WHAT does a manager do when they are struggling to field a side? How about calling on a reggae star to help out?
That is exactly what happened in March 2003, when singer Maxi Priest, famous for UK chart hits such as Just A Bit Longer and Close To You, played for Southall as a second-half substitute.
Maxi Priest at the Raggamuffin Music Festival in 2011
Priest teamed up with his son, Southall player Marvin, with the Seagrave Haulage League outfit struggling to field a squad because of injuries and suspensions.
Priest (real name Max Elliott) was given the unexpected SOS call up by manager Frank Gill, with several first team regulars out of action. The pair used to kick a ball around in their home town of Lewisham, where they grew up together.
The dreadlocked Jamaican-born reggae artist, who had been spending most of his time jetting back and forth between London and New York, turned back the clock more than 25 years to put on a pair of football boots for the game, at the age of 43, at Mill Meadow, the home of Chalfont St Peter FC.
Having toured for two decades until that point and playing to packed arenas all over the world, Priest's homecoming didn't help struggling Southall avoid defeat, as opponents Feltham ran out 3-0 winners. While Priest is the only reggae singer to have played for Southall (and son Marvin has enjoyed some success as a singer with a top 10 hit in Australia), he is not the only well known former player.
Les Ferdinand MBE, who played for QPR, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and England, was part of the Southall side that reached the FA Vase final in 1986.
Other players to have played for Southall include Alan Devonshire (West Ham and England), Gordon Hill (Manchester United and Millwall), Justin Fashanu (Norwich), Eric Young (Brighton, Wimbledon, Crystal Palace and Wales), Mark Nicholls (Chelsea), Graham Wilkins (Chelsea and Brentford), Rowan Vine (Portsmouth, Birmingham and QPR), Colin Viljoen (Ipswich Town, Manchester City, Chelsea and England), former Bradford and Wigan manager Chris Hutchings (who played for Chelsea, Brighton and Huddersfield) and the current Leyton Orient head coach Ross Embleton.
Southall even have an Olympic Gold medallist as a former player, with Frederick Chapman, who also played for Nottingham Forest, part of the GB team that won Gold at the 1908 London Olympics.