Shane Lee Mark Westley (born 16 June 1965 in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

) is an English former

professional footballer Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professi ...

and coach.

Playing career

A defender, Westley began his career at

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 C ...

in 1983 but he made his big breakthrough with

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, for whom he made 142 appearances, twice winning promotion out of the (old) Division Four. He spent a spell on loan with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

where he failed to make an appearance before

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

paid £150,000 for his services. After 50 outings he signed for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in a £100,000 deal and made 64 appearances before a brief loan spell back at

. A move to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

followed, although he made only 3 appearances before moving to Lincoln City for £7,500 where he made his first strides into management as Assistant Manager to John Beck. Westley played 8 times for Lincoln, bringing to an end a playing career that spanned 283 games and 14 goals along the way.

Managerial career

Beck left Lincoln in March 1998 and Westley was appointed as his replacement, steering the Imps to promotion to the old Division Two at the end of the season. However a poor start resulted in him being sacked in November 1998. In January 1999, Westley surprisingly took up the position of manager at non-league Barrow, with Beck joining him in a consultancy role. With the club itself in disarray financially, it was a short lived tenure and both Westley and Beck had left by June 1999. In February 2001, John Beck was re-appointed as manager of Cambridge United, a club he had managed from 1990–1992. He appointed Westley as his assistant and they successfully steered the club away from relegation. The following season started poorly however and both Beck and Westley left the club in November 2001.

Personal life

Westley is now Managing Director o
Bodywize
a personal training company.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westley, Shane 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Canterbury Footballers from Kent English men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Charlton Athletic F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players English football managers Barrow A.F.C. managers Lincoln City F.C. managers