Where Are They Now – Nicky Jennings

Former Argyle winger Nicky Jennings is the focus for the latest installment in the Where Are They Now series.

NICKY JENNINGS – Born 18th January 1946 Wellington, Somerset.

Nicky started playing football as a fifteen year old with his hometown club Wellington, he stayed with them until he was signed by Argyle manager Andy Beattie in 1963 when he was seventeen.
Nicky was a speedy left winger who at 5’6′ wasn’t the tallest player on the pitch but delighted crowds with his wizardry on the wing wherever he played.

He made his debut on 1st February 1964 in a 1-0 win at home to Bury with Wilf Carter scoring the winning goal. Nicky was on the scoresheet himself four weeks later when he scored the first goal in a 3-1 win at home to Scunthorpe with Frank Lord scoring the other two.
He again scored the first goal at Portsmouth in a 2-1 win with Johnny Williams getting the winner.
In the next game, a 3-2 win at home to Swansea Frank Lord scored another two goals with Nicky again scoring. He scored his fourth goal in the last away game of the season, a 1-1 draw at Leeds who were crowned champions after the next game. It was a goal that saved Argyle from relegation as both Argyle and Grimsby finished on 32 points with Argyle staying up on goal difference.

Despite being only eighteen Nicky continued to the club’s first choice left winger throughout 1964-65.
He scored his first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw at home to Orient in early December. In the third round of the FA Cup he scored in a 4-2 home win over Derby with Barrie Jones (2) and Mike Trebilcock also scoring to set up a fourth round tie at Leicester. His next goal came in a 4-0 win at home to Southampton when he scored the fourth goal after Mike Trebilcock (2) and Tony Book had got the first three. It was revenge for the 5-0 defeat at the Dell earlier in the season.
Nicky scored his last of the season in a 2-2 draw at home to Bury after Richard Reynolds had got the first goal.
Nicky ended up scoring Argyle’s final goal of the season for the second year running.

New manager Derek Ufton took over from Malcolm Allison who left to go to Manchester City as Joe Mercer’s assistant on 1st May, just in time to the 1965-66 season but it made no difference to Nicky he continued to play week in week out in the number 11 shirt.
He scored his first goal of the season in Argyle’s biggest win since Nicky had been at the club in a 6-1 thrashing of Birmingham in mid-September, a Mike Trebilcock hat trick did most of the damage with further goals from Johnny Williams, Frank Lord and Nicky. He scored his next goal in a 2-2 draw at home to Bury in early December with Duncan Neale scoring the other Argyle goal.
Nicky’s other goal that season also came in a big home win, 5-2 over Rotherham, another of Argyle`s youngsters, Norman Piper, scored twice, Mike Bickle also got two goals and Nicky one.

1966-67 was to be Nicky’s last season at Home Park and he continued to be the regular left winger. He played, and scored in one of the most one-sided games seen at Home Park. Argyle had already beaten Coventry, who would finish the season as champions, 4-2 thanks to goals from Norman Piper, Barrie Jones and two from Mike Bickle earlier in the season.
That result didn`t prepare the 14,525 crowd of what was to come. Argyle ripped into Cardiff from the whistle, four goals from Mike Bickle, becoming the first Argyle player to score four in a game since Maurice Tadman, sixteen years before. Further goals from Argyle’s young stars, Norman Piper (18), Richard Reynolds (18) and Nicky (20) left the Bluebirds looking for the final whistle, when it finally came they had been soundly beaten 7-1. It was the first time they had scored seven goals in a game since they had beaten Mansfield 8-3 in 1959.

For reasons known only to himself Derek Ufton unexpectedly sold the popular Nicky to Portsmouth. He played his last game on 7th January in a 1-0 win at Home Park over Rotherham with Norman Piper scoring the goal.
Ufton had already bought in his replacement, John Mitten from Coventry, who only played 46 times before moving on to Exeter. Before long Nicky would be joined at Fratton Park by the cream of the Argyle young players, Richard Reynolds, Norman Piper and eventually Steve Davey.
With youth being replaced by aging players it came as no surprise when Argyle were relegated at the end of the next season.
While at Argyle Nicky made 109 appearances and scored twelve goals.

Argyle fans didn’t have to wait long to see Nicky play again as Portsmouth came to Home Park on 26th August and came away winners 2-1 with Norman Piper’s goal not enough to save a point. It was the last time Pompey came to Home Park for fourteen years.
He soon became as much a fans favourite at Fratton Park as he had been at Home Park, he was a first team regular in all of the seven years he was at the club. In 1971 he was voted the fans Player of The Year, he was probably helped in winning that award by scoring twice in a 6-3 televised win at home to Fulham.
In 1973 he was loaned out to Aldershot for a month where he made four appearances and scored one goal.

At the end of the 1972-73 season he spent the summer in the USA playing in the NASL for Dallas Tornado, before returning to the UK he was named an All-Star Honourable Mention and helped Dallas to the league final, which they lost 2-0.

Nicky spent another season at Portsmouth before moving back to the Westcountry on a free transfer to Exeter. While at Portsmouth Nicky made 206 appearances and scored 45 goals.

Nicky spent four seasons at St. James Park before retiring at the end of the 1977-78 season. For the third time in his career he played over one hundred times for his club, making 124 appearances and scoring fifteen goals at Exeter.