Dwight arrived in the UK from Jamaica with his mother and brother as an eight-year-old, but he never thought of playing the game he loved for a living.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never had the ambition of becoming a footballer when I left school,\u201d Dwight says. \u201cI began playing non-league for Hampton Town, before I went to Leyton Wingate, Grays Atheltic and developed my skills.<\/p>\n

It was at Leyton Wingate where Dwight really began to make an impact in the senior game, spending almost two seasons in E10. Initially playing as a winger, a move to Grays Athletic and into the centre-forward position would change Marshall\u2019s life fover.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working in administration at the time and saw that as my career, but I had one good season at Grays and luckily I was invited down to Plymouth for a three-day trial. A day after that trial I was signing a professional contract and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall made an instant impact in Devon. Argyle were in Division 2 (now the Championship) at the beginning of the 1991\/92 \u2013 the season before the Premier League was introduced \u2013 and a goal on his home debut in a 2-1 victory over Barnsley made Marshall an immediate hit with the Green Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grabbed the opportunity at Plymouth with both hands, although it was a pretty new and alien experience for me,\u201d continues Dwight. \u201cTravelling down to Plymouth from London, where I was living, I thought to myself \u2018what am I letting myself in for? Where the hell am I going?!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I needn\u2019t had worried, it wasn\u2019t as though I was a teenager living away from home at a young age. When you\u2019re 25 or 26 and you\u2019re working Monday to Friday 9-5 you think your days of making a living from playing professional football are over, but this was an unbelievable chance that I couldn\u2019t turn down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whilst his first campaign at Home Park ended in Argyle\u2019s relegation, Marshall\u2019s own record was holding up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first season was brilliant,\u201d he admits. \u201cI scored on my home debut and it really was a dream start. Playing in front of a big crowds, the noise, the pace of the game, it was all a bit surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a new experience for me, but conversely, while it was a good season for me personally, it wasn\u2019t for Plymouth and we were relegated.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, after making such an impact with Argyle, his second season in the South West, wasn\u2019t as successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a complete contrast to the first,\u201d admits the striker. \u201cI picked up an injury and was out of the team but bizarrely I was loaned to Middlesbrough \u2013 then in the Premier League and managed by Lennie Lawrence. I only played three times, all as substitute, and remember my debut at Chelsea. I couldn\u2019t believe I was playing in the top flight. It was a dream come true, even if it was short-lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following season, of 1993\/94, though, was better for the fledging forward. Argyle, now in the common day equivalent of League 1, reached the Play-Offs with Marshall back in form in front of goal.<\/p>\n

But after the Greens lost to Burnley in the semi-finals, the striker was told of the Hatters\u2019 and David Pleat\u2019s interest.<\/p>\n

After a meeting a South Mimms service station in the summer of 1994 with the Town manager, Marshall \u2013 who had netted 36 goals in 124 games for Plymouth \u2013 agreed to a move to Kenilworth Road: a switch which had its benefits on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had always wanted to move back to the London area as my family remained there and didn\u2019t move with me down to Devon,\u201d explains Dwight. \u201cI was having to commute back to see them a lot so a move to a club nearer to them was ideal.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuton were a very appealing club. David Pleat was a well-respected manager, a purist who wanted to play football the right way. That was Luton\u2019s reputation and at the time they were in what is now the Championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his first season at Kenilworth Road, Marshall missed just one League game, starting 36 and appearing as a substitute nine times \u2013 and ended the Hatters\u2019 leading goalscorer with 13 goals in all competitions as the Town finished the 1994\/95 campaign in 16th place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t enjoy the instant success I had at Plymouth,\u201d says Dwight. \u201cIt took me a while to get going. I remember scoring my first goal in a League Cup tie at Fulham but I missed a penalty in the shootout!<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of the penalty miss, the goal gave me the confidence and I soon scored my first League goal for Luton \u2013 the winner in a 1-0 win at Port Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the 1995\/96 season, the Jamaican was now a regular in Town colours, but a difficult season for the club ended in disaster for Dwight when he broke his ankle in a defeat at Sunderland in February \u2013 at a crucial stage in the season that had seen Hatters lift themselves out of the relegation zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember running down the right-hand channel and trying to turn but my ankle gave way,\u201d Dwight recalls, the tone of his voice wavering ever-so slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat the worst thing about it was the fact it was so innocuous. As any footballer will tell you who suffers a serious injury it was a horrible experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, though, I didn\u2019t know the extent of the injury until I saw the look in physiotherapist Clive Goodyear\u2019s eyes when he ran onto the pitch to treat me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time we were gaining momentum in our league performances and I was scoring goals. It was a huge shame but there was nothing I could do. It was just one of those things and unfortunately we ended the season relegated.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Town now in Division 2 (League 1 in today\u2019s money) in 1996\/97, hopes were high of an instant return to the second tier whilst Marshall continued to make progress in his rehabilitation process.<\/p>\n

Almost nine months to the day he fractured his ankle at Roker Park, Dwight started the home fixture with Bristol Rovers and 29 minutes into his comeback the moment he and all the Town supporters arrived when he swept Tony Thorpe\u2019s pass home to give the Hatters the lead in a 2-1 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great feeling to be back, the comeback was incredible and the reception the fans gave me was unbelievable,\u201d recalls the striker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat game against Bristol Rovers was one of the best memories I had a Luton. I have a picture on the wall at home of the celebration \u2013 although you can only see a very small part of my leg\u2026I\u2019m buried beneath all my team-mates who had bundled on top of me!<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people helped me during that time, Clive, my team-mates, the fans and my family, but I definitely felt I had lost my pace as a result of the injury. That was a big part of my game, it was built around my speed and I never felt quite the same after the injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult to take on board but I was just thankful that I was able to make a comeback and continue my professional career because some other players aren\u2019t so lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Tony Thorpe firing 30 goals as the Town missed out in the Play-Offs to Crewe, Marshall was in and out of the side.<\/p>\n

The following campaign, of 1997\/98, the Hatters suffered a Play-Off hangover and flirted with relegation until Pleat signed loan star Rory Allen to fire the Town to safety. Marshall still had a role to play \u2013 scoring twice in the final eight games in crucial games at Walsall and Brentford.<\/p>\n

Dwight began his fifth season at Kenilworth Road in 1998\/99 at the age of 32 and all of a sudden he was surrounded by academy graduates Liam George, Sean Evers, Matthew Spring and Stuart Douglas in the Town squad.<\/p>\n

And with first team opportunities limited, but with his love for the game just as strong, Marshall was thrown a lifeline by the club that first took the punt on him in 1991: Argyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point I felt I needed to play regular football again and Plymouth manager Kevin Hodges took me on,\u201d Dwight explains.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$

Dwight Marshall, Luton (Photo by Steve Morton\/EMPICS via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe chairman at Plymouth knew me from my first spell and told Kevin that they weren\u2019t getting back the \u2018Dwight of old\u2019 after the injury, but, thankfully, Kevin persuaded him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a good season in 98\/99, it nice to go back and to do well, I finished top goalscorer but at the end of the season I felt it was the right time for me and my family to quit professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where Dwight thought his story would end. Until\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI signed for Kingstonian after leaving Plymouth. They were a London club with ambition to get into the Football League and I couldn\u2019t believe it when we pulled Luton out of the hat in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was strange going back, especially using the away dressing room and not the home one. It reminded me of the good times I had at Luton and the reception I received from the fans was superb \u2013 it is something I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall\u2019s career didn\u2019t end there though. After spells with Slough Town, Aylesbury United and Boreham Wood, he returned to the club he\u2019d played for 16 years earlier, now named Leyton Pennant.<\/p>\n

On his second debut in 2002, he showed that he certainly hadn\u2019t lost what made him such a success in the Football League, scoring twice against Tilbury, and following that up with a goal in the next game against Hertford Town.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Pennant, Marshall\u2019s goals weren\u2019t enough to stop them from falling to 3-2 defeats in both games. By the turn of year, Pennant were deep in a relegation scrap, though Marshall\u2019s experience, combined with the introduction of Hakan Hayrettin as manager, was just enough to keep Pennant in Division 1 North of the Isthmian.<\/p>\n

Although now back in the 9-5 job, his sojourn into the world of professional football is something that will stay with Dwight for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky to have played for two fantastic football clubs,\u201d says Dwight.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuton and Plymouth were good to me, so, so good to me, it\u2019s hard to put into words. I appreciate what they both did for me and my family. It honestly meant, and still does mean, the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave me the opportunity to do the best two things in football: score goals and get asked for your autograph. I loved every minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interview notes with thanks to lutontown.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There won\u2019t be many who remember Dwight Marshall playing for Leyton in 1987 and Leyton Pennant in 2002, but two spells with our club sandwiched what was an unlikley but successful Football League career. Dwight arrived in the UK from Jamaica with his mother and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57500"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57504,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57500\/revisions\/57504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andrzejperkins.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}