Simon Farnworth (born 28 October 1963 in Chorley,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

) is an English 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played for Bolton Wanderers, Bury, Preston North End and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, and made over 500 appearances during his career. Simon retired from playing in 1996, and joined the backroom staff at Wigan as a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

. He then joined

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, where he worked for eleven years as the head physio at Liverpool's

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

. In 2009, he joined Morecambe and was appointed as the first-team physio. In 1986 Farnworth became to date the last goalkeeper in English League football to play a match without wearing gloves, in Bolton Wanderers' 0–3 loss to Bristol City in The Frieght Rover Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium. Simon has featured regularly in the

Masters Football Masters Football was a six-a-side indoor football competition in the United Kingdom, where players over the age of 35 were chosen by the Masters Football Selection Committee to represent a senior club for which they played. Regional heats were he ...

tournament, and has previously played for

and Bolton Wanderers.

References

External links

* 1963 births Living people English footballers Association football goalkeepers English Football League players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Bury F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. non-playing staff Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff Morecambe F.C. non-playing staff Sportspeople from Chorley Association football physiotherapists {{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub