2006–07: Foster
2007–08: Smith
2008–09: Smith
2009–10: Cleverley
2010–11: Graham
2011–12: Mariappa
2012–13: Abdi

Persondata
Name	Mercer, Keith
Alternative names
Short description	English footballer
Date of birth	1956
Place of birth	England
Date of death
Place of death

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