In this series at Everything Orient, we take a look back at ex-Orient players and managers and see where their careers have taken them since their departure from Brisbane Road.
Player Profile
Steve Watts was born in Peckham, London, on 11 July 1976. A prolific 6’1” striker - and also part-time model - he started his playing career at Dulwich Hamlet and Fisher Athletic before moving to Leyton Orient in 1998, where he made over 130 appearances in a five-year spell, scoring 29 goals.
In 2011, following a series of spells with other clubs, Watts finished his playing career at Sutton United, having made nearly 300 career appearances.
Where Have They Been?
Between the ages of 10 and 14, Watts was part of Millwall’s School of Excellence. He then spent a year at Tottenham and in the Charlton youth team before joining Dulwich Hamlet and subsequently Fisher Athletic in the summer of 1998. He joined Leyton Orient from Fisher in October 1998, for a fee of £3,000, after winning The Sun newspaper's 'Search for a Striker' competition.
Talking about this later, Watts said:
“Leyton Orient was my Grandad’s club, which made him proud. At Fisher Athletic, I was playing in front of 300 people. Three months later, at the end of that season, I played in front of 44,000 at Wembley, in the 1999 Division Three Play-off Final, which Orient lost to Scunthorpe. I sang the national anthem looking up at the stars and thought ‘this is ridiculous’.”
Watts had another chance to appear in a play-off final when Orient faced Blackpool at the Millenium Stadium in 2001, but a sending-off in the previous game meant he was banned, and the O’s lost 4-2.
Watts’ first team debut for Orient was as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at Southend on 17 October 1998. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 home win over Brentford on 21 November ‘98. Watts subsequently signed a three-year contract under manager Tommy Taylor, despite interest from Millwall.Watts made 48 starts for Orient in the next two seasons, and 29 appearances as substitute, scoring 22 goals, before going to Margate on loan on 13 September 2002.
On his return to Brisbane Road in October 2002, Watts came on as sub in seven games before another loan spell on 12 December, this time to Lincoln City. He was offered a permanent move to Sincil Bank but rejected the deal. He also had a brief loan spell at Welling United.
Watts struggled to win a regular place in the Orient side and in 2003 Orient manager Paul Brush placed Watts on the transfer list, claiming doubts in his work-rate and commitment, as his part-time modelling career seemed to be making too much of an impact.
Watts trialled at Bristol Rovers in January 2003 and then was loaned out again, this time to Dagenham & Redbridge.
In March 2003, Watts was signed by Shrewsbury Town. Watts revealed later that Swansea City manager Brian Flynn had also made contact with him prior to his signing for Shrewsbury on transfer deadline day.
Watts then had a short spell with Dagenham & Redbridge (2003–04 season) before joining St Albans City in February 2004 where he made 21 appearances, scoring nine times. His injury time goal against Bedford Town in the play-off win saw City promoted to the Conference South.
Watts grabbing Orient's second with a diving header.
In the summer of 2004, Watts returned to Fisher Athletic and in October 2006 he was nominated for FA Cup player of the round for his hat-trick in Fisher's 6–1 victory over Metropolitan Police. He helped Fisher win the London Senior Cup (2004/06 and 2005/06), the Southern League Eastern Division Championship (2004/05), the Isthmian League Cup (2005/06) and the Isthmian League Premier Division promotion play-off final (2005/06). His impressive performances that season earned him the Isthmian League Player of the year award.
In December 2006, Watts left Fisher by mutual consent. In just two and a half seasons at the club Watts had scored 95 goals; in his first season in the Southern League Eastern Division Watts bagged an amazing 48 goals and finished as the league's top scorer.
Watts returned to football briefly with Bromley,but after just a month with the club, in January 2007 Watts was signed by Eastleigh. In June 2008 Watts followed manager Paul Doswell to Sutton United; however, a knee injury kept him on the sidelines until the last month of the 2008–09 season. Suffering recurrent injury, Watts retired at the end of the 2010–11 season, aged 34.
Where Are They Now?
Watts is now a professional poker player. In June 2008, he won a spot in the Poker Million tournament, and also has a World Poker Tour title from Marbella in 2014. His biggest result was finishing 59th in the prestigious World Series of Poker $10,000 entry Main Event in July 2013, for a career-high win of $123,597.
After his footballing career, Watts also became involved in music management and managed the prodigious singer Louisa Johnson, from Thurrock, who won the twelfth UK series of The X Factor in December 2015.
By Paul Harrison – @alpha2_O_mega
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