John Sludden (29 December 1964 – 7 May 2021) was a Scottish

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played as a striker for several clubs in the Scottish Football League, and was also manager of

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

in the Lowland League.

Playing career

On 7 June 1980, Sludden played for Scotland versus England at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in the Schoolboy International that was shown live on TV, scoring two goals in the team's 5–4 win, with

Paul McStay Paul Michael Lyons McStay, , nicknamed The Maestro, (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent his entire career with Celtic, making his senior debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997. He captained both Scotland and ...

also scoring two goals and Ally Dick the other goal. England's

Paul Rideout Paul Rideout (born 14 August 1964) is an English former professional footballer and youth team coach of Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City. As a player, he was a striker from 1980 until 2002, notably in the Premier League with Ever ...

scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in the match. Sludden then signed for Celtic on the same day that McStay signed for the

Parkhead Parkhead ( sco, Pairkheid) is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necrop ...

club. Sludden played only once for the first-team in a

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

Final versus Rangers in 1982. Sludden joined Leeds United on trial in May 1983 but failed to secure a contract. Sludden then signed for

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

club St Johnstone before signing for Airdrieonians and

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

. John scored the last ever goal at St Johnstone's Muirton Park before Saints moved to their current McDiarmid Park home, playing for Ayr as they triumphed 1-0 in the ground's final game. Whilst at

Somerset Park Somerset Park is a football stadium located in Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It has been the home of Ayr United since they were founded in 1910. Prior to that, it was the home ground of Ayr, who merged with Ayr Parkhouse to form Ayr United. H ...

under the club's manager

Ally MacLeod Alistair Reid "Ally" MacLeod (26 February 1931 – 1 February 2004) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He is perhaps best known for his time as the Scotland national football team manager, including their appearance at t ...

, Sludden was part of a talented attack-minded team, alongside players such as Henry Templeton. In the 1987–88 season the "Honest Men" won the Second Division Championship as Sludden scored 31 league goals. Sludden then left the South Ayrshire club for

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

rivals Kilmarnock, then later played for East Fife, Clydebank,

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

and Stenhousemuir.

Coaching career

Sludden was appointed

player-manager 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 s ...

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

club Bo'ness United in 1995 and resigned in October 2001. Sludden was later involved in youth development at Celtic. Sludden was then appointed manager of Camelon Juniors in April 2014. On 13 June 2015, Camelon won the Fife and Lothians Cup in a 1–0 win versus Sauchie Juniors before departing Camelon on 7 May 2016. Later that same month, Sludden was confirmed as manager of

, following their relegation to the Lowland League. On 30 August 2018, Sludden was relieved of his position.

Personal life

Sludden had two sons, Marc who played for Stenhousemuir and Paul who played for Falkirk. On 7 May 2021, Sludden died at the age of 56.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sludden, John 1964 births 2021 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Celtic F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Ayr United F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Clyde F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Bo'ness United F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. managers Scottish football managers Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Junior Football Association managers Bo'ness United F.C. managers Camelon Juniors F.C. managers Footballers from Falkirk Lowland Football League managers