Stephen Lovell (born 16 July 1960) is a Welsh 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 ...

and manager. He played professionally for

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 ...

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

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 ...

, Swansea City, Gillingham and

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

and made over 450

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 ...

appearances. He was capped six times by

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Playing career

Born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales, Lovell began his career as an apprentice with

in 1977, winning the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

with the

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

side in 1977 and 1978, before making his league debut in a 2–0 defeat away 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 ...

on 30 August 1980. Playing at the time as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or 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 managed 74

appearances in six years 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 ...

, during which he also had spells on loan at

and with

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. In 1983, he moved to

, making his debut in a 5–1 defeat loss away to

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. The ...

on 12 February 1983. Millwall manager

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

played Lovell as a striker during an injury crisis and he went on to score 13 goals in 11 matches and remained a striker for the remainder of his career. In 1986 Lovell was injured whilst playing for

and was unable to regain a place in the Millwall team and, after a short loan spell with his hometown club Swansea City, was sold to Gillingham for £20,000. During his time with the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

club he played over 200 matches and scored nearly 100 goals, finishing as the club's leading scorer in four consecutive seasons and equalling a club record by scoring in seven consecutive matches in 1990. Lovell featured in the club's 1987 Third Division play-off run in which the Gills defeated then Second Division side

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

over two legs before losing to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

over two legs and a replay in the final. This was the first season in which play-offs were used to determine promotion & relegation in English league football. He scored four goals in Gillingham's 8–1 defeat of

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 ...

in 1987 but failed to find the net at all when the team won 10–0 against

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 ...

the following Saturday. After a brief loan spell with

in 1992, Lovell dropped into

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, where he played for nine different clubs in nine years, including three separate spells with

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

. In 2000, he played for Deal Town when they defeated Chippenham Town 1–0 in the last

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

final at the original

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 ...

stadium.

International career

Lovell was first called up to the

national side ahead of a World Cup qualifier against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in November 1981, making his debut as a 86th minute substitute for

Joey Jones Joseph Patrick Jones (born 4 March 1955) is a Welsh former international football full-back who most notably played for Liverpool, with whom he won two European Cups. Club career Wrexham Jones was born in Llandudno, and joined Wrexham in 19 ...

in a 3–0 loss. Then Wales manager

Mike England Harold Michael England (born 2 December 1941) is a Welsh former footballer and manager. Playing career Playing as a central defender, England began his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1959, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1966, ultimat ...

commented in February 1981 that he had attempted to call Lovell up previously but that it had been refused by

. Lovell scored his only goal for his country in a 4–2 away loss in a friendly to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in June 1985. His last appearance for Wales ended early through injury, with Lovell substituted just 8 minutes into a 3–0 friendly win in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in May 1986.

Managerial career

Lovell's first managerial job came at

, where he was player-manager from February 1995 until September 1996, during which he led the team to the Southern League Southern Division championship. He then moved on to Gravesend & Northfleet where he was manager for a year. After a spell as Football in the Community Officer for Gillingham (which overlapped the end of his playing career) Lovell returned to management with Hastings United in 2003 but left the club in 2004 after a drop in form. In 2005, he returned for a second spell managing

, a post he held until October 2007, when he left to take over at Ashford Town, where he remained until the club's demise in August 2010. In December 2014 he was appointed co-caretaker manager of Gillingham alongside

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 ...

, Darren Hare and Mark Patterson following the sacking of

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

. The "Gang of Four", as they came to be known, remained in charge of the club until

Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back. He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...

was appointed as manager in February 2015. Lovell remained at the club in the role of first team coach. In May 2016 it was announced that he had left the club. In June 2016, he was appointed as assistant manager of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

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 ...

, where he would work alongside former Gillingham teammate Neil Smith. Lovell returned to Gillingham as a coach in January 2017 under

Adrian Pennock Adrian Barry Pennock (born 27 March 1971) is an English former association football, footballer who played for Norwich City F.C., Norwich City, Molde FK, AFC Bournemouth, Gillingham F.C., Gillingham and Ebbsfleet United F.C., Gravesend & Northfl ...

. When Pennock was sacked in September 2017, Lovell continued as coach under the temporary managership of

, and became caretaker manager on 12 October when Taylor left the club. After four wins in his seven matches as caretaker, Lovell was confirmed in the position with a contract until the end of that season. Lovell was named the League One Manager of the Month award for January 2018, having led Gillingham to four league wins in four games in that period. His contract was further extended, to the end of the 2019–20 season, in April 2018. In January 2019 Lovell led Gillingham to victory over

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 ...

side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in the 3rd round 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 ...

, earning a 4th round draw against his home town club Swansea City, who eventually knocked the Gills out of the tournament. With two matches remaining in the season, and the team effectively safe from relegation in 13th place, Lovell was sacked from the role in April 2019, with a year of his contract remaining. Lovell was appointed as Director of Football at

side

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

in January 2020, but left the role after just 9 months. On 13 January 2021, Lovell was appointed as manager of

National League 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 ...

side

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

. Following the early curtailment of the season shortly after his appointment, Lovell continued with the club into the following season however on 20 September 2021, Lovell was announced to have resigned from his position. In January 2022, he became caretaker manager again at Gillingham after the dismissal of Steve Evans. On 31 January 2022, following the appointment of Neil Harris, Lovell again departed the club. In April 2022 he was appointed as manager of

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 ...

South East Division

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

. Lovell departed the club on 30 January 2023 with Ramsgate sitting in second place in the division.

Personal life

Lovell's father Alan was also a footballer, although he only managed a single professional appearance for

. Lovell's son

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

also became a footballer, turning professional with his father's old club Gillingham in 2001. He also made only one professional appearance before dropping into

Managerial statistics

Lovell's first spell in management at Gillingham was as part of a team of four joint caretaker managers, along with

, Darren Hare, and Mark Patterson.

Honours

As a player

Crystal Palace *

: 1976–77, 1977–78 Deal Town *

: 1999–2000 Individual * Gillingham Player of the Season: 1987–88

As a manager

Sittingbourne * Southern League Southern Division Champions: 1995–96

As an individual

* League One Manager of the Month: January 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovell, Steve 1960 births Living people Association football forwards Footballers from Swansea Gillingham F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Welsh footballers Welsh expatriate footballers Welsh football managers Wales international footballers Memphis Rogues players Ashford United F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Hastings United F.C. players Sittingbourne F.C. players Deal Town F.C. players People educated at Gowerton Comprehensive School Ebbsfleet United F.C. managers Hastings United F.C. managers Ashford United F.C. managers Gillingham F.C. managers Welling United F.C. managers Ramsgate F.C. managers English Football League players English Football League managers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Gillingham F.C. non-playing staff