Robert John Napier (born 23 September 1946) is a Northern Irish former football

centre half 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 ...

and manager, who currently teaches soccer in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Biography

Napier was born in

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

. With a career as both player and coach, Napier has also been a player agent and a television and radio sports analyst.

Career

Club playing career

Napier began his career in September 1963 playing for the Bolton Wanderers, where he played until 1967, when he was transferred to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

for £25,000. He played until 1972 playing more than 200 games including two seasons as ever-present. In 1972, he was transferred to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

for a record-equalling £10,000. He spent six seasons at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...

interspersed with spells in America at

Baltimore Comets The Baltimore Comets were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1974, the Comets were an expansion team that played two seasons in the North American Soccer League. The team originally played its home matches a ...

and the same team after they became

San Diego Jaws The San Diego Jaws were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of San Diego State University. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the North American Soccer Leag ...

, and also at

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...

. In all he played more than 100 games at City, and served as manager, and assistant coach.

Club management career

Napier served as manager at City from February 1978 to October 1978. He was unpopular as manager of Bradford City, as the team was relegated to the now-defunct

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

. Napier returned to the United States in 1979 to take a coaching position at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, and continues to coach soccer.

International career

Napier was a

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

schoolboy international, won 11 youth caps, two under-23 caps. He won his only full international cap against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in May 1966.

Honours

* Most Valuable Player, Bolton Wanderers: 1966 * Most Valuable Player, Brighton: 1969 * Football League Division Three Runner-Up, Brighton: 1971 * Most Valuable Player, Bradford City: 1973

Managerial statistics

References

External links

John Napier's resume on his official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, John 1946 births Living people People from Lurgan Association footballers from Northern Ireland Football managers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland international footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Baltimore Comets players San Diego Jaws players Bradford City A.F.C. managers English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Association football central defenders Mossley A.F.C. players