"Fans' favourite" sums up today's featured player, as would defender, captain, and player-coach - Curtis Warmington.

Curtis Warmington, it would be fair to say, wore his heart on his sleeve, and his honesty, passion and desire made him a fans' favourite pretty much everywhere he played. A very strange statistic of Curtis's Hendon career, which comprised six seasons, was that he never reached even 40 appearances in a season, but did have three with 39 and one with 37.

He was a midfielder when he left the West Ham United academy, but by the time he made his name in the Isthmian League it was as a defender. And, it must be said, few defenders have been as solid and uncompromising as Curtis - certainly in the modern era - and it brought him significant success in a career that lasted almost 20 years. His clubs, before joining Hendon for the first time in 1993, included Dulwich Hamlet, Yeovil Town and Carshalton Athletic. Curtis did not make his Hendon debut until the middle of September, coming on as a substitute for Bob Dowie in a League Cup loss at Boreham Wood. His first start came in midfield, at home to Heybridge Swifts in the FA Cup and he scored his first goal, too, in a 5-2 victory.

The turmoil of December 1993 to January 1994 meant a very different Hendon finished the campaign. Dowie was player-manager, Curtis was captain, and they were centre-back partners. Dowie's four months in charge ended with glory in the Full Members Cup Final, a 2-1 victory over Wokingham Town at Marlow - current assistant manager Freddie Hyatt was on the losing side - and it was Curtis who lifted the trophy. Pretty much all of the squad left in the summer of 1994, Curtis included, and he spent time at Enfield and Walton & Hersham before returning to Claremont Road to play for Neil Price. The highlight of the season was a run to the first round proper of the FA Cup and Curtis played in the 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City, thanks to the Greens arranging a Middlesex Senior Cup tie two days before the big game, to allow him to complete a suspension.

Frank Murphy took over as manager in March 1997 and helped the Greens avoid relegation. It would be fair to say that the central defence at the start of Frank's first full season was experienced, the four main centre-backs, Curtis, Steve Bateman, Richard Nugent and Tony Kelly had an aggregate age of 131. It did mean that they all were a little frail, with only Kelly (51 - despite chronic knee issues) reaching a half-century of appearances. The 1997-98 season was memorable on so many levels, especially the FA Cup first round proper victory over Leyton Orient and the Full Members Cup Final success against Basingstoke at Chesham. The second goal of that glorious evening, the one that gave Hendon the lead, was reminiscent of Tommy Smith in the 1977 European Cup Final - a veteran centre-half storming into the penalty area and smashing a header into the net - only this time it was Curtis who grabbed the glory.

The last goal of Curtis's Hendon career came the following season, and it was another key one, a shot from the edge of the penalty area at New Lodge, Billericay, then the home of Chelmsford City, and a 3-2 FA Cup qualifying round replay victory, completing a comeback from 2-0 down. The Greens went on to face Notts County in the first round proper, but Curtis was an unused substitute in the first game and the replay. At the end of that season, Curtis was captain when Hendon met Worthing in the Full Members Cup Final, against Worthing at Sutton United's Gander Green Lane. Matt Maran's goal was enough to allow Curtis to lift the trophy for the second time as Hendon skipper. It was also the second trophy of the year for him as Hendon had beaten Wembley at Enfield in the Middlesex Senior Cup Final a month earlier.

Frank Murphy appointed Curtis as player-coach for the 1999-2000 season and the additional responsibilities cut into his playing time, with just 22 appearances. Although he was involved in the three qualifying rounds of the FA Cup, he was simply the coach against Bath City and Blackpool. Curtis turned 36 during the weather-blighted 2000-01 season. He was very much a coach as opposed to player-coach, as proved by his three starts all coming in early rounds of cup competitions. His only other appearance came in the penultimate match of the season, a 5-0 loss at home to Aldershot Town, the second of three games on consecutive days (with two more left unplayed). Frank left after the season, and both Curtis and Dave applied for the job. When Dave was appointed, Curtis quickly moved to join Frank who took over at Carshalton Athletic. He later managed Whyteleafe and, last season, was assistant manager back at Carshalton.

Joined Hendon: September 1993, September 1997. Left Hendon: Summer 1994, Summer 2001
Appearances: 180 (151 starts, 29 as substitute). Goals: 5
Winners medals won: Full Members Cup 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99; Middlesex Senior Cup: 1998-99