Alex Smith (footballer, Born 1976)
Alexander Philip Smith (born 15 February 1976) is an English former footballer who made 263 professional appearances in an eleven-year career. He played in either a creative midfield role or a full-back position. A former Everton trainee, he started his career with Swindon Town in 1996. Two years later, he was loaned out to Huddersfield Town, and transferred to Chester City. An impressive season won him a move to Port Vale, where he lifted the Football League Trophy in 2001. He left the club later that year to sign with Reading, where he remained for two years. He spent time on loan at Shrewsbury Town but returned to Chester for their 2003–04 Conference National winning campaign. Following this, he moved on to Wrexham before a season with Southport in 2006–07. Career Smith started his career as a trainee at Everton; he never made the first-team and was instead transferred to Swindon Town in January 1996. However, he was used mainly as a substitute in their S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million. On the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the county of Lancashire. It became a borough in 1207, a city in 1880, and a county borough independent of the newly-created Lancashire County Council in 1889. Its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, and raw materials such as coal and cotton, merchants were involved in the slave trade. In the 19th century, Liverpool was a major port of departure for English and Irish emigrants to North America. It was also home to both the Cunard and White Star Lines, and was the port of registry of the ocean li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Substitute (association Football)
In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is performing poorly, or for tactical reasons (such as bringing a striker on in place of a defender). A player who has been substituted during a match takes no further part in the game, in games played under the standard International Football Association Board Laws of the Game. Substitutions were officially added to the Laws of the Game in 1958. Prior to this most games were played with no changes permitted at all, with occasional exceptions in cases of extreme injury or players not arriving to matches on time. The number of substitutes has risen over time as well as the number of reserve players allowed to be nominated. It is now common for games to allow a maximum of 5 substitutions; some competitions allow for an additional substitution when playing ext ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town is the cathedral city of Chester, while its largest town by population is Warrington. Other towns in the county include Alsager, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Middlewich, Nantwich, Neston, Northwich, Poynton, Runcorn, Sandbach, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. Cheshire is split into the administrative districts of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Halton, and Warrington. The county covers and has a population of around 1.1 million as of 2021. It is mostly rural, with a number of towns and villages supporting the agricultural and chemical industries; it is primarily known for producing chemicals, Cheshire cheese, salt, and silk. It has also had an impact on popular culture, producin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kevin Ratcliffe
Kevin Ratcliffe (born 12 November 1960) is a Welsh former professional footballer who spent most of his career playing for Everton. Club career Ratcliffe was born in Mancot, near Queensferry in Flintshire, Wales. He joined Everton as an apprentice in 1977 and made his debut on 12 March 1980 at Old Trafford, Manchester after replacing John Gidman through injury, but was not a first team regular until 1982. He was initially used as a left back with mixed results, but his form improved dramatically when moved to centre back. Around this time Ipswich Town manager Bobby Robson was interested in Ratcliffe, as were Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City In 1983 at the age of 23 he was made captain, just as the club began a highly successful spell. Whilst captain Ratcliffe won the 1984 FA Cup Final, the Football League Championship in 1984–85 and 1986–87 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1984–85. There were also three other FA Cup finals, 1985, 1986 and 1989, and a League Cup Final appea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free Transfer (association Football)
In professional association football, a free transfer, also known as a Bosman transfer, involves a professional association football club releasing a player when the player's contract has expired or made available just before the end of the contract. The player can then go on to sign for any club offering a contract to them. How it works The club acquiring the player does not have to pay any compensation for their release due to having nothing left to pay on their contract, hence, the term free transfer. Some individual leagues have restrictions to protect academies. For example, in the UK, players under 24 who are out of contract are only available on a free transfer if released by the club holding the players' licence. Another type of free transfer is when a player is transferred from one club to another for no price, sometimes a transfer for a nominal fee is credited as a free transfer. With six months or less remaining on an existing contract for players aged 23 or olde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County Ground, Swindon
The County Ground (currently known as the Energy Check County Ground for sponsorship purposes) is a stadium located near the town centre of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, and has been home to Swindon Town Football Club since 1896. The current capacity of 15,728, all-seated, has been at that level since the mid-1990s. A record attendance of 32,000 was set on 15 January 1972, against Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. North of the football stadium is Swindon Cricket Club, with their pitch also named '' The County Ground'' following its use by the football club from 1893 until 1896. History Thomas Arkell of Arkell's Brewery donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the Wiltshire County Ground; this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose built football stadium. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. A covered stand on the Shrivenham Road side was erected in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1997–98 In English Football
The 1997–98 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England. Overview Premier League Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title. They added the FA Cup two weeks later to become only the second English club to repeat the double. All three newly promoted teams – Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace – were relegated after just one season in the Premiership. Everton endured their most difficult season for some 50 years. They finished 17th in the Premiership and only avoided relegation because they had a stronger goal difference than 18th-placed Bolton, although Bolton had a goal wrongfully disallowed against Everton in the first ever match played at The Reebok Stadium. Manager Howard Kendall's third reign at the helm came to an end soon afterwards and he was replaced by Walter Smith. Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers made good progress in the Premiership and achieved UEFA Cup qualifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Jackson (footballer Born 1961)
Peter Allan Jackson (born 6 April 1961 in Bradford, England) is a football manager and former footballer. He has previously had two spells as Huddersfield Town manager, whom he helped win the Division Three play-off in 2004, and he has also managed Lincoln City, before taking charge at his former playing club Bradford City in 2011. As a player, Jackson started his career with his hometown club Bradford City, where as the club's youngest ever captain, he lifted the Third Division title in 1985 on the day of the Bradford City stadium fire. He moved to top flight side Newcastle United before he returned to Bradford City. He played more than 300 games in total for City, before moving to Huddersfield Town and Chester City. He amassed a century of games for both of those before finishing his career with Halifax Town. Playing career He played as a central defender for Bradford City, Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town, Chester City and Halifax Town, enjoying a strong rapport with mos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Smith's Stadium
Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league side Huddersfield Giants, both of whom moved from Leeds Road. The stadium was a venue for the Rugby League World Cup in 1995 ,2000, 2013 and 2021, in addition to the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup. It is owned by both clubs, as well as Kirklees Council. Its naming rights have passed from constructors Alfred McAlpine to pharmaceutical company Galpharm International in 2004, then to John Smith's Brewery eight years later. Stadium During planning and construction, the stadium was referred to as the Kirklees Stadium which is still its official name. It was built by Alfred McAlpine, designed by Populous and was awarded the RIBA Building of the Year award for 1995. The decision to build a new stadium for Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion since 1900 in association football, 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The Hawthorns was the first The Football League, Football League ground to be built in the 20th century, opening in September 1900 after construction work took only 4 months. Official West Bromwich Albion F.C history, http://www.wba.co.uk/club/the_hawthorns.aspx The official record attendance at The Hawthorns stands at 64,815, set in 1937. Alongside being the home of West Bromwich Albion for over 120 years, The Hawthorns has also hosted a number of England national football team, England internationals, as well as two FA Cup semi-finals. At an altitude of , it is the highest ground above sea level of all Premier Leag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West Bromwich Albion F
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος Hesperus, hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin Occident, occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve McMahon (footballer)
Stephen Joseph McMahon (born 20 August 1961) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and current television pundit. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1979 to 1998, most notably playing for Liverpool in the late 1980s. McMahon was placed in 42nd position in the '100 Players Who Shook The Kop' poll, which asked Red supporters to name the best 100 Liverpool players of all time. He also played for Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City, playing in the Premier League for the latter. He was capped 17 times by England. After his playing career ended, he began his coaching and managing career with Swindon Town, and later managed Blackpool, winning a promotion with both of these clubs. He later had a brief spell as manager of Perth Glory in Australia. Playing career Everton Halewood-born McMahon started his career at Everton, playing for them as a teenager after appearing at Goodison Park as a ball boy. He made his league debut on 16 August 1980 in the 3 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |