Simon Ratcliffe

Last updated

Simon Ratcliffe
Personal information
Full name Simon Ratcliffe
Date of birth (1967-02-08) 8 February 1967 (age 56)
Place of birth Davyhulme, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1983–1985 Manchester United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1985–1987 Manchester United 0 (0)
1987–1989 Norwich City 9 (0)
1989–1995 Brentford 214 (14)
1995–1998 Gillingham 105 (10)
Total328(24)
Managerial career
2014– Gillingham Ladies
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Simon Ratcliffe (born 8 February 1967) [2] is an English former professional football player, who is manager of Gillingham Ladies and the Gillingham Girls Academy. His clubs included Norwich City, [3] Brentford [4] and Gillingham, where he made over 100 Football League appearances. [5]

Contents

Playing career

Born in Davyhulme, Ratcliffe began his footballing career as a Manchester United apprentice on leaving school in 1983, and two years later was granted a professional contract by manager Ron Atkinson. However, he never played a first team game for United and was transferred to Norwich City, their First Division rivals, in 1987 - by which time United were being managed by Alex Ferguson.

Ratcliffe joined the Canaries at one of the most successful points in their history, when they had just finished fifth in the league a season after promotion. Though Ratcliffe would not be guaranteed a first team place at Carrow Road, his chances of first team action in Norfolk would be better than they had been at Old Trafford. He managed nine league appearances over the next two years, before leaving in 1989 - at the end of what was arguably the most successful season in Norwich's history, when they finished fourth in the league and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.

On leaving Norwich, Ratcliffe signed for Third Division Brentford for a club record incoming fee of £100,000. [6] He was soon a regular first team player, helping them win the Third Division title in 1992 and gain a place in the new Division One (as the Second Division was called following the creation of the FA Premier League for the 1992-93 season). For a while Brentford were looking like they could establish themselves as a Division One club and possibly even push for a place in the Premier League, as they entered 1993 in tenth place and just one point outside the playoff zone, but a dreadful run of form in the second half of the season saw them relegated on the final day of the season. Two years later, they finished second in Division Two but were denied automatic promotion because of a restructuring of the league. They lost to Huddersfield Town in the playoff semi-finals and remained in Division Two, while Ratcliffe dropped down a division to sign for Gillingham.

When Ratcliffe signed for Gillingham, new owner Paul Scally had rescued the club from the brink of bankruptcy and appointed Tony Pulis as manager. Ratcliffe was a regular player in the side that won promotion from Division Three that season, and helped them stay in Division Two before playing his last professional game for them in 1998 at the age of 31.

Managerial career

Ratcliffe returned to Gillingham in August 2014 to take over the managerial positions at Gillingham Ladies and Gillingham's Girls Academy. [7]

Related Research Articles

Graham Mark Benstead is an English retired professional footballer who made over 110 appearances as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Brentford. He also played League football for Sheffield United, Colchester United, Norwich City and was capped by England at youth and semi-pro level. Benstead is goalkeeping coach at Frimley Green.

The 1988–89 season was the 90th completed season of the Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Curtis (football manager)</span> English footballer, referee and manager

Henry Charles Curtis was an English footballer, referee and manager, best-remembered for his 23 years as manager of Brentford. He is Brentford's longest-serving and most successful manager to date. In a 2013 Football League 125th anniversary poll, Curtis was voted Brentford's greatest-ever manager. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.

Stephen Lovell is a Welsh former professional footballer and manager. He is currently manager of Herne Bay.

Neil Smillie is an English former professional football player and manager. He played for a number of clubs, with the high point of his career being an appearance in the 1983 FA Cup final for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Timothy James O'Shea is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the assistant manager of Cray Wanderers. He represented the Republic of Ireland at the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship. His clubs included Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient and Gillingham, where he made over 100 Football League appearances.

The 1977–78 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League.

The 1991–92 season was the 93rd completed season of The Football League.

The 1997–98 Football League was the 99th completed season of The Football League.

The 1998–99 Football League was the 100th completed season of The Football League.

Malcolm MacDonald was a Scottish professional footballer and manager, best remembered for his time as a utility player with Celtic and as a manager with Kilmarnock and Brentford. MacDonald managed the Scotland national team on a caretaker basis in 1966. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame.

Robert Leslie Cooke was an English footballer and manager who played as a forward in the Football League, most notably for Peterborough United and Brentford. He represented England C at international level while playing non-League football. After retiring from football, Cooke managed Warboys Town and later became a scout.

During the 1995–96 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 64th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 46th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. After being in severe financial difficulties for several months, Gillingham had been saved from going out of business during the summer of 1995 by new chairman Paul Scally, who purchased the club for a nominal fee and appointed Tony Pulis as the team's new manager. Having signed many new players, Gillingham began the season strongly with four consecutive wins and remained in the top three positions in the Third Division for the entire season, finishing in second place. The club thus gained promotion to the Second Division seven years after being relegated from the third tier.

Anthony Funnell is an English retired professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League.

During the 1996–97 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 65th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 47th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. In the previous season, the team had gained promotion from the Third Division. Prior to the new season, Gillingham signed seven new players, paying a new club record transfer fee for Watford's Andy Hessenthaler. The team's form was poor in the first half of the season and at the end of 1996, Gillingham were in 21st position in the 24-team league table, putting them in danger of relegation back to the fourth tier. The club signed Ade Akinbiyi from Norwich City for another record fee in early January. In the second half of the season the team's performances improved and they finished the season in 11th position in the table.

Chatham Town Women, previously known as Gillingham Women's Football Club, is an English women's football club. The club compete in the FA Women's National League South and stage home matches at the Bauvill Stadium in Chatham, Kent.

During the 1995–96 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Second Division. After spending over two mid-season months in the relegation places, the club achieved a 15th-place finish. A bright spot was a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup, falling to First Division high-flyers Charlton Athletic.

During the 1958–59 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. Despite 32 goals from Jim Towers and 22 from George Francis, a number of defeats to low-placed clubs early in the season prevented the Bees from finishing higher than 3rd, one place away from promotion.

During the 1985–86 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 54th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 36th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. After an unbeaten run of seven games, Gillingham were fourth in the league table in late September, just outside the top three places which would result in promotion to the Second Division. After slipping to ninth in October, the team climbed to third, but at the close of 1985 had fallen again to eighth. Although Gillingham continued to challenge for promotion in the second half of the season and were in second place at the end of January, their form continued to fluctuate. As the end of the season approached, the team were still in with a chance of finishing in a promotion position, however three defeats in the last six games meant that they ultimately fell short, finishing in fifth place.

During the 1988–89 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 57th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 39th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Gillingham began the season well, with two wins in the first three Third Division games, but then lost ten consecutive league games to slip close to the bottom of the league table. In late October, after the eighth of these defeats, Paul Taylor was dismissed as the club's manager and replaced by Keith Burkinshaw. The new manager could not significantly improve the team's performances, resigning in April with Gillingham bottom of the table. Former Gillingham player Damien Richardson ended the season as the club's manager. Gillingham finished the season 23rd out of 24 teams in the division and were relegated to the Fourth Division.

References

  1. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 234. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ↑ Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 269. ISBN   0-7524-2243-X.
  3. ↑ "Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database". newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database". newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database". newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City 07/05/05. 2005. p. 46.
  7. ↑ "She Kicks - News Section: Simon Ratcliffe Appointed Gillingham Manager". shekicks.net. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
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.