[citation needed] By playing his part in the side that reached the final of the 1954 English Schools trophy, only to lose out to Liverpool, he came to the notice of Saints.
At this time Sydenham first joined forces with another young winger, Terry Paine, and before long both players were regulars in Saints' first team, tearing Third Division defences to pieces.
He remained loyal to the club and on 16 August 1969, he enjoyed a spectacular afternoon at Old Trafford, when he laid on all four of Ron Davies' goals to set up a memorable 4–1 victory against Manchester United.
To Saints fans from the 1960s, the words "Paine and Sydenham" roll off the tongue as effortlessly as "peaches and cream", and the two of them will always be remembered as the club's finest ever pair of wingers.
He stayed just for the one year, but in that time faced Chelsea with the State side in May and won a Top-Four medal with Floreat Athena before jetting back to England.