John Trollope (footballer)

Last updated

John Trollope
MBE
Personal information
Full name Norman John Trollope
Date of birth (1943-06-14) 14 June 1943 (age 80)
Place of birth Wroughton, Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Position(s) Left-back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1960–1980 Swindon Town 770 (22)
Managerial career
1981–1983 Swindon Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Norman John Trollope MBE (born 14 June 1943) is a former footballer, manager and coach who served Swindon Town in various capacities for nearly 40 years. Trollope previously held the record for the number of Football League appearances made for one club - turning out for the Town in 770 games between 1960 and 1980, an achievement which saw him appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours. [1] [2]

Contents

Playing career

Trollope made his debut for the club on 20 August 1960 in a 1–1 draw with Halifax Town, when he was aged seventeen and missed two matches that season. [1] Trollope was an ever-present in the side in the 1962–63 season - a trend which continued for seven seasons. A run of 368 consecutive matches was brought to an end in August 1968, when he sustained a broken arm in a match at Hartlepool United. [1] He didn't return to the team until January - by which time he had missed most of Swindon's League Cup run. He only appeared in the competition twice that season - in the first game against Torquay United, and in the final at Wembley, where Swindon beat Arsenal 3–1. [3]

Trollope continued to be a regular member of the side right up until the 1978–79 season, when he made sixteen appearances. He announced his retirement at the end of the season, and moved into the club's backroom staff. [1] However, after an appalling start to the 1980–81 season, Trollope was pushed back into action - a move which allowed him to break the appearance record - previously set at 764 appearances by Portsmouth's Jimmy Dickinson. [1] He finally retired from the playing staff at the end of that season.

Managerial career

Following his retirement from playing, Trollope replaced Bobby Smith as the club's manager early in the following season. His time as manager was far from successful - working on a shoestring budget, he led Swindon to their first ever relegation to Division Four. He made way for Ken Beamish near the end of the 1982–83 season. [1]

Even this wasn't the end of Trollope's times at Swindon - he was appointed assistant manager to Lou Macari during Easter 1985, and he took charge of the youth team under Ossie Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle, John Gorman and Steve McMahon before finally leaving the club in 1996. His time on the coaching staff took in Swindon's climb from the old Fourth Division to the FA Premier League between 1986 and 1993, although by the time he left they had suffered two consecutive relegations and were on the verge of another promotion. [1] He would later work for Wolverhampton Wanderers, before returning to Swindon in 2008 to take up the role of Under 15's coach in the Centre of Excellence.

Personal life

Trollope's son Paul Trollope became a professional footballer who played for Wales internationally, before becoming a manager.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup League Cup Anglo-Italian Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Swindon Town 1960–61 Third Division 440303000500
1961–62 Third Division461203000511
1962–63 Third Division461402000521
1963–64 Second Division 420304000490
1964–65 Second Division422101000442
1965–66 Third Division463301000503
1966–67 Third Division462805100593
1967–68 Third Division462402000522
1968–69 Third Division201102000231
1969–70 Second Division422412070553
1970–71 Second Division390203040480
1971–72 Second Division421101000441
1972–73 Second Division341201000371
1973–74 Second Division360213000411
1974–75 Third Division462501000522
1975–76 Third Division461514200554
1976–77 Third Division351700000421
1977–78 Third Division401406100502
1978–79 Third Division180002000200
1979–80 Third Division0000000000
1980–81 Third Division140001000150
Career total7702161347411088928

Honours

Swindon Town

Related Research Articles

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

Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Dickinson</span> English footballer

James William Dickinson MBE was an English footballer who played as a left half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Flowers</span> English footballer (born 1967)

Timothy David Flowers is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of National League North side Gloucester City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hollins</span> English footballer (1946–2023)

John William Hollins was an English football player and manager. He initially played as a midfielder, before becoming an effective full-back later in his career. Hollins played in the Football League, predominantly for Chelsea, with whom he won the FA Cup, Football League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He made 592 appearances for Chelsea over two spells from 1963 to 1975 and from 1983 to 1984, making him one of six players to have made over 500 appearances for the club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Trollope</span> Welsh footballer (born 1972)

Paul Jonathan Trollope is a football coach and former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. He is currently joint-assistant manager of Luton Town. Born in England, he represents Wales internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Kamara</span> English football player and manager (born 1957)

Christopher Kamara is an English former professional footballer and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports from 1992 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Peacock</span> Scottish footballer (born 1976)

Lee Anthony Peacock is a Scottish former professional footballer and head of youth coaching at Swindon Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Calderwood</span> Scottish association football player and manager

Colin Calderwood is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is a first team coach at Southampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Waddock</span> Footballer (born 1962)

Gary Patrick Waddock is a former professional footballer. He is currently assistant head coach at Walsall.

Robert William Smith is an English former footballer and football manager. He was capped by England at Schoolboys and Youth level. He is the son of Conway Smith and grandson of Billy Smith, from whom he gets his middle name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil McDonald (footballer)</span> English footballer (born 1965)

Neil Raymond McDonald is a football manager, coach and former player, in the right back and midfield positions. He is currently assistant coach of Indian Super League side Bengaluru.

Bertram James Head was an English professional football player and manager.

Kenneth George Beamish is an English former football player, coach and manager. In his playing days he was a forward, and he scored a total of 198 goals in 642 league and cup games throughout a sixteen-year career in the Football League.

The history of Swindon Town F.C. stretches back to 1881 and earlier; the club has won League, National and International competitions in its history and played in the FA Premier League.

Alan Edward Knight MBE is an English former footballer turned manager. He holds the record for the most appearances for a single club by a goalkeeper, having played 683 league games for Portsmouth between 1978 and 2000; this superseded Peter Bonetti's record of exactly 600 goalkeeping appearances for Chelsea. He helped Portsmouth to the 1992 FA Cup semi final which they lost on a penalty shootout to Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Connor</span> English footballer (born 1962)

Terence Fitzroy Connor is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is currently head coach of the Grenada national team.

Ian Miller is a Scottish former footballer who played his football in England as a winger. He made 660 league and cup appearances in the English Football League over an eighteen-year professional career, scoring 48 goals.

David Hamilton is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He won caps for the England national under-19 football team. He is currently a scout for Championship side Ipswich Town, which he joined in February 2011. He was born in South Shields and was one of three brothers to become a footballer. He also played amateur cricket.

Christopher Leroy Ramsey is a former professional footballer who is currently technical director at Queens Park Rangers. He played as a defender, most often as a right back, for Bristol City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Swindon Town, Southend United, Naxxar Lions and Cocoa Expos. Ramsey coached for Tottenham Hotspur working with their academy and was appointed as first team coach where he assisted Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand. He was placed in temporary charge of Queens Park Rangers, in February 2015 following the resignation of manager, Harry Redknapp. After being temporary coach of Queens Park Rangers and following their relegation to the Championship, Ramsey was named head coach on a permanent basis in May 2015. He is nicknamed "Rambo".

Luke Williams is an English professional football coach and former footballer. He is the current manager of EFL League Two club Notts County.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mattick, Dick (2002). Swindon Town Football Club 100 Greats. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. pp. 117–118. ISBN   0-7524-2714-8.
  2. UK list: "No. 47549". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1978. p. 6244.
  3. "Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk - Achievements - 1969 People Match Report". www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2020.