Mark Stephen Hill (born 21 January 1961) is an English retired professional football left back, best remembered for his five years in non-league football with Maidstone United. Earlier in his career, he played in the Football League for Brentford.

Playing career

Queens Park Rangers

A left back, Hill began his youth career with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and signed a professional contract at the end of the 1978–79 season. Despite Rangers' relegation to the

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 failed to make a first team appearance during the 1979–80 season and departed

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

at the end of the campaign.

Brentford

Hill joined Third Division club Brentford in July 1980, as one of new manager Fred Callaghan's first signings. Aged only 19, Hill held a regular place in the first team during the 1980–81 season and made 42 appearances, scoring three goals. He scored on his debut versus

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

and scored one goal for and against the Bees in front of the ATV cameras during a 3–2 win at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

a fortnight later. Hill fell out of favour in the following season and made just 20 appearances before his release in June 1982. He made 62 appearances and scored three goals during his two seasons at Griffin Park.

Wycombe Wanderers

Hill dropped into non-league football to sign for Isthmian League Premier Division club

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

during the 1983 off-season. He had an excellent start to life at

Loakes Park Loakes Park was the home of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club from 1895 to 1990. It was located next to Wycombe General Hospital in the centre of High Wycombe, England. The ground was donated to the club by Frank Adams, a former Wanderers player ...

, making 42 league appearances, reaching the first round proper 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 final of the

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

and winning the first silverware of his career as the Chairboys cruised to the 1982–83 Premier Division title. The club declined a place in the

Alliance Premier League The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

and Hill remained with the Chairboys until the end of the 1983–84 season. He made 68 league appearances and scored three goals during his two seasons with the club.

Maidstone United

Hill signed for Alliance Premier League champions Maidstone United during the 1984 off-season. He was a regular pick during a five-year spell with the club and in the 1988–89 season was part of the team which won the

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association. History The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...

and finished top of the renamed

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

, which secured promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history. With the club going full-time for the 1989–90 season in the Football League, Hill left the club in order to remain part-time. He made over 200 appearances during his five years with Maidstone United.

Slough Town

Hill dropped to the Isthmian League Premier Division to sign for

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

during the 1989 off-season. Given the captain's armband, he had an excellent first season, leading the team to the league title and the final of the

Berks & Bucks Senior Cup The Berks & Bucks FA County Senior Cup is the Senior County Cup competition of the Berks & Bucks FA, which first took place in 1878–79 – a time when the FA Cup had only been going for seven years, there was no Football League, and most countr ...

. Hill remained with the Rebels until the end of the 1991–92 season, having made 93 appearances and scored three goals for the club.

Hendon

Hill returned to the Isthmian League Premier Division to join Hendon during the 1992 off-season. He made 64 appearances and scored one goal in two mid-table seasons for the club.

Later years

Hill ended his career with spells at Isthmian League clubs

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

and Walton & Hersham. He served Walton & Hersham in, at different times, the roles of player, assistant manager and joint- caretaker manager.

Personal life

Hill spent 12 years working for

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

and as of 2012, had spent the previous 17 years working for

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...

in Slough, Berkshire. As of 2014, his son Lucas was a member of Wycombe Wanderers' development centre.

Honours

Wycombe Wanderers * Isthmian League Premier Division: 1982–83 Maidstone United *

: 1988–89 * Kent Senior Cup: 1988–89 Slough Town * Isthmian League Premier Division: 1989–90

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Mark 1961 births People from Perivale Footballers from the London Borough of Ealing English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. (1897) players Association football fullbacks Slough Town F.C. players Hendon F.C. players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Living people Walton & Hersham F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. managers Isthmian League managers Wealdstone F.C. players English football managers