Obituary - Eddie Presland

We were saddened to learn of the passing of our former Chief Scout, Eddie Presland, who lost his brave battle against cancer at St Bede's, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, on Sunday. He was 78.

Born in Loughton, Eddie was added to our full-time scouting staff in September, 2001, having previously held a part-time position at the Club. He stayed in his role until 2008.

An all-round sportsman, Eddie played professional football for West Ham and Crystal Palace and cricket to county level, representing Essex in 30 first-class and 24 limited-over matches between 1962-72.

A defender, Eddie began his career at West Ham, and scored on his debut against Liverpool in 1965. He made six appearances for the Hammers before switching to Palace in 1967. He spent four years at Selhurst Park before a year playing in South Africa. On his return in 1973, Eddie took up a role as player-manager at Wealdstone, before taking over as manager at Dagenham, guiding the Daggers to an FA Trophy triumph in 1980.

He joined Ipswich Town as a part-time scout in 1989 until switching to Spurs, where, at the time, he oversaw a team of 17 scouts worldwide.

We extend our condolences to Eddie's widow Celia, his son Neil and grandson Kai at this sad time.