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Paul Smith (footballer, Born 1971)
Paul William Smith (born 18 September 1971) is an English former professional footballer. Smith was born in East Ham, London and began his career as a trainee with Southend United, turning professional in 1990. He found his chances limited at Roots Hall and after a loan spell with Dover Athletic moved on to Brentford in August 1993 on a free transfer. In August 1997 he joined Gillingham, where he enjoyed the most successful spell of his career. He captained the Kent side for a lengthy spell and was also named the club's player of the year on an unprecedented four occasions, although his final reign ended in a bizarre dispute with chairman Paul Scally in which Smith reportedly refused to hand back the trophy until he was paid money he claimed the club owed him. While with Gillingham Smith played in both the 1999 and 2000 Football League Second Division play-off finals at Wembley, losing to Manchester City in 1999 on penalties, but achieving promotion to the second-tier for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Ham
East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the hundred of Becontree, and part of the historic county of Essex. Since 1965, East Ham has been part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London. History Toponymy The first known written use of the term, as 'Hamme', is in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 958, in which King Edgar granted the Manor of Ham, which was undivided at that time, to Ealdorman Athelstan. A subsequent charter on 1037 describes a transfer of land, which has been identified with East Ham, indicating that the first division of the territory occurred between 958 and 1037. The place name derives from Old English 'hamm' and means 'a dry area of land between rivers or marshland', referring to the location of the settlement within boundaries formed by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Scally
Paul Damien Phillip Scally (born ) is a London-born businessman who served as the chairman of Gillingham Football Club between 1995 and 2022. Career Scally had become wealthy through the sale of his Metronote photocopier business in South London and retired to study a part-time law degree at Greenwich University prior to buying sole control of Gillingham F.C. for the sum of £1 in 1995. In doing so he took the Kent side out of administration, taking on debts of £1.5m to £2m shortly before they would have been placed into liquidation. His tenure has witnessed probably the most successful period in the club's history, with three promotions, three Wembley play-off finals and four FA Cup victories over top division opponents, and their highest league finish of 11th in the Championship. He has also overseen the radical redevelopment of the club's Priestfield Stadium, adding a banqueting suite and a total of four new stands, three permanent and one temporary, transforming it into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Football League Second Division Play-offs
The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise two semi-finals, where the team finishing third plays the team finishing sixth, and the team finishing fourth plays the team finishing fifth, each conducted as a two-legged tie. The winners of the semi-finals progress to the final which is contested at Wembley Stadium. For the first three years, the play-off final took place over two legs, played at both side's grounds. Swindon Town won the first League One play-off final in 1987, requiring a replay to defeat Gillingham. From 1990, the play-off final was a one-off match, hosted at the original Wembley Stadium, while from 2001 to 2006, the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley was being rebuilt. Since 2007, the match has been hosted at Wembley Stadium except for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Ashby
Barry John Ashby (born 21 November 1970) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-half. He played for Watford, Brentford and Gillingham during a 17-year professional career. Ashby started his career at Watford, having played for Middlesex and London schools teams. As a schoolboy he first became attached to the club in October 1985, before becoming a trainee in July 1987. He won the 1988–89 FA Youth Cup with Watford, forming a defensive partnership with Jason Soloman. He signed a professional contract in December 1988. Played as both a centre half and full-back by Watford, Ashby's first goal was one of seven scored against Bradford City in December 1989. In March 1994 Watford signed Brentford centre-half Keith Millen for £65,000 and Ashby, who was valued at £35,000 in the exchange. Ashby went on to play 120 league games for Brentford in three years at the club, and was named player of the season in 1996–97. Ashby then signed for Gillingham. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the squad and also play on the team. Very few current major professional sports teams have head coaches who are also players, though it is common for senior players to take a role in managing more junior athletes. Historically, when professional sports had less money to pay players and coaches or managers, player-coaches were more common. Likewise, where player-coaches exist today, they are more common at, but not exclusive to, the lower levels where money is less available. Player-coaches in basketball The player-coach was, for many decades, a long-time fixture in professional basketball. Many notable coaches in the NBA served as player-coaches, including Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Fairclough
Paul Fairclough (born 31 January 1950) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of the England C team. As a player, he made five appearances for Cheshunt in the 1981–82 season. Managerial career Stevenage In 1990 Stevenage Borough employed Paul Fairclough as manager, who had previously managed Hertfordshire neighbours Hertford Town. After two fourth-placed finishes, under the management of Fairclough, Stevenage won The Isthmian League Division Two North in 1990–91, winning 34 of their 42 games, including every match played at home, scoring 122 goals and amassing 107 points. The following season Fairclough led the club to the Division One championship, remaining unbeaten at home again, and were promoted to the Premier Division. The club's long unbeaten home record was finally ended by Dulwich Hamlet, with the streak lasting 44 matches, of which 42 were won. In 1993–94, still under Paul Fairclough's reins, the club won the Premier Divisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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-professional in the English football league system. Notable former English Football League clubs that compete in the National League include: Scunthorpe United, Chesterfield FC, Oldham Athletic, Notts County, Wrexham and Torquay United F.C. The National League is the lowest division in the English football pyramid organised on a nationwide basis. Formerly the Conference National, the league was renamed the National League from the 2015–16 season.Football Conference to be renamed as National League , BBC Sport, 6 April 2015 The longest tenured team curren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 England from its foundation until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split from it to form the Premier League. The EFL is divided into the Championship, League One and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division, 72 in total, with promotion and relegation between them; the top Championship clubs change places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two with the top clubs of the National League. Although primarily an English competition, several clubs from Wales – currently Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County – also take part. The Football League had a sponsor from the 1983–84 season, and thus was known by various names. For the 2016–17 season, the league rebranded itself as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iffy Onuora
Ifem "Iffy" Onuora (born 28 July 1967) is a Scottish former professional footballer, manager, and coach for the England U21 national team. He is also the current equalities coach for the Professional Footballers Association. As a player, he was a forward from 1988 until 2004. He notably had spells with Huddersfield Town, Swindon Town and Gillingham and spent his entire career playing in England. He also played in the Football League for Mansfield Town, Sheffield United, Wycombe Wanderers, Grimsby Town, Tranmere Rovers and Walsall. Having moved into coaching with the latter, he moved back to former clubs Swindon and Gillingham before briefly taking over as caretaker manager of Lincoln City before his move to Ethiopia. He now acts as a Match Delegate for referees in the Premier League. Between 2010 and 2011 Onuora coached the Ethiopian national football team. Playing career Onuora was a journeyman striker who got his professional break playing for Huddersfield Town. He went ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 League and the third tier overall in the entire English football league system. League One debuted for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known briefly as the Football League Second Division and for much longer, before the advent of the Premier League, as the Football League Third Division. At present, Fleetwood Town hold the longest tenure in League One, last being out of the division in 2013–14 season when they were promoted from League Two. There are currently eight former Premier League clubs competing in League One, namely Barnsley (1997–98), Bolton Wanderers (1995–96, 1997–98 and 2001–12), Charlton Athletic (1998–99 and 2000–07), Derby County (1996–2002 and 2007–08) Ipswich Town (1992–95 and 2000–02), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893, and was also the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club for two seasons during the 1990s. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international football matches and a London Broncos rugby league match. The stadium underwent extensive redevelopment during the late 1990s, which has brought its capacity down from nearly 20,000 to a current figure of 11,582. It has four all-seater stands, all constructed since 1997, although one is only of a temporary nature. There are also conference and banqueting facilities and a nightspot named The Factory. Despite having invested heavily in its current stadium, Gillingham F.C. has plans to relocate to a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
