Scott Patrick Hiley (born 27 September 1968) is an English former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a defender. He notably had brief spells in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

playing for both

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, but spent the majority of his career 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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

where he played over 330 times in the league over two separate spells. He also played professionally for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional 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. The team compete in the ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and later moved into non-league football with

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

, Tiverton Town and Cullompton Rangers.

Career

A defender, mainly at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, Hiley first came through the

youth system in 1986. He was a key part of Exeter's Fourth Division-winning side of 1989–90, and in 1993 he followed manager Terry Cooper to

. Hiley spent three injury-hit years with Birmingham, and in February 1996 was a surprise loan signing for

side

. Two months later the move was made permanent, but he found first-team opportunities limited and sat in the reserves for two years as City slid down the leagues. In August 1998 he returned to the Premiership with

(where Terry Cooper was working in a scouting role), and spent 18 months there, before joining rival club

in December 1999. He was a popular player at Portsmouth, captaining the side and winning the Player of the Year award in his first full season, but the team was not successful. When

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

was appointed manager in 2002, he cleared out most of the old squad and built a new team. While Portsmouth won the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

title, Hiley returned to Exeter in November for his second spell. He was one of the club's better players in the 2002–03 season, but he could not stop the side being relegated from the Football League. He remained with Exeter after relegation and, in 2003, joined the coaching staff. He continued to be a first-team regular until October 2005. During his second spell at Exeter, Hiley played for them in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and became somewhat of a local hero when he nutmegged

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

. In August 2004 he scored his first goal in more than 10 years as Exeter beat

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

2–1. Hiley left the club in February 2006 when his contract was terminated by mutual consent; he had spent over 10 years at

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, ground of Newcastle United F.C. * St James Park (Exeter), England, ground of Exeter City F.C. * St James Park, ground of Brackley Town F.C., ...

in his two spells with the Grecians and had started almost 400 games for the club. In August 2006, he was signed by

after a successful pre-season trial period. He left the club after a year. In September 2008, he signed for Tiverton Town after being brought to Ladysmead by manager Martyn Rogers as cover for what had proven over the 2007 season to be an injury-jinxed right-back spot. He also featured a few times for Cullompton Rangers during the 2008–09 season.

Personal life

After his professional football career ended, Hiley ran a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

Clyst St Mary Clyst St Mary is a small village and civil parish east of Exeter on the main roads to Exmouth and Sidmouth in East Devon. The name comes from the Celtic languages, Celtic word clyst meaning 'clear stream'. The village is a major part of the e ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1989–90 Fourth Division, 1991–92 Third Division, 1992–93 Second Division

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiley, Scott 1968 births Living people Footballers from Plymouth, Devon English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Exeter City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Tiverton Town F.C. players Cullompton Rangers F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players National League (English football) players