Michael Paul Ford (born 9 February 1966) 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 ...

manager and former professional player. His father, Tony Ford, was also a professional footballer.

Playing career

Ford began his career at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

where he became a full-time professional at the age of 18. He was released by the club without making an appearance and moved to non-league side Devizes Town but he was signed a few months later by Cardiff City and quickly made his debut in a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

. A mainstay in the side, Ford played in numerous positions for Cardiff in defence and midfield and helped them to promotion in his final year at the club. He signed for

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

in 1988 and was eventually made club captain. He spent ten years at the Manor Ground before being released in 1998 and being taken back to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

Frank Burrows Frank Burrows (30 January 1944 – 24 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager who played as a central defender. Life and career Frank Burrows began his football career at Scottish club Raith Rovers. In 1965 he moved south to ...

, who handed him the captaincy; he again helped Cardiff to promotion.

Managerial career

During the 1999–2000 season he developed a problem with a disc in his back and was forced to retire. After his retirement he was appointed as youth team manager at Oxford and was called back into action for the team in 2000 when the team faced an injury crisis, making one appearance against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. Ford also took over as caretaker manager on two separate occasions for Oxford when they were between managers and was working as assistant manager at the club when he was fired in 2003, a decision that caused outrage among Oxford fans. After he was sacked Ford had a spell playing for non-league side

Thame United Thame United Football Club are a football club based in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. They were established in 1883 and joined the Hellenic League in 1959. The club currently competes in the . History Thame United were formed in 1883, making t ...

. Ford was the manager of Conference North football team

Oxford City Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

, who gained promotion in the 2011–12 season. He was also working as a football coach at the

North Oxfordshire Academy North Oxfordshire Academy is a coeducational academy school in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It opened in September 2007, replacing the comprehensive Drayton School. It caters for children and young adults between the ages of 11 and 18. The ...

teaching football skills and theory to 16- to 21-year-olds at the Academy sixth form, but is now employed by Oxford and Cherwell Valley College coaching students in the 16–19 age bracket. His team produced 3 or 4 players who helped the Oxford City first team to promotion. On 30 April 2014, Oxford City announced that Ford would no longer be their first-team manager. After a year out of the game, in May 2015 he was appointed manager of

Banbury United Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium. History The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...

in the Southern League Division 1 South & West. He earned promotion to the Southern Premier Division in his first season as manager via the playoffs. On 29 April 2020, Banbury United announced that Ford would cease to manage the club once his contract expired at the end of the month. In the summer of 2022, he was appointed as manager of Evesham United in the Southern League Division One.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Mike 1966 births Living people Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Leicester City F.C. players Devizes Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Thame United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players English football managers Oxford United F.C. managers Oxford City F.C. managers Oxford United F.C. non-playing staff Banbury United F.C. managers Evesham United F.C. managers English Football League managers National League (English football) managers Southern Football League managers