Ian William Sharps (born 23 October 1980) 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 is currently First-Team Coach at Walsall Football Club. During his playing career he was a defender most commonly deployed at centre-back.

Career

Born in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Sharps is a tall central defender who signed for

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 ado ...

after serving as a trainee and soon established himself as a first team regular making almost 200 appearances. Sharps joined

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

on a two-year deal during the summer of 2006. Following the 2007–08 season, he signed a new two-year contract with Rotherham. Sharps played his 100th game for the Millers in their FA Cup tie away at

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

. Despite going through three points deductions, Ian has remained loyal to The Millers and has established himself as one of Rotherham's most consistent performers. Sharps got voted Rotherham United Player of the Year in 2009, resulting him being re-appointed club captain for the 2009 season. On 14 June 2010, Sharps signed for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

, and was named as club captain. Over a time period of 2 seasons, he helped guide Shrewsbury to promotion from

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 ...

in the 2011–12 season. However, despite the accolade, he was to move on, and return to his former club. Sharps re-joined

on 22 May 2012, with Sharps opting for the Millers and the lure of the

New York Stadium The New York Stadium (known as the AESSEAL New York Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Opened in July 2012, it is the home ground of Rotherham United. Its name was inspired by the co ...

, where he was appointed the captain. On 18 January 2013, Sharps was loaned out to

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

, before joining them permanently at the end of the season. Although he was a regular player for Burton at first, he fell out of favour after the departure of manager Gary Rowett to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

, and Sharps joined

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

on loan in February 2015 for the rest of the season. At the end of the season, it was announced that he would be leaving Burton at the end of his contract, and signing permanently for Telford United on a one-year deal at that point.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2009–10 League Two, 2010–11 League Two, 2011–12 League Two

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharps, Ian 1980 births Living people Footballers from Warrington English footballers Association football defenders Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players AFC Telford United players Chester F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Chester F.C. non-playing staff Walsall F.C. non-playing staff