Christopher James Turner (3 April 1951 – 27 April 2015) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and manager, best known for a nine-year association as a player with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Playing career

Turner began his playing career with

in 1969. He went on to make 314 league appearances as a defender, scoring 37 goals. 1977 saw him spend a loan spell in the US with the

Connecticut Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

, an experience he enjoyed so much that he moved permanently to the New England Tea Men a year later. He returned to England to join

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

the same year, and although he did well during his season in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, he moved back to New England at the end of the season. At the end of the American season, he switched again, this time to join

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

. Turner played for one season at Cambridge, playing 19 times before leaving the country to play in the American Soccer League once again with New England. After returning to England he joined up with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

for a brief spell before returning to Cambridge. Turner ended a 15-year playing career with a spell at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

before retiring in 1984.

Coaching career

In December 1985, Cambridge United had sacked their manager Ken Shellito and were looking for a new appointment. Turner was appointed as his replacement. He managed Cambridge until January 1990, stabilising a club that was at rock bottom and turning them slowly into promotion candidates. He built much of the squad that he would later hand over to John Beck to take the team up from the Fourth Division to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He took on his next managerial position at his first club,

, in January 1991 and managed the club until December 1992, going on to be one of the most successful managers in the club's history. He retired from football in 1992 and went on to own the club as chairman before selling his interest to

Barry Fry Barry Francis Fry (born 7 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A winger, Fry was an apprentice at Manchester United in his youth, and had brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he reti ...

in 1996. In 2006, Turner teamed up with ex-Peterborough player Lee Power, who was then chairman of Cambridge United, to help out in a temporary coaching role at the club. But soon afterwards he became ill with what was later diagnosed as frontal lobe dementia, and by April 2014 he was living in a nursing home. In the last five years of his life, Turner was reportedly unable to walk, talk or eat solid foods. He died on 27 April 2015, aged 64 years old.Chris Turner: Former Peterborough United manager dies, aged 64
- BBC

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Chris 1951 births 2015 deaths English footballers Cambridge United F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Connecticut Bicentennials players New England Tea Men players English football managers Cambridge United F.C. managers Peterborough United F.C. managers People from St Neots Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease English expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English Football League players Association football defenders English football chairmen and investors Southend United F.C. players 20th-century English businesspeople