He joined Birmingham City from school in 1964 and signed professional forms once he turned 17.
He kept goal for Birmingham in the FA Youth Cup final of 1967, in which they were beaten by Sunderland.
[4] Latchford made his League debut in April 1969 in a 2–1 win at Bury, but with Jim Herriot, Paul Cooper and Mike Kelly also at the club it took another four years for him to establish himself as undisputed first choice.
Even then, manager Freddie Goodwin brought in Welsh international Gary Sprake, but Latchford soon regained his first team place, eventually losing it permanently when new manager Willie Bell signed Jimmy Montgomery.
[6] He left for Motherwell in 1978, followed by spells at Bury, Barnsley, and in non-League football.