Gordon Staniforth (born 23 March 1957) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player. He played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

(two separate spells),

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and Newport County. He also played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at schoolboy international level. From November 2013 to October 2014 Staniforth was head coach of

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

2 club Doncaster Rovers Belles.

Career

Born in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

to Sidney Staniforth and Marian (Hardy), Staniforth attended Greatfield High School. He began his career as an apprentice with

and he signed a professional contract with the club in April 1974. He made his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut in a 1–0 defeat to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, 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 ...

on 15 April. He joined

on a one-month

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

in December 1976, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

on 27 December. He signed for York permanently in January 1977 for a fee of £7,500. He scored 33 times in 128 league games, also becoming Clubman of the Year in consecutive seasons, the first player to ever do so. He moved to

in October 1979 for a fee of £120,000. He joined

in March 1983 in a player exchange with

Mike McCartney Peter Michael McCartney (born 7 January 1944), known professionally as Mike McGear, is an English performing artist and photographer who was a member of the groups the Scaffold and Grimms. He is the younger brother of former Beatle Paul McCart ...

plus £5,000 and was part of the side that reached an

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 ...

semi-final. In August 1985 he moved to Newport County in a player exchange with Steve Cooper plus £15,000. He returned to York in October 1987 on non-contract terms to end his professional career. He finished his career in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

, whom he signed for in July 1988 and departed in September 1989. After retiring, he worked as Community Officer at York from 1989 to December 1996, when he became a North Regional coach for the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

. He was appointed youth coach at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

in October 1997 before being sacked in May 1998 after just seven months of a three-year contract. He then worked as co-ordinator of York College's Football Development Centre, alongside former York City goalkeeper Andy Leaning. The centre was awarded FA Charter status in 2005. On 6 November 2013 Staniforth was announced as

club Doncaster Rovers Belles's new head coach. He would work under director of football Julie Chipchase, who said the appointment was made only after "a rigorous interview and practical coaching assignment". Staniforth led the team to five straight wins in his first five league games in charge and the

Belles Belles is a small village in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. It is located at and is a part of the country's St. Joseph administrative division. Its population is 500.Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 200 ...

lost only one league match all season but finished behind

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. On 30 October 2014, he resigned as Head Coach at the club, disgruntled at scything cuts to the club's playing budget.

Personal life

Staniforth's son Tom (1980–2001) was also a footballer. He was a professional with Sheffield Wednesday, but never played a competitive first team game. He was however a first team substitute on six occasions, including games against

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He died in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

on the night of 20 August 2001, aged 20, having collapsed in the street after complaining of headaches. On 31 January 2002, a local man—and former York City youth team goalkeeper—was charged with supplying

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

to Tom Staniforth. The man was later acquitted on this charge after the prosecution failed to offer any evidence against him. Since his son's death, Gordon Staniforth has been involved in anti-drug campaigning. His daughter,

Lucy Staniforth Lucy Elizabeth Staniforth-Wilson ( née Staniforth; born 2 October 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Women's Super League club Aston Villa and the England women's national team. She has been d ...

, plays in the FA WSL for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and is also an

international who featured in the

2019 Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's national ...

in France. Lucy wears number 37—Tom's old Sheffield Wednesday squad number. After hitting the first goal in Lincoln Ladies' 3–0 WSL win at Doncaster Rovers Belles, Lucy revealed a T-shirt paying tribute to Tom on the tenth anniversary of his death.

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Gordon 1957 births Living people Footballers from Kingston upon Hull English footballers Association football forwards Hull City A.F.C. players York City F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. managers