BRIAN BENNETT RIP
It is with deep regret that we wish to inform you of the passing of Tooting & Mitcham legend Brian Bennett.
Brian was one of the finest players to represent the club and probably the greatest header of a ball. Brian joined T&MUFC from Hounslow Town FC in December 1957 before retiring in 1964. He played in defence at Centre Back and was a loyal clubman, who stayed even when the great Terrors team broke up.
He won two Isthmian League titles with us, along with the London Senior & Surrey Senior Cup’s. He also played in the London Challenge Cup Final losing to Chelsea.
Brian was a member of the great 1958-59 side that reached the FA Cup 3rd Round Proper losing to eventual winners Nottingham Forest. He made a total of 262 appearances for the club scoring 3 goals. His representative honours also included playing for the London FA, Surrey FA, Isthmian League and a FA Eleven.
Brian was a true gentleman who will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
The club will be marking his passing at our next home game on Saturday 23rd September V’s Spelthorne Sports.
Sol Patterson-Bohner Retires
Tooting’s Championship winning skipper, Sol Patterson-Bohner has announced that he will be hanging up his boots. Sol had his first taste of 1st team football as a teenager in the 2005/06 season when he was handed his debut by Richard Cadette, making his first appearance for the Terrors against Fisher Athletic in the FA Cup.
He spent the following seasons around various clubs such as Walton & Hersham, Walton Casuals and Whyteleafe. Frank Wilson brought Sol back early in the 2015/16 season where he quickly established himself as a leader of the team and was soon captaining the side. He led the team to victory in the London Senior Cup that season, eliminating Dulwich along the way.
The following season he went one better by leading the team to the league title. Sol played 40 league games in that record breaking season and formed a tremendous barrier at the back with Quincy Rowe. Sol was one of the only players to remain after Frank Wilson left and was still an extremely reliable defender and strong leader during the first two years of Ashley Bosah’s managership. His final appearance in that spell was during the curtailed 2019/20 season.
Sol subsequently played at teams such as Guildford City, Redhill and Merstham.
When Jamie Byatt took over this season, he made Sol one of his first key signings. So it’s a sad day that Sol has decided to finish playing. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours and he will be remembered at Tooting as a great skipper and someone who was always happy to talk with the supporters.
He finishes having made 162 appearances and scoring 5 goals.
We wish him all the very best for the future and hope to see him down at Imperial Fields shouting from the sidelines!
