Hendon Green & Gold 24 - Jamie Busby

Greensnet Editor
Mon 08 Jun 2015, 17:02

Jamie Busby gave Hendon six seasons of great service, but has no winners' medals to show for it. The Greens won two London Senior Cups, but he missed the 2009 success as he was on holiday - the final being delayed until after the League season - and was injured in 2012.

Always a midfielder, Jamie had an exceptional scoring record, averaging better than one goal every five games 58 in 258 matches. Rail-thin, Jamie was very strong and quick, a good clean tackler and an above-average passer - a pre-requisite for a Gary McCann midfielder.

He was also a superb striker of the ball, either at a set-piece or in open play. His goal in the 1-0 victory at Bury Town, in the second game of the 2011-12 season, stands out: a low tracer shell that Marcus Garnham wasn't close to saving as it arrowed inches inside the post.

Jamie's Hendon debut came during the relegation battle of 2005-06, when the Greens only avoided the drop because of another club's financial woes.

He joined from Hillingdon Borough just before the 31 March signing deadline and made his debut at Maldon Town on 1 April. His first three appearances were all as a substitute - replacing Lee O’Leary in the 2–2 draw at Park Drive. His first start also resulted in Hendon's first win in 12 League outings - a 4-0 crushing of Leyton at Claremont Road. Jamie also started the last three games of the season, including the 3–2 London Senior Cup final loss against Fisher Athletic at Tooting.

Buzza's first Hendon goal was the last one in a 4-0 FA Cup victory over Arlesey Town in mid-September 2006. His next one - three months later - was more important, the winner against Worthing at Claremont Road

Hendon started the following season in spectacular form, scoring goals for fun. With Brian Haule, Belal Aite-Ouakrim and Wayne O'Sullivan sharing 58 goals between them, there weren’t many opportunities for others to register and Jamie had his lowest return in a full season, just four goals in 48 appearances, and half of those were in the 11-1 victory at Leyton. Hendon reached two cup finals in spring 2008, losing to 3-0 Hampton & Richmond Borough in the Middlesex Senior and 3-2 to Tooting & Mitcham United in the London Senior and Jamie picked up a second runners-up medal in the former, missing the London final with an injury.

The 2008-09 season served as Jamie's coming out party as a goalscorer. He netted 15 in 44 games, to finish the campaign as leading scorer and winner of the Supporters Association Player of the Year Award, the first of two he would receive. It was a difficult season for Hendon, the club's 101st and the one when the Greens lost their Claremont Road home. A 16th-place finish showed how tough things had been, but the 69 goals scored were fifth-best in the Division. There was another runners-up medal at the end of the season, the 2-0 loss to AFC Hayes in the Middlesex Senior Cup, but he was away for the London Senior success.

Jamie missed almost one-third of the 2009-10 season, but still managed to score eight goals - all in the Ryman League. The following season was probably Jamie's best for Hendon, as he won his second Supporters Association Player of the Year Award. He netted 18 times in 53 outings, including two in the FA Cup first round proper, when the Greens lost narrowly 3-2 to Chelmsford City. How vital to Hendon was Jamie at this time? One of the four Ryman League games he missed was the trip to Lowestoft - Hendon lost 8-1.

Sadly, Buzza's Hendon career ended the following season, one which saw him suffer a number of injuries, easily the worst of which was the broken cheekbone during the FA Cup fourth qualifying round at Luton Town. He played in only 27 matches, though he did score seven goals, the last of which was a penalty-spot equaliser against Carshalton at Vale Farm in late March. An ankle injury soon after half-time proved to be his last action of the season - and to date his Hendon career, though he is still only 29 years old. In the summer of 2012, Jamie announced – that with a young family and work commitments taking up more and more of his time – he was taking a break from football.

Joined Hendon: Spring 2005. Left Hendon: Summer 2012
Appearances: 258 (224 starts, 34 as substitute). Goals: 58
Supporters Association Player of the Year: 2008-09, 2010-11