Guy Robert Russell (born 28 September 1967) is an English former 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 le ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

who 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 Birmingham City and

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 ...

. He played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Life and career

Russell was born in

Shirley, West Midlands Shirley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, neighbouring districts include Shirley Heath, Sharmans Cross, Solihull Lodge, Monkspath, Cranmore and the Hall Green dis ...

. As a junior, he played for Knowle North Star before joining Birmingham City as a YTS trainee in 1984. He turned professional two years later. He made his debut as a 17-year-old, on 19 March 1985, playing 90 minutes as

Des Bremner Desmond George Bremner (born 7 September 1952) is a Scottish former professional football midfielder. He made more than 600 league appearances for clubs in both Scotland and England, was a member of Aston Villa's European Cup-winning team of ...

's deputy in a Second Division game at home to

Manchester City 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 tw ...

which finished goalless. He made one substitute appearance in the following season in the First Division, and spent the latter part of the 1987–88 season on loan at

, where his two goals from 12 games failed to prevent the club's relegation from the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

. Russell made another ten first-team appearances for Birmingham, but failed to score despite being a regular scorer in the junior teams, and in April 1989 he moved to Finland to play for

Kemin Palloseura The Palloseura Kemi Kings is a Finnish football team based in the town of Kemi, who are currently playing in the Kolmonen. The club have spent three seasons in the top flight in their history. History The club was established on October 21, 1999 ...

. Following their relegation, he returned to England and joined

Moor Green Moor Green is a historic home located near Brentsville, Prince William County, Virginia. It dates to the early-19th century, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal style brick residence, with a one-room, two-story ell. It has a standing seam met ...

of the Southern League. Russell was to remain with Moor Green for eleven years, and captained the team. In April 1999, by which time he had 135 goals from 430 appearances in all competitions, he was awarded a testimonial match between a Birmingham City All-Stars team and their Middlesbrough counterparts. Manager Bob Faulkner later described him as "one of the Moor Green greats". In 2000 Russell joined Solihull Borough as a player, later becoming assistant manager and in March 2004 taking over as manager. After nearly a year in post, Russell resigned, citing the time commitment and the frustration involved in managing a club unable to compete financially.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Guy 1967 births Living people Footballers from Solihull English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Knowle F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Kemi City F.C. players Moor Green F.C. players Solihull Borough F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English football managers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Finland