Roger Preece (born 9 June 1968) was an English professional footballer who mainly played as 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 ...

but could also play as a full back. He played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for three clubs and has also played and managed in non–league football.

Playing and coaching career

Preece began his playing career as an apprentice with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, but in August 1986 he moved to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. He made more than 100 Football League appearances over the next four years gaining a Welsh Cup runners-up medal against Cardiff City at Swansea's Vetch in 1988 and helping the Robins to the 1988/89 play off final against Leyton Orient. However, he had a poor disciplinary record, being sent off five times.Sumner (1997), p. 108 In summer 1990, he was released by Wrexham and moved to local rivals Chester City, which was a division higher in the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

. He began at Chester as a full back but went on to make his greatest mark as a midfielder. He helped Chester win promotion from Division Three in 1993–94, scoring in the promotion decider against

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 'Th ...

on 23 April 1994. He was named player of the season the following year. Unfortunately, Preece played just one more game for the club as a tackle from Hartlepool United's Mick Tait on the opening day of the 1995–96 season ruled him out of action for the remainder of the season. He left the club in October 1996 after failing to recover, spending the remainder of the season with GM Vauxhall Conference sides

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

and Telford United. In June 1997, Preece returned to The Football League as player–coach with

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 ...

. In 2000, he teamed up again with manager

Jake King Jake King (born 26 March 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Career King previously played for North Heidelberg in the Diamond Valley Football League before ...

at Telford United, where they worked together until Preece became Newtown manager in June 2003. He remained in charge until October 2006, leaving after a 6–0 loss to

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

. Preece lately coached with the

based side Gap Queens Park, as well as with Wrexham's centre of excellence. After retirement Preece became a Business Development Manager in Sports clothing working for local and international brands. He also continues to play 5 a side football in Shrewsbury.

Honours

Chester City *

Football League Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

runners-up: 1993–94. *Player of the Season: 1994–95

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Chester City 'What Happened To…?' article
(2002)
Welsh Premier career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Roger 1969 births Living people People from Much Wenlock English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players National League (English football) players Cymru Premier players Cymru Premier managers English football managers Coventry City F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Newtown A.F.C. players Newtown A.F.C. managers