Nicholas Michael Spooner (born 5 June 1971) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is the manager of Hyde United. As a player, he was a defender and midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. He also 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 ...

with Oldham Athletic and Chester City, in the United States with Charleston Battery and in non-league with Leigh RMI.

Playing career

Born in Manchester, Spooner played for

, Oldham Athletic, Charleston Battery, Chester City and Leigh RMI. He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1987 after signing YTS forms. His senior career with the club was marred by injury. In October 1994 he suffered a broken leg in a match against Burnley following a tackle by John Gayle, and he never played first-team football for the club again. He finally left Bolton in 1999 and moved to the United States, spending a year with Charleston Battery before returning to England to play non-league football for the final years of his playing career. He played for Hyde United in 2003.

Coaching career

Spooner returned to Bolton Wanderers as a youth coach and initially coached the under-8s' team. In November 2011, Spooner was working as the under-16 coach, and in January 2013 he was the club's Head of Youth Development. In September 2016, he was promoted to under-18s' head coach. He left Bolton on 29 January 2021 after 17 years in his coaching roles. On 8 June 2021, he was appointed as the new Youth Team Coach at FC Halifax Town. In February 2022, he was appointed as the new manager of Hyde United, replacing former Stockport County and Port Vale manager Jim Gannon.https://www.tamesidecorrespondent.co.uk/2022/02/19/former-player-nicky-spooner-named-new-hyde-united-manager/, Former player Nicky Spooner named Hyde United manager, Tameside Correspondent, 19 February 2022

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1971 births Living people English footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Charleston Battery players Chester City F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Association football defenders Association football midfielders Footballers from Manchester English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association football coaches Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff FC Halifax Town non-playing staff Hyde United F.C. managers {{England-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub