ALL associated with Runcorn Linnets are deeply upset to hear John Carroll, a hugely popular and successful player and player-manager of predecessor club, Runcorn AFC has passed away.

He died peacefully in his sleep on January 5 at the age of 57.

John served the club with distinction both as a player and player-manager. He joined from Weymouth for season 1987-88 season.

He won two Cheshire Senior Cups as a Linnets player and was a mainstay of the side which defeated full-timers Wrexham in an FA Cup first round replay at The Racecourse Ground on November 22nd 1988 - one of the most memorable nights in the later years of the former club.

On becoming Linnets manager in 1991, John led the club to the Bob Lord Trophy final - the Conference's League Cup - at the end of his first season in charge. They suffered a 2-1 aggregate defeat but won a lot of plaudits for their performances against big-spending Wycombe Wanderers.

His biggest achievement was steering the club to successive Wembley appearances in 1993 and 1994. Again, the Linnets lost 4-1 to the newly-crowned Conference champions Wycombe in their non-league swansong and then 2-1 to Woking, who likewise had a much higher playing budget compared to Runcorn.

John's 188 league appearances for Runcorn mean that only five players played more games for the club than he did during their 15 seasons in the Alliance Premier League/Gola League/Conference.

John Carroll was an extremely genuine and likeable person who always gave total commitment to the Linnets both as a highly-dedicated player and manager. Our thoughts are with his wife Julie, the rest of his family and his friends at this deeply distressing time.