Nigel Spackman

Last updated

Nigel Spackman
Personal information
Full name Nigel James Spackman
Date of birth (1960-12-02) 2 December 1960 (age 62)
Place of birth Romsey, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Andover
1980–1983 AFC Bournemouth 119 (10)
1983–1987 Chelsea 141 (12)
1987–1989 Liverpool 51 (0)
1989 Queens Park Rangers 29 (1)
1989–1992 Rangers 100 (1)
1992–1996 Chelsea 67 (0)
1996–1998 Sheffield United 24 (0)
Total521(24)
Managerial career
1997–1998 Sheffield United (player-manager)
2001 Barnsley
2006 Millwall
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nigel James Spackman (born 2 December 1960) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.

Contents

As a player he was as a midfielder from 1980 to 1998, notably for Liverpool, Chelsea and Rangers. He also played for AFC Bournemouth, Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield United. He initially started out with Non-league Andover. He took over as player-manager of Sheffield United in 1997, but lasted less than a year.

He became a full time manager from 1997 and had brief spells in charge of Barnsley in 2001 and Millwall in 2006. He now works for the Glenn Hoddle Academy as well as working as a pundit and co-commentator.

Playing career

Born in Romsey, Hampshire, Spackman started at Andover and spent his first three years as a professional with AFC Bournemouth before joining Chelsea for £35,000 in the summer of 1983. He signed for Chelsea as part of manager John Neal's re-building of the side alongside the likes of Kerry Dixon, Pat Nevin and David Speedie. Spackman scored on his debut for the club in a 5–0 opening day win over Derby County, though he was not a regular goalscorer. Chelsea were promoted at the end of that season as Second Division champions and finished 6th in the following two seasons back in the top tier, with Spackman a near ever-present. During the 1986–87 season, several key players, including Spackman, fell out with manager John Hollins and he was sporadically left out of the starting line-up or played out of position. He was sold to Liverpool in 1987 for £400,000.

Initially he was a frequently used substitute at Liverpool, and he was in the team which lost the 1987 League Cup final to Arsenal. Spackman only had a regular role in the Liverpool team during this season, but played an essential role.

When regular midfield general Ronnie Whelan was injured early in the campaign, Spackman was handed the No.5 shirt and he never missed a game for the whole campaign, gaining plaudits for his unselfish running and industry around the park in a team which featured the likes of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge.

Liverpool lost just twice in the league all season, claiming the title with ease and Spackman was in the side which beat Nottingham Forest 5–0. Spackman's stamina and unselfishness set up the last goal for Aldridge. Whelan was fit again with a month of the season left, but wasn't selected. Spackman was selected for the rest of the campaign, including the FA Cup Final, which Liverpool surprisingly lost to Wimbledon. [2] Spackman and teammate Gary Gillespie both played that game with bandages around their heads after the two had suffered cuts in a clash during a game against Derby County the previous week.

He left Liverpool for Queens Park Rangers in February 1989 but stayed there for less than a year, joining Scottish side Rangers in November 1989, winning honours there including three Scottish Premier Division titles, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup. [2] He went back to Chelsea in 1992 before moving to Sheffield United in 1996 as player-coach and assistant-manager to Howard Kendall.

Managerial career

When Kendall left the Blades in 1997 Spackman became caretaker manager before being appointed as manager on 5 August. United had a good start to the season but huge losses and high wages from the previous season's promotion failure led to enforced sales of key personnel. The final straw being the sale of both of the club's top scoring strikers (Brian Deane – 11 league goals – went to S.L. Benfica & Jan Åge Fjørtoft – 9 league goals – to Barnsley) on the same day. Even though leaving midseason, Deane would go on to become the team's top scorer that year, such was the lack of replacements. Spackman was unhappy over this and resigned in March 1998.

He later managed Barnsley between January and October 2001 but was sacked with the club near the bottom of the table. They were relegated at the end of that season. He re-entered management with Millwall in May 2006 but left only a few months later in September, with the club in the relegation zone of League One. As of 2022, he has failed to manage any club for a full season.

Media career

After Spackman left Barnsley, he began a new career in the media, becoming a pundit with Sky Sports before re-entering management with Millwall in 2006. Spackman currently appears as a regular pundit on Singapore's Football Channel, alongside other former players such as John Burridge and Rob Lee. Spackman regularly appears on Sentana Sport Saturday afternoon as an expert pundit. Spackman currently appears as a pundit on Britain's sports TV station Sports Tonight Live . He also works for Al Jazeera on La Liga Coverage as well as LFC TV. Spackman has also featured for a number of seasons on LFCTV, the home TV channel for Liverpool FC, alongside former colleagues Gary Gillespie and Mark Wright. He recently provided pitch side commentary on Liverpool's victory in the 2022 Community Shield over Manchester City.

Personal life

Spackman is of Scottish descent through a grandfather. [3]

Honours

Chelsea

Liverpool

Rangers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Graham</span> Scottish footballer and manager

George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Mølby</span> Danish manager and former footballer (born 1963)

Jan Mølby is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in England with Liverpool. He was capped 33 times by Denmark, scoring twice.

The 2003–04 season was the 124th season of association football in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Whelan</span> Irish soccer player and manager

Ronald Andrew Whelan is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in the 1980s. He was at the club from 1979 until 1994, scoring a number of vital goals. In 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a poll of 110,000 Liverpool fans conducted by Liverpool's official website, Whelan came in 30th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Speedie</span> Scottish footballer

David Robert Speedie is a Scottish former footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 football league appearances and scored almost 150 goals in a 14-year professional career. He also earned ten international caps for Scotland.

The 1987–88 season was the 108th season of competitive football in England.

The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.

The 1989–90 season was the 110th season of competitive football in England.

The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England. In the Football League First Division, Arsenal emerged victorious as champions.

Steven Paul Thompson is an English football manager and former player. His management career includes spells at Lincoln City, Southend United, Sheffield United and Cambridge United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Carter (footballer)</span> English footballer

James William Charles Carter is an English former footballer. Playing as a winger, Carter featured for Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Millwall, Liverpool, Arsenal, Oxford United and Portsmouth throughout his career.

William Donachie is a Scottish former professional footballer. Donachie had a long playing career, the majority of which was with Manchester City. He also played for Norwich City, Burnley, Oldham Athletic and Portland Timbers. Donachie played 35 times for Scotland and was selected in two FIFA World Cup squads. Towards the end of his playing career Donachie became a player-coach at Oldham, working with Joe Royle. Donachie has since worked for numerous teams in coaching roles.

The 1989–90 season was the 98th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and their 28th consecutive year in the top flight. This article covers the period from 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1990.

The 1978–79 season was the 80th completed season of the Football League.

The 1993–94 Liverpool F.C. season was the 102nd season in the club's existence, and their 32nd consecutive year in the top-flight.

The 1988–89 season was the 97th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, and was their 27th consecutive year in the First Division, and covers the period from 20 August 1988 to 26 May 1989.

The 1987–88 season was the 96th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence, their 26th consecutive year in the top-flight, and covered the period from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988.

During the 1997–98 English football season, Sheffield United competed in the Football League First Division.

The 1987–88 season was Arsenal Football Club's 62nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Arsenal finished sixth in the Football League First Division. Although the team again reached the final of the League Cup, Arsenal could not replicate the previous season's success, losing 3-2 to Luton Town. Arsenal lost in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup to Nottingham Forest.

The 1983–84 season was Chelsea Football Club's 70th competitive season. After five years in the Second Division, Chelsea won promotion to the First Division as champions, losing only four of their 42 league matches and pipping Sheffield Wednesday to the title on goal difference.

References

  1. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 222. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Nigel Spackman". League Managers Association. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Bruce wants to join the foreign legion". HeraldScotland.
  4. ↑ "When Chelsea won a league game and a Wembley cup final in the same weekend". The Guardian. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
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.