Derek Jeffries (born 22 March 1951 in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city suburb of Manchester, England, located south of the city centre. It is bounded by Ardwick and West Gorton to the north; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park and Fallowfield to the west ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England) is an English former

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 ...

. He played for Manchester City,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

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 ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

and Chester. He played mainly as a central defender, but also operated in midfield.

Career

He played for Manchester City between 1968–1973. In the 1968–69 season he played no games. In the 1969–70 season he made his debut for City, playing seven games. In the 1970–71 season he made 19 appearances. In the 1971–72 season he played 12 games. He played as a substitute as City won the

1972 FA Charity Shield The 1972 FA Charity Shield was contested between Manchester City and Aston Villa. Normally, the Charity Shield would have been contested by the First Division champions and FA Cup holders, who were Derby County and Leeds United respectively, but ...

. In the 1972–73 he played 34 games. In 1973, he transferred to

, where he remained for four years apart from time on loan at

and

. In the summer of 1977, Jeffries joined Chester, who were managed by his former Manchester City teammate

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. A midfielder, in total he played 776 the Football League matches – the tenth most in history. He is a co ...

. In his first season, Jeffries helped them finish fifth in

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...

(now League One), their highest position in the last 60 years. Jeffries would be voted the club's player of the season in 1978-79 and was part of the side that reached the fifth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

the following season (equalling the club's best run). He left Chester on a free transfer in 1981 and drifted out of professional football, joining Telford United.

Honours

Crystal Palace F.C. Player of the Year The Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace Football Club Player of the Year is awarded at the end of each season. Since the inaugural award was made to John McCormick (footballer, born 1936), John McCormick in 1972, 37 players have won the award. Nin ...

: 1974–75 * Chester City F.C. Player of the Year: 1978–79

References

External links

Sporting heroes Derek Jeffries at Man City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Derek 1951 births Living people People from Longsight English footballers England under-23 international footballers Association football central defenders Manchester City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players