Simon Edward Osborn (born 19 January 1972) is an English former

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 ...

player and football manager. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he played 395 league and cup games in a 17-year career in the

English 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 Engl ...

. He began his career with

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

, helping the club to the First Division title in 1993–94, before he made a £90,000 move to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He helped the "Royals" to a second-place finish in the First Division in 1994–95, though they were then beaten in the

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. He made a £1.1 million move to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in July 1995, before being sold on to

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 ...

for £1 million in December 1995. After six years and 185 appearances at Molineux, he was loaned out to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

, before switching to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in September 2001. He moved on to Gillingham the following month, before he joined

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

in July 2003. He joined

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

in summer 2006, before moving into non-league football with

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

. He helped the club to win promotion out of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

in 2007, and briefly served the club as manager in 2008. He then joined Croydon Athletic, before scoring the winning goal for

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Sidcup, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cr ...

in the Isthmian League Division One South play-off final. In 2010, he became a player-coach at Erith & Belvedere. He joined the coaching staff at

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

in 2013, and was appointed joint-manager with Craig Holloway in April 2013, before losing his job eight months later.

Playing career

Crystal Palace

Osborn was educated at Ashburton High School, now known as

Oasis Academy Shirley Park Oasis Academy Shirley Park (formerly Ashburton Community School) is a mixed all-through school located within the Ashburton Learning Village complex in the Woodside area of Croydon, Greater London, England. The school educates children of pri ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, from 1983 to 1989. A central

, Osborn started his career as a trainee at

in January 1990 under the stewardship of

Steve Coppell Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and rep ...

. He turned professional for the 1989–90 season, when his performances for a newly promoted Palace side secured their First Division survival with a 15th-place finish and saw him voted Young Player of the Year by the club's fans. However he missed out on a place in the squad for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

that season, which Palace lost to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in a replay. They went on to finish third in 1990–91, one of the best finishes in the club's history. They then dropped to tenth in 1991–92, enough to secure them a place as founder members of 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 Foo ...

. They were relegated in 20th place in 1992–93, though had they have won their final game of the season then

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 ...

would have taken their place in the relegation zone. Osborn scored in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

semi-finals in 1993, Palace's consolation in a 5–1 aggregate defeat to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. New boss Alan Smith led the "Eagles" to the First Division title in 1993–94, Osborn's last season at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

Reading

manager Mark McGhee handed over £90,000 for his services at the start of the 1994–95 season on 17 August. The "Royals" narrowly missed out on a second successive promotion as Osborn formed a vital part of the team that finished second in the First Division. They went on to lose 4–3 to

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 ...

in the play-off final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

; the game was necessary due to the

's reduction in size only allowing one automatic

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

place.

Queens Park Rangers

As a result of Reading's failure to secure promotion, Osborn decided to move away from

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for r ...

to gain Premier League experience, and got his wish when

manager

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

splashed out £1.1 million for the midfielder in July 1995. Osborn lasted just six months at QPR, scoring once (against Bolton Wanderers) in nine Premier League games for a side who ended the season in the relegation places, before moving back down a division and signing for Mark McGhee's

for a £1 million transfer fee.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

McGhee steered the club to a 20th-place finish in 1995–96, just three points above relegated

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. Osborn scored six goals in 39 games in 1996–97, as Wolves finished third, four points behind

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in the automatic promotion places; they went on to lose to his former club Crystal Palace at the play-off semi-finals. They missed out on the play-offs by three places and nine points in 1997–98, Osborn scoring twice in 26 games, including one against former club QPR. That season Wolves also got to the

semi-final but Osborn missed the game against

due to suspension. Early in the 1998–99 season McGhee was sacked, and replaced by his assistant

Colin Lee Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard. Playing career Lee began his football career ...

. Wolves finished seventh, one place and three points behind

in the play-offs; Osborn scored three goals in 42 appearances. The 1999–2000 season saw Bolton again finish sixth, one place and just two points ahead of Wolves; Osborn was limited to 26 appearances. Following a poor start to 2000–01, Colin Lee was replaced by Dave Jones in January 2001, and two months later Osborn was loaned out to league rivals

for three months, where he scored once against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. At the end of the season his six-year stay at Molineux was brought to an end, after 185 appearances for the club.

Port Vale to Gillingham

In September 2001, he moved on a free transfer to

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this he spent four ...

in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He played eight games in four weeks at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

, before moving back up to the First Division with Gillingham. He scored three goals in 30 games for

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

's "Gills" in 2001–02. He missed September to March of the 2002–03 campaign, and left the

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

after 49 league and cup appearances for the club.

Walsall

Osborn signed for

in July 2003, who were then managed by his former boss Colin Lee. However Lee left the club in April 2004, and Osborn served as assistant to new manager

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later ...

for a short time. The "Saddlers" suffered relegation out of the First Division in 2003–04, with Osborn scoring three goals in 46 appearances. Ironically they finished behind his former club Gillingham, who avoided the drop, on goal difference. Osborn then played 41 games as Walsall finished 11th in

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

in 2004–05. He picked up ten yellow cards and two goals in his 36 appearances in 2005–06, as Walsall finished last and suffered relegation into

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

; this was to prove to be his last season at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the current home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90, by GMI Construction, with a reporte ...

Later career

Osborn started the 2006–07 campaign with

, a club

Graham Turner Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is third behind only Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games managed. After a ...

had led to promotion back to 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 ...

after nine years in the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

. However he played just once for the "Bulls", and moved on to

in September 2006. The "Ravens" finished the 2006–07 season as runners-up of the Isthmian League, and beat

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

in the play-off final to win promotion into the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. He was appointed

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of Bromley in January 2008, assisted by

Bobby Bowry Robert John Bowry (born 19 May 1971) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1990 until 2008. He played in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, and in the Football League with Queens Park Rangers, Millwall and Col ...

, but resigned three months later following a change in ownership, having led them to an eleventh-place finish in 2007–08. He both succeeded and was preceded by Mark Goldberg. Osborn then moved on to Croydon Athletic of the

Division One South. He signed for league rivals

in February 2009, appearing on the bench against Ashford Town and making his debut for the club in March against Walton & Hersham. He scored the only goal for Wanderers in their 1–0 victory in the play-off final against

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. He left the club at the end of the season and retired from playing football, opting to look for a coaching role elsewhere. However he then came out of retirement in March 2010 to re-sign for

. For the second successive season Osborn scored in the final game of the season, against

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

. He then was appointed as player-coach at Erith & Belvedere of the Kent League.

Managerial career

Osborn joined the coaching staff at Margate in January 2013, as assistant to caretaker manager Craig Holloway. He was appointed joint-manager with Craig Holloway in April 2013. He became sole manager in November 2013, but was sacked a month later.

Career statistics

Honours

Crystal Palace *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1993–94 Reading *Football League First Division second-place promotion: 1994–95 Bromley *

play-offs: 2006–07 Cray Wanderers *Isthmian League Division One South play-offs:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Simon 1972 births Living people Footballers from Croydon English footballers Association football midfielders Crystal Palace F.C. players Reading F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Croydon Athletic F.C. players Cray Wanderers F.C. players Erith & Belvedere F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Association football coaches Association football player-managers English football managers Bromley F.C. managers Margate F.C. managers National League (English football) managers Isthmian League managers