Shortly before 5pm this afternoon a 37-year-old man burnt a pair of football boots in a field in Gloucestershire and in doing so brought the curtain down on an illustrious career spanning more than 20 years and almost as many clubs.

Julian Alsop headed home a last-minute equaliser in Bishop Cleeve's Zamaretto South and West season finale against North Leigh shortly before he took a blowtorch to his boots, ending his last game in typically flamboyant style.