Stephen Paul Halford (born 21 September 1980) is an English former professional

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 le ...

who subsequently managed several non-League clubs. He joined

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...

in July 2011 from Hyde, where he was also player-manager, before leaving the club in December 2011 and rejoining in January 2012 as player-manager. He has also played for Chester City,

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

where he 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 ...

Career

Born in

Bury, Greater Manchester Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the historic county boundarie ...

, he started his career at hometown club

where he played 5 games in the

, before joining

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side Chester City in October 2001. He later joined

and then

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

, helping Droylsden to promotion into the Conference. On 9 December 2008 he scored the winning goal in Droylsden's

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 ...

first-round tie with

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, taking Droylsden into the second round. In September 2010 Halford was released from

after five years at the club making 103 league appearances scoring 6 goals, a brief statement on the website read "we are sad to see Steve leave the club and we thank him for his services". Halford was also rejected following a trial with Notts County in 1993. After his release from

in September 2010 he signed for their local rivals

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

on 2 October 2010. He was made captain for the game against

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

on 6 November 2010 in the absence of the club captain and assistant manager,

Scott McNiven Scott Andrew McNiven (born 27 May 1978) is an English-born Scottish footballer. He started his career at Oldham Athletic in 1995 before moving on to Oxford United in 2002. He jointly managed Hyde with Steve Halford at the end of the 2010–11 s ...

. On 8 January 2011 he scored his first goal for Hyde in a 1–0 win over fellow strugglers

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

, coming from a header from a

Shaun Whalley Shaun James Whalley (born 7 August 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League Two club Accrington Stanley. Born in Prescot, Merseyside, Whalley played for Norwich City and Southport as a youth before making his ...

corner. On 4 April 2011, he took over as joint player-manager on a caretaker basis at Hyde after the sacking of

Neil Tolson Neil Tolson (born 25 October 1973) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a striker. He later moved onto a coaching career with Hyde, Altrincham and Stalybridge Celtic. Career Born in Dudley, Worcestershire, Tols ...

. Later that month Halford was awarded the Hyde Football Club Player's Player of the Year 2010–11 in his debut season with the ''tigers''. He was replaced as the joint-manager of Hyde before the start of the 2011–12 season by Gary Lowe. After being released by Hyde in June 2011, he joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

outfit

. In January 2012, following the resignation of manager Gareth McClelland, he took over the

rein Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband. Use for ...

s as player-manager at Mossley AFC. On 4 May 2013, Halford guided Mossley to a position in the Evo-Stik Northern League Division One North play-offs following a 3–0 win against Harrogate Railway Athletic. He left the club in December 2011 and rejoined in January 2012 as player-manager. On 19 May 2017, he took over as joint manager at Glossop North End In March 2018 Halford and Phillips became joint managers of

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

. He left Buxton in February 2019.

Personal life

As well as playing for

, Halford works as a

window cleaner Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed and ...

.Granada Reports, 2008-11-27, FA Cup feature including interview with Halford

Honours

Bury *

Football 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 ...

: 1996–97 Accrington Stanley *

: 2002–03 *

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

: 2002–03 Droylsden *

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

: 2006–07 *

Manchester Premier Cup The Manchester Premier Cup (also known as the Frank Hannah Manchester Premier Cup) is an annual English football knockout tournament involving teams from Greater Manchester, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Manchester Football ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 Individual * Hyde Football Club Player's Player of the Year: 2010–11

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halford, Steve 1980 births Living people Footballers from Bury, Greater Manchester English footballers Association football defenders Bury F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Hyde United F.C. managers Mossley A.F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. managers Ashton United F.C. managers Stalybridge Celtic F.C. managers Glossop North End A.F.C. managers Buxton F.C. managers English Football League players National League (English football) players English football managers