Kenny Sansom

Kenneth Graham Sansom (born 26 September 1958) is a former professional footballer who played as a left-back. An England international, he played for clubs such as Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers, Everton and Watford.

He is the second most capped England national team full-back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.

Kenneth Graham Sansom was born in Camberwell, London on 26 September 1958; the second youngest of five children. His father, George, was an itinerant who left the family home shortly after the birth of his youngest child. His mother, Rose, was a cleaner, and moved the family to Tulse Hill in 1960. He considered himself a goalkeeper in his early years, but while playing for a youth team called Spring Park Wolves he replaced an injured teammate at left-back, and remained a full-back for the rest of his career. He attended Beaufoy Secondary school, and was capped by England schoolboys.

Sansom was scouted by Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, but went on to join the youth team at Crystal Palace. He made his League debut against Tranmere Rovers on 7 May 1975.

In 1977, he captained the Palace junior team to FA Youth Cup success while also skippering the England youth team at the same level, collecting Palace's "Player of the Year" award in his first season.

Quick, calm, strong in the tackle and an excellent crosser of the ball, Sansom missed just one league game in a consecutive run of 156 games, starting in 1976, when Palace were in the Third Division. In the 1978–79 season Crystal Palace won the Second Division championship with Sansom integral to the young team. They were quickly labelled as the "Team of The '80s". and briefly topped the First Division at the start of the 1979–80 season although they ultimately finished in thirteenth position.

Arsenal put in a bid of £1 million for Sansom in the summer of 1980, with striker Clive Allen going in exchange; this was an unusual move, as Allen was an equally prized young player and had only joined Arsenal from QPR a few weeks earlier, and was still to play a competitive match for the Gunners. Palace accepted the bid and Sansom left for Highbury.

Sansom made his Arsenal debut against West Bromwich Albion on 16 August 1980 and was an ever-present for the whole of that season and also the next, and a near-constant figure at left-back for the North London club. He was bestowed with the honour of Arsenal Player of the Season in 1981. Although a third-place finish did ensure European football was back on the agenda, no real title challenge was forthcoming. The next two seasons saw a top-five finish in 1982, and a disappointing tenth in 1983 when matters were not improved by semi-final failure in both domestic cups at the hands of Manchester United. Terry Neill was sacked in December 1983 and Don Howe took over. Arsenal finished sixth and seventh under Howe and although often tipped to challenge, usually flattered to deceive. Sansom though was remarkably consistent and ever present. In fact, after six seasons Sansom missed just seven games in all competitions. He was one of the few players who could really hold up his head in a time of under-achievement. Meanwhile, silverware eluded both Sansom and Arsenal. In May 1986, Millwall manager George Graham, a former Arsenal double-winner, was appointed as Howe's long-term replacement, and it was the beginning of a new era of success at Highbury. Arsenal's form immediately improved, so much so that the club were top of the League at Christmas 1986.