Iain Dowie's place in Hendon folklore is assured, especially in the way he ended his career at Claremont Road. In November 1988, Luton Town paid Hendon a club record fee for the striker, who had already netted 27 goals in just 30 appearances.

When Iain joined the Club from St Albans City - he had also played for his hometown Hatfield Town and Cheshunt - at the beginning of November 1986, he was still a student, doing an engineering degree, with a focus on rocket technology. (which, of course, proves that football and rocket science go hand in hand). His place on the course was sponsored by BAE Systems in Hatfield, for whom he worked.

His Hendon debut came on a Tuesday night, close to his Hertfordshire home, at Top Field, Hitchin. It was more than successful as he scored twice in a 4-1 and one of the goals singled him out as a special talent. Attacking in the inside-right channel, he ran onto a through ball from Dermot Drummy, burst past a defender, who barely moved, and fired a rifle shot across the goalkeeper just inside the far post.

Ineligible to play in the League Cup - Saints had picked him earlier in the competition despite requests not to - he was able to take his place in the Hendon team for the run in the GMAC Cup, also known as the Premier Inter-League Cup. The Greens enjoyed a fantastic run in the competition's inaugural season, reaching the final where Kettering Town - then one of the strongest sides in the Conference - won 3-1 at Rockingham Road.

Iain had to miss the semi-final at Burton Albion because the match was played on a Sunday and he had a finals exam that day. The club even looked at flying him up to the North Midlands, but he didn't make the 13 who drew 1-1 in a match that was not for the faint-hearted. He played his part in the replay and although he didn't score, the Greens won 3-1. Despite not playing for the first 10 weeks of the season, Iain completed his first Hendon campaign with 23 goals from 46 appearances.

The following season, Hendon made their final appearance at the old Wembley stadium in the Russell Grant Middlesex Charity Cup final, a 2-0 defeat of Wembley. The match on 2 June 1988 was his 56th match of the season, and he scored his 28th goal. But Iain wasn't satisfied with a strike rate of a goal every other game and he worked diligently throughout the off-season with coach Ronnie Duke, a hard taskmaster, but who possessed an outstanding technical and tactical mind.

All the hard work paid off handsomely as he banged in goals at a rate of almost one per match. The Greens made a great start to the Isthmian League campaign, but they were magnificent in the FA Cup, led by Dowie. He grabbed two hat-tricks, against Harwich & Parkeston and Bishop's Stortford, two in the defeat of Braintree Town and one against VS Rugby in a fourth qualifying round replay, which booked Hendon's trip to Reading.

By now a number of Football League clubs were showing great interest in the striker and it was clear that Iain's time at Hendon was coming to an end, though he agreed not to leave the club until the FA Cup run was over. Iain scored Hendon's first goal at Elm Park, but the Greens were beaten 4-2 by the Biscuitmen. Iain's final appearances came in the FA Trophy, an infamous tie against Hayes, in which five players were sent off at Claremont Road. Dowie scored twice in a 3-3 draw, but didn't find the net in the replay, which Hendon won 2-0.

As a professional, one of the few modern players not to use an agent, Iain appeared in more than 400 first-team matches, including 59 for Northern Ireland. Although born in Hatfield, Iain's parents were from Northern Ireland and they watched him play almost every week. His clubs included Luton, QPR, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Southampton and he went on to manage QPR, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Oldham and Coventry, often with his brother Bob - who will appear later in this series - as scout or director of football. Iain is now a football pundit, seen regularly on Sky Sports.

Born: 9 January 1965
Joined Hendon: November 1986
Left Hendon: December 1988
Appearances: 132
Goals: 78
Winners' Medal: Middlesex Charity Cup (1987–88)