Christopher Withe (born 25 September 1962) is an English former professional
footballer who played in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
for seven clubs. He is the younger brother of the former
Aston Villa and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
striker
Peter Withe.
Career
Withe was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, England as the younger brother of
Peter Withe. He began his career as an apprentice with
Newcastle United, with whom he turned professional in October 1980. His two first-team appearances for the Magpies came during the same month in matches against
Shrewsbury Town and
Chelsea.
He remained with the club until June 1983, when he moved to
Bradford City on a free transfer. Withe spent more than four years with City, missing just one game when they won the
Football League Division Three title in
1984–85. On the last day of that successful season his day was to turn into a nightmare when 56 spectators were killed in a
horrendous stand fire while playing
Lincoln City. He moved on for £50,000 to
Notts County in October 1987, playing regularly before joining
Bury in July 1989. He had a loan spell with
Chester City in October 1990 and then moved to
Mansfield Town in January 1991.
Withe experienced two relegations and a promotion in his three seasons at
Field Mill. He moved to
Shrewsbury Town in August 1993, a season that ended with the
Gay Meadow club topping
Division Three. He remained with the club until the end of the
1995–96 season, a campaign that saw him play at
Wembley Stadium in the final of the
Associate Members' Cup against
Rotherham United.
Withe then dropped into non-league football with
Boston United, where he played for three seasons. He was voted the club's player of the season and player's player of the season in
1996–97.
Since finishing his playing days, Withe has turned out occasionally for
Hucknall-based
Sunday league team Spot on along with his son Matt, as well as playing in the Masters football series.
For the 2013–14 season Withe signed for Kimberley Miners Welfare, a Saturday team who play in the senior division of the Nottinghamshire Senior League.
Honours
Bradford City
*
Football League Third Division:
1984–85
Mansfield Town
*
Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion:
1991–92
Shrewsbury Town
*Football League Third Division:
1993–94
*
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
runner-up:
1995–96
Individual
*Boston United Player of the Season: 1996–97
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Withe, Chris
1962 births
Living people
Men's association football fullbacks
English men's footballers
English Football League players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
Notts County F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
Mansfield Town F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Boston United F.C. players
Footballers from Liverpool