Ex Stoke City winger passes away aged 68

Mike Pejic pays tribute to the late John Worsdale

Former Stoke City winger John Worsdale - nicknamed Billy Whizz by his mates - has died after a short illness at the age of 68.

Worsdale joined his hometown club from an early age in the late 1960s and eventually made it into the first team for a handful of appearances.

He later moved to Lincoln City in 1970 and became more of a regular feature at Sincil Bank before later playing in non-league with Worksop Town, Gainsborough Trinity and Skegness Town.

Former Stoke City and England defender Mike Pejic has paid tribute to his former team-mate in his weekly column after only just hearing of the sad news.

He said: "We used to call him Billy Whizz, after the comic book character, because he was like s### off a shovel when it came to sprints and running up Trentham Hills.

"John was a gifted winger who could run and cross with pace, it’s just a pity that the competition was so hot at the time and that restricted his number of appearances before he moved on.

"John was a local lad who later had his own newsagents and it was great to see him at my wedding in June.

"I could never have guessed that would be the last time I would ever see John."