Exeter City in 1963-64
Pre-season diary 

WEDNESDAY 5th JUNE 1963.

PULMAN FOR BARNSTAPLE

Former Exeter City forward Barry Pulman has signed for Barnstaple Town from Bridgwater Town, Barry had four years at Exeter, two as a professional before going into Southern League football, first with Margate then Trowbridge Town,

THURSDAY 13th JUNE 1963.

NON LEAGUE FOR JENKINS?
Another Exeter City player has had the chance to follow Ray Carter into Non League football. This time it is former Cardiff City winger Brian Jenkins. Two clubs Barnstaple Town and Chelmsford City have offered him terms, both clubs of course would not be affected by any fee City keep on him,

EX GRECIANS JOB.
Former Reading and Exeter City inside forward Tom Wilson, last season with Bidgwater Town has been appointed player/manager of Somerset Senior League club Street, who made an application to play in the Western League for next season.

FRIDAY 14th JUNE 1963.
CITY SIGN A TRIALIST AND THREE AMATEURS. Exeter City are to give Bristol City transfer listed inside forward Adrian Williams a two month trial. They have also signed three amateurs, all from the Bristol area, Merlyn Jeremiah an inside forward who has played for Corinthian Casuals, Colin Weaver a 15 year old centre half and 21 year old goalkeeper Malcolm Baker.

FRIDAY 21st JUNE 1963.
CITY OFFER APPRENTICES CONTRACTS.

Exeter City have offered full time professionalk contracts to apprentices Peter Quarrington and Peter Rutley, a year before their apprentice contracts expire, Rutley is understood to be unhappy with the terms offered, he has already made several appearances in City's first team, Quarrington who has yet to make the first team is keen to sign a full contract

£7,500 FOR RAY CARTER.

The Exeter City board of directors have decided to place a £7,500 transfer fee on the head of inside forward Ray Carter who has decided not to re-sign next season, and is to join Southern League Crawley Town, The board feels that this is not an unreasonable fee, as they did not want Carter to go, and he has been City's leading scorer for the past two seasons. It will not prevent him from signing
for Crawley as Non League clubs do not have to pay any kind of fee, it is just a safeguard should Crawley ever sell him or he wants to return to League football

TUESDAY 2nd JULY 1963.

TINSLEY TURNS DOWN YEARS CONTRACT. Colin Tinsley, Exeter City's only retained professional goalkeeper has turned down a years contract which the club have offered him and he will continue to do so until City help his with his housing problem, Tinsley who joined from Darlington two years agosaid he has been in a club flat and a club house since then, neither of which suited him or his family. He is therefore only signing monthly contracts until City solve his greivances, Meanwhile both apprentices offered full professional contracts have signedThey are Peter Quarrington and Peter Rutley, All City's retained players except Des Anderson, Derek Grace and Les MacDonald have now agreed terms and re-signed for next season.

BRISTOL ROVERS SIGN JENKINS.
Brian Jenkins, the left winger who was transfer listed by Exeter City for £1,500 today signed for Bristol Rovers on a free transfer. When his old contract expired on Sunday City decided to give Jenkins a free transfer and Rovers moved in quickly to snap him up, He has also received offers from Coventry City, Newport County Torquay United, Barnstaple Town and Chelmsford City. 25 year old Jenkins joined Exeter from Cardiff City two years ago,

WEDNESDAY 3rd JULY 1963.

MCMILLAN ALMOST JOINED TORQUAY.

Jack McMillanthe right winger who was placed on the Exeter City transfer list for a £1,000 fee lost a chance of signing for Torquay United because he was too honest, Torquay manager Eric Vebber wanted Jack to sign and play on the left wing, but Jack said that he would be out of position completely on the left, so Torquay decided to look elsewhere.

FRIDAY 5th JULY 1963.

KEEPER AND FORWARD SIGNED BY CITY.

Exeter City manager Jack Edwards made his first signings for the club today securing the services of former Portsmouth and Grimsby goalkeeper Alan Barnett and former Barnsley, Gillingham, York City and Hartlepool inside forward John Edgar Both are 27, but Barnett is the real capture of the two. After two seasons with Portsmouth where he made 30 appearances for them in the First Division, he was signed by Grimsby Town and in his four years there, he has had 147 first team outings. He was listed for £3,000 at the end of last season, but a talk between City Vice chairman Mr George Gillin and the Grimsby club chairman brought Barnett to St James's Park for only his acrued share of benefit, After leaving Barnsley when he was 22, Edgar became leading goalscorer at all his next three clubs with 24 at Gillingham 16 at York and 20 at Hartlepool, He has had cartilage trouble but the City have signed him after a check by the club doctor

CITY PUT TINSLEY ON FREE TRANSFER LIST!

Colin Tinsley, Exeter City's goalkeeper, who last week refused to sign a years contract with the club because of a problem over housing, has been given a free transfer, He has only signed a contract to the end of this month, now he finds herself without a clubhous and without a job, Tinsley said today that he was not surprised at Exeter's decision and hopes to get fixed up with another club before long.

THURSDAY 11th JULY 1963.

ALVAN WILLIAMS AFTER TOP JOB.

Alvan Williams, the big bearded centre half, son of a parson, who played for Exeter City three seasons ago has applied for the manager/coach job at Fourth Division Hartlepool, He left City on a free transfer and took a player/manager's job with a Cheshire League side. He is a qualified F.A,Coach and is favourite for the post.

FRIDAY 12th JULY 1963.

MACDONALD TELLS CITY "PUT ME ON THE LIST."

Les MacDonald, the Newcastle born defender who has been with Exeter City for six years wants to go on the transfer list, although the club do not want him to go, So he has only signed a monthly Contract and at the moment it is a stalemate, MacDonald lost the left back spot in City's team towards the end of last season with the signing of Roy Patrick from Southampton, He says he cannot see much future at Exeter City and does not want to spend another season in the reserve team, He has met the City board of directors but they have been unable to persuade him to stay at St James's Park.

THURSDAY 18th JULY 1963.

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR CITY.

With exactly a week to go before the professionals report back for training with Exeter City, the players position is worse than it was at the beginning of the sumeer. They have signed just two players, Alan Barnett and John Edgar, but have lost two of the retained players, Colin Tinsley and Ray Carter. In addition Les MacDonald is unsettled at the club and is only on a months contract, City have only four recognised forwards on the staff

TWO CITY PLAYERS MOVE ON.

Two Exeter City players have found new clubs for next season, Jack McMillan has signed for Southern League side Margate on a free transfer and inside forward Charlie Sells who joined City last summer from Q.P.R, has also agreed to go to Southern League side Guildford City.

FRIDAY 19th JULY 1963.

IRISH AMATEUR CAP FOR CITY.

Exeter City have signed a young Irish amateur International goalkeeper on a months trial, He is Jin Parkhill who played in every match for Northern Ireland last season. He is 6'1" and 12 stone 71b, and is the second keeper to be signed by City this summer,

TUESDAY 23rd JULY 1963.

GRECIANS DRIVE FOR MEMBERSHIP.

The Grecian Association, Exeter City's supporters club are starting a new membership drive which looks like taking their numbers up by several thousand, Grecian chairman and City director Mr Les Kerslake said they are circulating an entirely new form of membership card, which will entitle members to take part in a weekly football competition for a cash prize, The early indications are that the new scheme will be a success,

WEDNESDAY 24th JULY 1963.

Exeter City's manager had 15 professionals and three apprentices to work with today when the players reported back for their new seasonBy next week there should be several more, if the board can bring off the signings that they are attempting, the Senior staff should finish up about 20 strong. New faces this morning were Alan Barnett, John Edgar and Adrian Williams on trial from Bristol with the rest of the City staff they were kitted out by Jack Edwards and will be going to one of the City sports shops to choose their own new boots, Training started this afternoon. After the kit session the players were mat by the club chairean Mr Rose and directors Mr J Rodgers and Mr L.Kerslake for an informal get together Jack Edwards will be assisted in training sessions by senior professionals Arnold Mitchell and Keith Harvey.

MONDAY 29th JULY 1963.

MONDAY 29th JULY 1963.

IRISH PAIR FOR CITY TODAY.

Two more Irish players arrive in Exeter today to start training with the rest of the staff. Both are Irish amateur Internationals, Jimmy Parkhill, a goalkeeper and John Symington, inside forward, who has schoolboy and youth caps. Both players are joining City on trial, as is George Ley 17 year old left winger who was with Hitchin Town and Arsenal, Ley is already in training at the Park.

WEDNESDAY 31st JULY 1963.

RE-ROOFING CITY STAND.

Work starts this week on a several thousand pound, three month job at St James's Park, the re rearing of the entire Exeter City grandstand. This is a job which the club has been postponing for bacut the roof has been getting worse and worse and the job became vital inis summer when a 6' piece of guttering cane crashing down on the running track,

THURSDAY 1st AUGUST 1963.

TINSLEY TO SIGN FOR LUTON TOWN.

Colin Tinsley, 27, goalkeeper given a free transfer by Exeter City just three weeks ago has agreed to sign for Third Division Luton Town tomorrow, He made 44 appearances last season after Joining City from Darlington two years ago. He has also received offers from Oxford United and romford.

FRIDAY 2nd AUGUST 1963.

£7,500 PROFIT BIGGEST SINCE THE WAR. Exeter City FC, in their annual balance sheet issued today show that the club made a profit of £7,500 on the years working, only their second profit since the war and by far the largest, The reason for the sudden change of fortune has been the gigantic increase in revenue from the Grecian Association Red and white club and the development fund lottery. This has shot up from £8,950 in 1961-62 to £23,264 in the current year.

The club's total deficiency has dropped from £42,635 to £35,066. The club spent only £2,000 an two players, John Henderson and Roy Patrick. The money for re-roofing the stand has been guaranteed by the Grecian Association. The  City chairman, Reg Rose is confident that the club will do well financially again this year with the aid of careful budgeting. Gate receipts dropped from £12,758 to £12,114, Season tickets down from £33,106 to £32,880. Wages increased from £21,365 to £28,070 and travelling expenses went up by £800 to £4,882, A total of £3,100 was received in transfer fees,

CURTIS, IPSWICH FORWARD SIGNS.

Exeter City have signed the top player that they have been chasing since director Mr Les Kerslake made a flight to Ireland a month ago. He is Dermot Curtis, 30 year old Eire International centre forward from First Division Ipswich Town, City have paid a moderate fee for Curtis who was retained by Ipswich at the end of last season, Born in Dublin, Curtis came to this country seven years ago to sign for Bristol City. After two seasons there, he was transferred to Ipswich and has made about 40 first team appearances there, He will continue to live and train in Ipswich for the time being. He is eager to come to Exeter to live as soon as possible as he likes this part of the country very much.

SATURDAY 3rd AUGUST 1963.

Peter Arbury, the young fullback from Ottery St Mary, who was a member of the City team that did so well in the F.A. Youth cup last season has been signed as an apprentice professional,

FRIDAY 9th AUGUST 1963.

CITY TRIAL FOR YOUNG FORWARD.

Exeter City are giving a months trial to John Cochrane, a 19 year old inside forward who has been in Third Division football with BrightonBorn in Belfast, he joined Brighton two years ago, last season he sade 14 appearances scoring four goalsHe was the top scorer in their combination side.

TUESDAY 13th AUGUST 1963.

CITY NEED INSIDE FORWARDS AND QUICKLY.

WEYMOUTH v  EXETER CITY
City Team
Barnett; Smyth Patrick; Mitchell, Harvey Anderson; Welsh, Cochrane, Henderson, Symington, Rees.

Exeter City still need forwards inside forwardsThis was the lesson they learned at Southern League Weymouth, Despite changes in attack at the start of the second half, the craft to get goals was Just not there, The team tried hard enough, but the inside forwards lacked the experience to make the right sort of openings or to take the strain off the defence for any length of time. The defence played well, but the side that took the field is unlikely to be anything like the side that will play in the opening fixture of the season. Edgar was absent with a knee injury and Curtis is still in IpswichVith these two in the team there should be a tremendous amount of difference as both have experience which will also give a helping hand to the youngsters in the side,

THURSDAY 15th AUGUST 1963.

BARRY PIERCE JOINS SALISBURY.

Forser Exeter City inside forward Barry Pierce has signed for Salisbury City, Liverpool born Plance signed for City from York last July with the reputation as a goalgetter, but although he had sade 35 11rst teas appearances he never found his scoring touch and was given a free transfer at the end of last season


PROGRESS THE AIM: TWO-STYLE PLAY PLAN

No one at St. James's Park talks about promotion. Instead they talk about progress. And while it might not sound quite as inspiring, it is far more sensible for a club in Exeter City's position. Taking a closer look at that position, first, financially they have never had it so good. Thanks mainly to the Red and White and the Development Fund they can show their supporters a working profit. Secondly, on the field. That really remains to be seen. But the club will start the season with seventeen professionals, over balanced at the moment, in defence it is thought. Off the field. A man who is as yet unproved as a team manager, but who will succeed if sheer determination and hard work have anything to do with it. The man is Jack Edwards, who just two seasons ago was a full-back in the Southern League.

IN AT THE DEEP END.
Now, after an alarmingly short apprenticeship, he finds himself in the situation of being thrown right in at the deep end, in charge of a lowly but ambitious Fourth Division set-up which he has to weld into a match-winning team. He is the team manager, coach, and trainer all rolled into one.

In the boardroom? Four men, Mr Reg Rose, Mr George Gillin, Mr Leslie Kerslake, and Mr Jack Rogers, who have not yet had the taste of real soccer success.

That is the position, and it is wondered if it is one which will in time make good the promise of progress. Like the promise of a better bank balance, a £7,000-odd profit last season. Like the promise of better quality players, first Roy Patrick, then Dermot Curtis. Only time and the performances of the team will tell. And since the team is the most important thing in the club, the man to go to for the answers is Jack Edwards.

MR EDWARDS INTERVIEWED. HE SAYS:

"Of course we are hoping to get out of this section in the end, as every other club in the fourth division is. But no one in his right mind talks about promotion at the start of a season, not even if he has just signed up a team of internationals. The City certainly are not in a position to do that, even if such men were available, but I believe we have the nucleus of a good side, and I am hoping for better things this year.

"Even so, I am glad we are starting with a relatively small playing staff, because it leaves room for improvement in an emergency. "There is nothing worse than starting the season with the maximum number of players and then finding that half a dozen of them are not what you wanted, and be unable to sign anyone else for the fear of overloading the wages bill."

SIMILAR STYLE TO LAST SEASON.

Breaking down the staff list of signed professionals and forgetting the trialists entirely Exeter City have got one goalkeeper, four full backs, six half backs, and six forwards. The manager's job has not been made any easier by the fact that two of the forwards have been unfit and another has been training away from the club. So what sort of plan is being adhered to? Mr Edwards: "Not being able to get all the potential first team men together for tactics has been my main snag, but generally, I think that we shall play the same style of football which brought us the success we had in the last half of last season. "Curtis is obviously going to be a striker, and in Edgar I think we
have the ideal man to be the inside-forward link. But you will find that we shall play different styles of football home and away. "At home it will be all-out attacking stuff. We start every match on our own ground with an advantage and I want to make sure that the players realise this and ram it home.

"Away from home it's a different story, and I'm going to try to use a bit of psychology. "You know yourself that the longer the home team goes without any goals the more the gets on to them, the more desperate their players get, and the more likely they are to make mistakes.

PUTTING UP A BLANKET DEFENCE.

"So we're going to try to make this work in our favour by putting up a blanket defence for the first half while we're away from home and we shall even pull the wingers back.
"Our intention must be to come away with at least one point, at all costs, and then strike back when we get the chance.

"To be able to do this I have had to work the players hard, and I made this plain from the training schedule right from the start. It has been hard, but different. I used some of the ideas I picked up at Lilleshall and I have cut out a lot of the ordinary lapping and running and made them do as much work as possible with the ball."

EXETER CITY'S PLAYERS: TRIALISTS AND NEW PROFESSIONALS. AND A CHANCE NOW FOR TWO LOCAL LADS, QUARRINGTON AND RUTLEY.

Exeter City start the new season with several trialists and seven new professionals on their books. Two of these, Peter Quarrington, full back, and Peter Rutley, half-back, need no introduction. They are the locally born lads who signed as 15 year-old apprentices together two years ago. The newcomers are:

ALAN BARNETT: He made more than 30 First Division appearances as the Portsmouth team's goalkeeper before signing for Grimsby, and he had 147 first-team outings there. It was not until Grimsby Town paid out £8,000 to Workington for Charlie Wright that Barnett lost his place, and even then Exeter had to pay £3,000 for his signature.

JOHN EDGAR: After leaving Barnsley when he was 22, Edgar, an inside or centre forward, moved around the Football League a little, and he was the top goalscorer at all his next three clubs. At Gillingham he got 24 goals, at York 16, and at Hartlepools United 20. He seems to be getting over his cartilage trouble, and apart from being only a scorer of goals looks to have mid-field ability as well.

DERMOT CURTIS: The star signing of the close season, he was retained by Ipswich Town, but Exeter City were able to get this 30 years old centre-forward for a fairly moderate fee. Born in Dublin, Curtis has been "capped" more than a dozen times for Southern Ireland, and he lived up to his reputation in Exeter City's public practice game by scoring three goals.

GEORGE NORTHCOTT: One of the Torquay-born brothers who have stuck to their local club for a number of years. He might not have been among the players assembled at St. James's Park now but for a dispute over his first team place at Torquay after a knee injury two years ago. When he was transfer listed at £5,000 the big centre-half was taken on by Chelmsford and became the outstanding defender in the Southern League last season. Tommy, his older brother, is back with Torquay after a bit of wandering away to Lincoln and then to Cardiff.

GEORGE SPIERS: He will on Saturday be playing his first game in the English League at the age of twenty-one, less than a week after his being signed by the City. But Exeter is not his first English club, for when he was fifteen he spent eighteen months on the Manchester United ground-staff. He is a winger, inside man, or wing half back, and has played in all three positions for his previous clubs, the Belfast Crusaders and Glentoran.

RETAINED FROM LAST SEASON.

Backs: L.MacDonald, C.Smyth, R.Patrick.
Half backs:- K.Harvey, A.Mitchell, D.Grace, D.Anderson.
Forwards:- G.Rees, E.Welsh, J.Henderson.

OTHER SIGNINGS.
Jim Parkhill, goalkeeper, from Cliftonville,
Adrian Williams, inside right, from Bristol City,
John Symington, inside left, from Belfast Crusaders,
George Ley, outside left, from Hitchin,
Peter Arbury, right back, from Saint Mary.
John Cochrane, outside right, from Brighton and Hove.

THESE HAVE GONE.

Ray Carter to Crawley Town,
Colin Tinsley to Luton Town,
Mike Hughes to Chesterfield,
Charlie Sells to Guildford City,
John McMillan to Margate,
David Johnston to Stockport County, Barry Pierce to Salisbury City,
Brian Jenkins to Bristol Rovers.

THE LATE JIMMY DUNN.
Four days before the commencement of the football season one of the finest footballers of all time passed away, age 63 years, in Glasgow. He was Jimmy Dunn, inside-right, of Scotland, Hibernians, Everton, and finally Exeter City, for one season, 1935-36. He is best remembered as one of the "Wembley Wizards" forward line of 1928, when the annual match resulted in a resounding Scottish victory by five goals to one. Jimmy Dunn was inside right to Alec Jackson in that match, and Hugh Gallacher, Alec James, and Alan Morton made up the rest of that fabulous forward line.

SATURDAY AUGUST 17TH

CURTIS AND EDGAR IMPROVE THE ATTACK ON TRIAL FORM.

PROBABLES 4 POSSIBLES 1.

Trying to sum up match form in a soccer practice match is rather like trying to pick Derby winners with a pin. Sometimes right, but mostly not. And Exeter City's public practice presented more fore casting problems than most. The score itself does not tell much. The Reds won by 4 goals to 1. But the real trouble was that the Reds, the potential first eleven, did not have any kind of all-out test, for the Whites were without exception all inexperienced young players, mostly teen-agers. But if the match was any guide at all, it seems certain that Curtis and Edgar will take some stopping with the real football starts.
Teams : Barnett; Smyth, MacDonald; Mitchell, Patrick, Anderson; Cochrane, Henderson, Curtis, Edgar, and Rees.

Whites:- Parkhill; Quarrington, Arbury; Rutley, Parsons, Grace; Stuckey, Redwood, Riding, Williams, and Ley.

17.Aug.1963. Trial.
Report 2. 

EXETER CITY 4 CITY RESERVES 1

Dermott Curtis, the Eire centre forward from Ipswich capped 16 times, was the big capture Exeter paraded in the public trial at St. James Park.

Curtis lived up to his reputation scoring 3 goals in the Probables' 4-1 win; but the limelight was taken by 19 year old Irish trialist John Cochraine. After 2 seasons with Brighton as an inside forward he moved to right wing for this game, to score 1 goal and produce the direct and accurate play that Exeter's attack needs. If he maintains this form there is no doubt that his present month's trial will stretch to a year's contract.Already signed, and looking certain for first team places, are goalie Alan Barnett from Grimsby, and the former Hartlepools inside forward John Edgar.

While manager Jack Edwards must be pleased with his new signings, he still has his worries for Keith Harvey and Eric Welsh already injured, were joined, at half time, by Roy Patrick, who strained his back, and did not return.

TUESDAY 20th AUGUST 1963.

CITYS TWO NEW MEN.

Exeter City have signed two new players today, former Torquay United centre half George Northcott and 21 year old utility player George Spiers. Northcott was consistently Torquay's centre half until he had a knee injury about 18 months ago, when he could not get back into the first team he asked for a transfer and was listed for £5,000, Instead of waiting for a League club he joined Cheltenham Town last season and arrives at St James's Park on a free transfer, he is 27 years old 6 and 13 stone. Spiers comes from Irish League club Crusaders, City have been negotiating for him for some time, agreement was finally reached over the transfer fee yesterday and he signed today. He is reported to be an extremely strong player and can play at wing half or inside forward.