Simon Thomas Charlton (born 25 October 1971) is an English football coach, former

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 ...

and radio summariser. As a player, he was a full back who notably played in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Bolton Wanderers and

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 ...

. He also played in the Football League for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. Over his career he made more than 500 league appearances combined. Although primarily a left back he could also play as a left-sided central defender or occasionally in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. During 2012 he earned an international cap for

Sealand national football team The Sealand national football team represents the Principality of Sealand. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA, but was an associate member of the N.F.-Board, an organisation for teams who are not members of FIFA. They were admitted to the N.F ...

, a

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...

who are not recognised by Fifa. Following retirement he returned to Norwich City as a youth team coach before managing

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

club Mildenhall Town. He has since appeared as a co-commentator and summariser on Bolton Wanderers games for

BBC Radio Manchester BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience o ...

Club career

Charlton was born in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

and began his career at his home-town club

where he played over a hundred games for the Terriers before moving to Premiership club

for £250,000 in 1993. From Southampton he was initially loaned to

, before making his move permanent in 1998. In May 2000, Charlton was released by Birmingham before signing for Bolton Wanderers, where he was chosen Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season, and subsequently moved to

in July 2004. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Charlton was released by Norwich City. He left the club under something of a cloud, stating his belief that manager

Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County, ...

had made a scapegoat and an easy target out of him. He signed a one-year deal with

in August 2006. On his first appearance he conceded a penalty, which was saved, and provided the cross for the only goal of the game. He scored once for Oldham, scoring a goal from his own half in a 4–1 win over Gillingham. After his contract at Oldham expired in May 2007, he retired as a player and returned to Norwich City as a youth coach.

International career

In May 2012, Charlton appeared for and captained the

in a match against the

Chagos Islands The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives arc ...

. The match was held at the grounds of Godalming Town.

Coaching and management career

Charlton became manager of

club Mildenhall Town in April 2009. He made his debut for Mildenhall Town as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with Haverhill Rovers. He left his post in June 2010 due to "unforeseen circumstances and opportunities." As of September 2011, he works as a Football Coach for the Global Soccer Network, an organisation which looks after the interests of several UK-based African players and many new talents within the game.

Personal life

Charlton is a summariser of Bolton Wanderers games for

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 1991–92 Third Division, 1992–93 Second Division * Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2001–02

References

External links

* *
Stats and photos
at Sporting Heroes {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Simon 1971 births Living people Footballers from Huddersfield Association football defenders English footballers Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Mildenhall Town F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players English football managers Mildenhall Town F.C. managers