10th October 1944

Barking

Full-Back

Ben Embery played for Exeter City between 1966 and 1968. He joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur and later played for Barnet.

Ben became a Tottenham Hotspur apprentice in 1960 and soon became a full professional. With such strength in depth at the club, and at a time of relatively few loan opportunities, he had to be content with reserve team football. Aged twenty-two in 1966, and with very little future at White Hart Lane he was offered the chance of signing for Exeter City recently relegated from Division Three. 

Making his debut against Port Vale on 17 September Ben played 27 league games in 1966/67 (scoring twice) before appearing on just a dozen occasions during his second season with the club. 

Released in the summer of 1968, his Football League career was over before his 23rd birthday and he moved into semi-professional football with Barnet and later, after playing for a number of other clubs, took up management with Grays Athletic and then Canvey Island.

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Ben was interviewed by Lennon Branagan for 'Super Hotspur' in 2018:

"Leaving Spurs was not my choice, leaving Spurs was Bill Nicholson’s choice. I’ll never forget I was getting married in the June and I went to see Bill Nicholson asking 'will I be retained for next season?'  He told me 'you’ve had a great season in the reserves. You’re being retained ’. Then about a week later he called me and told me I was going to be released which was quite upsetting at the time.

He took me with the first team to Norway for a friendly - the cheek of it - and, on the way back, Eddie Baily [Nicholson's assistant] came up to me and said Exeter City had been in for me. When I got back I phoned 'Jock' Basford the manager and he said come down and have a look. He offered me a thousand pounds to sign, the average house was only £4000 pounds, I was just getting married and I ended up signing. 

The travelling was unbelievable because there was no motorways and we’re travelling from Devon all the way up to Hartlepool. We used to leave Friday morning at 9 o’clock to play Saturday afternoon (3 o’clock). I was there for two seasons and then got a job in North London and signed for Barnet which was the best time of my football career." 

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