J. Steven Wharton

Last updated

John Steven Wharton (born October 1943) and widely known as Steve Wharton, is the former chairman and a previous majority shareholder of Scunthorpe United. [1] [2]

Contents

Football chairman

Wharton became chairman of Scunthorpe United at the start of the 2001–02 season replacing his father Jack in the role. However, he later announced his resignation after stating that he would resign if the club were not promoted to the League One.

He returned as chairman in 2004 after a boardroom battle with his then replacement Chris Holland. He immediately re-appointed then manager Brian Laws following his sacking three weeks earlier. [3] Along with Holland, three other board members resigned from the Glanford Park club.

He re-instated Laws again in 2012, but stood down as chairman and withdrew from the board at the end of the 2012–13 season for health reasons. He was replaced by former Gainsborough Trinity chairman Peter Swann. In a statement, Wharton said that he was leaving Scunthorpe on "a very low note" as the club had been relegated to League One. [4] During his time with Scunthorpe, the club twice won promotion to the Championship. [5] Under his tenure, the club had a reputation for punching above their weight, as well as developing young players and selling them on for big fees including Billy Sharp, Andy Keogh and Gary Hooper. [6]

Wharton was praised by former Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins for the way he ran the club. In an interview with The Athletic, Adkins said: “When I was manager, the chairman was great — Mr Wharton, you’ve got to give him credit. I was pushing like mad to spend a bit more to get in a couple of better players to keep us up. He said ‘Nigel, you reap what you sow’ and he was right, you have to live within your means. I had a great relationship with Mr Wharton. There was stability and that helps. We live in a world where everyone wants to live now but we had a football club that was for the community." [7] In the same piece, Adkins and several others criticised Wharton's successor Peter Swann as the club went into disarray under Swann's tenure.

Business

He was the previous head of the Wharton shipping complex at nearby Gunness. This family business of shipping and freight transport was founded by his grandfather Joseph but its sale was announced in 2005.

Wharton joined the business in 1961, and was instrumental in the continuing growth and success of the company. His personal fortune has been estimated at £33 million. [8] [9] He also owns substantial farming land in Lincolnshire. [10]

Personal life

In 2012, Wharton spoke of how his son had suffered ME for the past 13 years, and despite being a fanatic shareholder in Scunthorpe United, he would not be able to take over ownership of the club.

On 17 March 2008, he suffered a suspected heart attack and was admitted to hospital. [11] [12] He was released from hospital on 26 March and spent time at home recovering. [13] He returned to club duties in July. [14]

He suffered a second heart attack in 2010 and cited his 2013 retirement as being necessary due to his health. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scunthorpe United F.C.</span> Association football club in Scunthorpe, England

Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Cox</span> English footballer and manager

Neil James Cox is an English former professional footballer and manager who is currently the assistant manager of National League club York City. A defender capable of playing at centre or right-back, he made over 500 appearances in the Football League during his career and was capped at Under-21 level by England. He began his career at Scunthorpe United as a youth player and was eventually offered a professional contract by the club, breaking into the first-team soon after. In 1991, Cox joined First Division side Aston Villa for a fee of £400,000, going on to make over 50 appearances for the side in all competitions, including playing in the club's victory over Manchester United in the 1994 Football League Cup Final, but struggled to establish himself in the first-team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Crosby</span> English footballer

Andrew Keith Crosby is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager at EFL League Two club Port Vale.

Stephen John Parkin is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. As of 2021, he serves as the assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion and has been manager of Barnsley, Mansfield Town and Rochdale.

Paul Michael Hurst is an English football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Knill</span> Wales international footballer

Alan Richard Knill is a professional football manager and former player, who is a coach for the Wales national team and Sheffield United. He played as a centre-back for several clubs, spending the most time at Halifax Town, Bury and Scunthorpe United. Born in England, he made one appearance for Wales in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Baraclough</span> English footballer and manager

Ian Robert Baraclough is an English football manager and former player who was last assistant manager of Cheltenham Town. He was also previously the manager of the Northern Ireland national football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Goodwin</span> Irish football coach and former player (born 1981)

James Michael Goodwin is an Irish football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Dundee United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Adkins</span> English footballer and manager

Nigel Howard Adkins is an English professional football manager and former player and physiotherapist. He is currently the manager and technical director at Tranmere Rovers.

Lee Turnbull is an English former professional footballer who could play in either midfield or attack. He is currently chief operating officer and acting chairman at Scunthorpe United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Football League Trophy final</span> Football match

The 2009 Football League Trophy Final was the 26th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One and Two, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 5 April 2009, the second time that the final had been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested between Luton Town and Scunthorpe United. Luton won the match 3–2 with Claude Gnakpa scoring the winner five minutes into extra-time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Scunthorpe United F.C.</span> History of an English football club

Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team compete in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system.

The 2013–14 Football League was the 115th season of The Football League. It began on 3 August 2013 and concluded on 3 May 2014, with the promotion play-off finals at Wembley Stadium on 24–26 May 2014. The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The divisions are the Championship, League One and League Two. Leicester City, Burnley and Queens Park Rangers were promoted to the Premier League, while Bristol Rovers and Torquay United were relegated to the Conference Premier.

Peter Swann is British businessman and the former chairman of football clubs Gainsborough Trinity and Scunthorpe United, having taken over at the latter from the retiring Steve Wharton in 2013. Swann's property interests include Scunthorpe United's Glanford Park stadium.

The 2015–16 Football League was the 117th season of The Football League. It began on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 30 May 2016, with the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. The Football League was contested through three Divisions: the Championship, League One and League Two. The winners of the Championship, Burnley, and runners-up, Middlesbrough, were automatically promoted to the Premier League and on 28 May 2016 were joined by the winners of the Championship play-off, Hull City. The bottom two teams in League Two, Dagenham & Redbridge and York City, were relegated to the National League.

The 2017–18 EFL League One was the 14th season of the Football League One under its current title, and the 25th season under its current league division format.

The 2021–22 EFL League Two was the 18th season of Football League Two under its current title and the 30th season under its current league division format. The season is known for the dramatic finish to the last automatic spot (3rd) between Bristol Rovers and Northampton Town. Bristol Rovers started the day needing to better the result of 3rd placed Northampton Town or win by 5 goals more than their rivals. Northampton Town beat 22nd placed Barrow 3-1, and by halftime, Bristol Rovers seemed on course for a playoff position despite leading 2-0 against Scunthorpe United, thanks in part to Lobley's own goal. However, the team delivered a remarkable second-half performance, netting 5 goals against a youthful Scunthorpe side. With just 5 minutes remaining, Anderson's header propelled Bristol Rovers into the automatic promotion spot. The dramatic final moments saw Bristol Rovers clinch automatic promotion from League Two based on goals scored as the two teams were tied on points and goal difference. Manager Joey Barton implored fans to clear the pitch after Anderson's decisive goal triggered a pitch invasion, halting the match for nearly 20 minutes. Fortunately, the remaining 5 minutes and added time were played without incident, sealing Bristol Rovers' immediate and triumphant return to EFL League One following last season's relegation, beating already relegated Scunthorpe United 7-0.

Jimmy Dean is a professional football manager who currently manages Spalding United F.C..

References

  1. ↑ Manchester City face tough task in FA Cup fourth round, says Scunthorpe chairman - Daily Telegraph newspaper
  2. ↑ Scunthorpe may be a fitting finale for Robinho - Times Online
  3. ↑ Laws back at Scunthorpe - BBC Sport Online
  4. ↑ STEVE WHARTON'S FAREWELL STATEMENT - Scunthorpe United FC
  5. ↑ How Scunthorpe United went from Championship contention to League Two in three years. GrimsbyLive. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ↑ The rapid decline of Scunthorpe United: Budgets slashed, boycotting fans and managerial mayhem - The Athletic
  7. ↑ The rapid decline of Scunthorpe United: Budgets slashed, boycotting fans and managerial mayhem - The Athletic
  8. ↑ FourFourTwo magazine, January 2009
  9. ↑ Steve Wharton and family. The Times. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2020
  10. ↑ "Cereals & Oilseeds | AHDB".
  11. ↑ Scunthorpe chairman hospitalised - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
  12. ↑ Chairman's illness shocks Adkins - BBC Sport Online
  13. ↑ Scunthorpe chairman returns - BBC Sport Online home
  14. ↑ Wharton returning to Scunthorpe - BBC Sport Online
  15. ↑ http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/scunthorpe-united-statement-steve-wharton-s/story-18857364-detail/story.html [ dead link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.