Stephen L. "Steve" Rutter (born 14 October 1962) 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 current assistant manager at GSL club

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

Playing career

Early career at Wealdstone

Rutter was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1962, and after leaving school, he spent seven years working for the police force. Rutter came to semi-professional football relatively late joining

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

and was part of the side who won the

Alliance Premier League The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in Football in England, England consisting of three divisions, the National League (division), National League, National League Nor ...

and

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

double in 1985.

Yeovil Town

Rutter followed his former Wealdstone manager Brian Hall to

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 ...

side

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

in January 1987, and made 12 appearances in the second half of the season. In his first full season in Somerset, Rutter won the ''

Western Gazette The ''Western Gazette'' is a regional newspaper, published every Thursday in Yeovil, Somerset, England. In 2012, Local World acquired owners Northcliffe Media from Daily Mail and General Trust. Trinity Mirror took control of Local World in ...

'' merit mark award player of the year as Yeovil won the

and

Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...

double. Yeovil's return to the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

saw them finish 9th, the club's highest finish for a decade, Rutter made 55 appearances in all competitions and again won the ''Western Gazette'' merit mark award player of the year. The following season saw Yeovil lift the

Conference League Cup The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference. History The competition was formed for ...

trophy, in the club's final season at the

Huish Athletic Ground Huish Athletic Ground, more commonly referred to as Huish, was a Association football, football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. It was the second home ground of Yeovil Town F.C., Yeovil Town Football Club, after the Pen Mill Athleti ...

, with Rutter having the honour of being the final player to touch the ball at the ground. Yeovil's first season at

Huish Park Huish Park is a football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish. Huish Park has a capacity of 9,565 (of which two stands ...

in 1990–91, Rutter applied to be transfer listed while he was shortlisted for the first team manager role at

Dorchester Town Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the . The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They ...

, in March 1991, Rutter was made Yeovil's captain. Rutter was still a regular in the side as player-manager and upon his departure from Yeovil in 1993, he had made 247 appearances and scored 11 times.

Coaching career

Yeovil Town

On 1 April 1991 after a 2–1 win over

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

the club parted company with manager Clive Whitehead, and Rutter was appointed as manager initially in a caretaker capacity with brief to avoid relegation. Rutter was Yeovil's fourth manager of the season, and his reign started with 7–2 victory over

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

, he managed to keep the club up with two matches to spare. Rutter's time at Yeovil was blighted with the club suffering from severe financial difficulties after the Glovers move to Huish Park. His first full season in charge was brightened only by an

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 ...

win at

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 ...

side

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 ...

while league form was patchy. The 1992–93 season, saw Yeovil reach the third round of the FA Cup after defeating rivals

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 a second round replay. The third round fixture against

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

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 ...

has been cited as a game which reputedly saved the club. The following season saw Yeovil complete another giantkilling after defeating

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 ...

, but in November 1993, Rutter stepped down as manager of Yeovil, and was succeeded by his former manager Brian Hall. While manager of Yeovil, Rutter encouraged the board to set up the club's Youth Training Scheme programme.

Trowbridge Town

After leaving Yeovil went on to be player-manager Southern League side Trowbridge Town, but ultimately had to retire due to an ankle injury.

The Football Association

After leaving Trowbridge, Rutter initially worked for the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

, from whom he moved on to work with

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

as the FA's Regional Director of Coaching for the South-West. Ahead of

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, Rutter was one of ten experienced coaches and managers who FA Technical Director of Football

Howard Wilkinson Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...

selected to aid

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

manager

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

. The team were responsible for scouting England's group opponents and potential latter stage opponents to assess their tactics and highlight key players. Rutter's specific role was to watch and report back on matches in other groups, working in a sub-group of six people that included ex-

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

manager Frank Clark as well was Rutter's fellow regional directors who represented the other areas of the country. At that time Rutter was also an assistant coach to the women's national team. Whilst he worked at the FA, Rutter was in charge of an England under-15 side that included future England captain

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

San Juan Jabloteh

In 2002 after leaving the FA, Rutter was briefly involved in coaching at the CareerSports Soccer Academy in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, a project set up by former

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 popul ...

footballer

Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internet pu ...

. Additionally after leaving the FA he conducted coaching courses hosted by

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

in 2002 and 2003 at the Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Macoya, Tunapuna, and these coaching courses brought him to Trinidad, in 2004 he was appointed manager of

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

side

San Juan Jabloteh San Juan Jabloteh Football Club is a football club located in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago that plays in the country's TT Pro League. The team plays its home games in Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Trinidad. History The club was founded ...

briefly Rutter admitted when the offer from Jabloteh came it was a mind boggling decision to make, he was not only confronted with other offers, one of which would have seen him in charge of setting up a national coaching educational structure for China, but it would mean leaving England and coming to Trinidad leaving behind his wife Betty and two young children.

Return to the FA

After his sojourn in the Caribbean, Rutter returned to

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

as their educational manager, a role in which he was responsible for leading courses teaching coaches on both their FA coaching badges and UEFA Licences. In total Rutter spent nine years in the role of educational manager.

Panathinaikos

Having previously taught

Yannis Anastasiou Giannis Anastasiou ( gr, Γιάννης Αναστασίου; born 5 March 1973) is a Greek professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Super League club Panetolikos. As a player, Anastasiou played as a strike ...

on his UEFA B and A Licence courses and started him on his

UEFA Pro Licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are iss ...

, Rutter joined him as his assistant manager at Greek Superleague side

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

upon his appointment in May 2013. Having spent two years as assistant manager, in November 2015, following the sacking of Anastasiou, Rutter was appointed as caretaker manager of Panathinaikos. Managing the club against

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

, on 7 November 2015, he guided the club to a 2–1 away victory. Upon the appointment of

Andrea Stramaccioni Andrea Stramaccioni (; born 9 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Qatari club Al Gharafa. A football coach with experiences as a youth coach of Roma and Inter Milan, he was put in charge of first tea ...

, on 9 November 2015, Rutter left the club.

Roda JC

Rutter then followed Anastasiou to Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side

Roda JC Kerkrade Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. ...

as a fitness coach in July 2016, after six months in the role Rutter left on 1 January 2017 to return to England.

Return to Yeovil Town

On 31 January 2017, after leaving Roda, Rutter returned to

, now in

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 ...

, as head of coaching in their academy.

KV Kortrijk

In June 2017, after only six months at Yeovil, Rutter left to once again link up with Anastasiou, becoming assistant manager at

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

side

KV Kortrijk Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk (often simply called KV Kortrijk or KVK) is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division, and they achieved their best ranking ever during the 2009 ...

. Rutter left Kortrijk following the sacking of Anastasiou in November, and returned to his role of head of coaching in Yeovil's academy until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Luton Town

On 1 October 2018, Rutter was appointed assistant manager to Nathan Jones at

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 ...

club

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. He left the club in June 2019 to join his former

boss,

Giannis Anastasiou Giannis Anastasiou ( gr, Γιάννης Αναστασίου; born 5 March 1973) is a Greek professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Super League club Panetolikos. As a player, Anastasiou played as a stri ...

at Greek Super League club,

Atromitos FC Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, Athens, that plays in the Super League. It was founded in 1923 a ...

as assistant coach.

Honours

Player

;Wealdstone *

: 1984–85 *

: 1984–85 ;Yeovil Town *

: 1987–88 *

: 1987–88 *Isthmian Championship Shield: 1988–89 *

: 1989–90

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutter, Steve 1962 births Living people Footballers from Northampton English footballers Association football defenders Wealdstone F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players English football managers Yeovil Town F.C. managers San Juan Jabloteh F.C. managers Panathinaikos F.C. managers Panathinaikos F.C. non-playing staff Yeovil Town F.C. non-playing staff Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff National League (English football) players National League (English football) managers Isthmian League players Southern Football League players Southern Football League managers Super League Greece managers English expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago English expatriate sportspeople in Greece English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate football managers in Greece