Adam Stansfield
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Adam Stansfield (10 September 1978 – 10 August 2010) was an English 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 striker. He competed professionally for Yeovil Town,
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 ...
and
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 ...
, and won promotion from the
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
to
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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
with all three teams. Having played for three counties as a child, Stansfield began his career in
non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
with Cullompton Rangers and Elmore, and had unsuccessful trials at league teams. At the age of 23, he signed his first professional contract with Yeovil Town, after impressing their manager
Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...
in a match against them. In his first season, he helped them win the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
, scoring in the 2002 final. The following season, Yeovil won the Conference and promotion into The Football League, although Stansfield was ruled out with a broken leg in the first game. In 2004, he transferred to Hereford United, where he won promotion to The Football League via the 2006 play-offs, and repeated the feat with Exeter City two years later. He also helped Exeter earn promotion into League One in 2009. At international level, Stansfield played five matches and scored one goal for England's national semi-professional team, winning the 2005 Four Nations Tournament. Stansfield was diagnosed with
colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...
in April 2010. He returned to training after surgery and
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
, but died on 10 August that year. A foundation in his name was posthumously set up by his family to provide sporting opportunities and raise awareness of colorectal cancer. He has posthumously been featured on a Flybe airliner livery and a
local currency In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
banknote in
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
.


Early and personal life

Stansfield was born in
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
,
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 ...
, as the third of four children, and supported
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
. On 2 June 2001 he married Marie, with whom he had three sons. By the 2019–20 season, his son
Jay Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...
was scoring regularly for Fulham's Under 18 team, and in 2022 joined Exeter on loan from the Craven Cottage side, wearing number 9, the shirt number synonymous with his father's legacy at the club. He made his debut as a substitute during Exeter's 1–0 victory over MK Dons. Devon journalist Gary Andrews remembered Stansfield senior as a man who would spend time with his family after matches while speaking to fans and the press. He wrote that "I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam on a regular basis... I say pleasure, because his answers were thoughtful and intelligent and he came across as a man who was delighted to be back home with his friends and family."


Career


Early career

Stansfield's first club was Evesham Colts under-10s. He played at county level for Worcestershire, Leicestershire and Devon. When his family settled back in Devon he joined Twyford Spartans, scoring 84 goals in 54 matches. He played in Tiverton Town's youth team as a
left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...
before reverting to being a striker at his first senior club,
non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
side Cullompton Rangers. He later moved to Elmore, where he attracted trials from
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 ...
,
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
and
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
, all of which were unsuccessful. His siblings joined the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and he thought of joining them, but continued searching for a breakthrough in professional football.


Yeovil Town

In October 2001, Stansfield's performances for Elmore impressed Yeovil Town manager
Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...
to sign him. He made his debut in the
Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
on 9 November, playing the entirety of a 3–0 loss away to
Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
. His first goal came on 1 December, concluding a 3–1 victory at
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 ...
. His first season at
Huish Park Huish Park is a Association football, football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish Athletic Ground, Huish. Huish Park has ...
was a success, finishing as the top scorer with 16 goals, eight of which came in the club's victorious
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
run. He scored twice in a fourth round replay at
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
, as Yeovil came from 0–3 down for an eventual 5–4 victory. In the final on 12 May he scored the second goal of a 2–0 win over
Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...
at the
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
, Birmingham. On the first day of the following season, Stansfield was substituted through injury after 16 minutes of an eventual 2–2 home draw with Gravesend & Northfleet to be replaced by Abdoulai Demba. It was later confirmed to be a break of the
tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...
and
fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...
. He missed the remainder of the season, in which Yeovil won the Conference to be promoted to
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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
for the first time. He recovered to feature in the next campaign, making his league debut on 16 August 2003. In that match, Yeovil's first in The Football League, he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Kirk Jackson in a 3–0 win against
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...
. His first of six goals in the Third Division season came on 6 September, opening a 2–0 home win over
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...
. He was given a rare start in that match as first-choice forward Kevin Gall was away with Wales under-21.


Hereford United

On 14 June 2004, Stansfield returned to the Conference with
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 ...
, signed by
Graham Turner Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is fourth behind only Alex Ferguson, Neil Warnock and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games man ...
to replace their previous season's top scorer Steve Guinan, who had been sold to
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...
. He scored 20 goals across the season, including two on 25 March 2005 in a 6–0 win at Farnborough Town. In that match, he came on in the 77th minute for Daniel Carey-Bertram, who had also scored two. Hereford reached the promotion play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Stevenage. In the following season they won promotion by the play-offs, with Stansfield starting in the final on 20 May 2006 at the
Walkers Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attentio ...
in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, a 3–2 extra-time victory over Halifax Town.


Exeter City

On 12 June 2006, with his contract expired, Stansfield decided to remain in the Conference, joining Exeter City. He told local radio that his aim was not to achieve promotion or reach a certain tally of goals, but to influence the club's younger players. He scored nine times in 40 league games in his first season, including two in a 2–1 home win over relegated Southport on 28 April 2007 in order to seal a play-off place. Eleven days later, in the second leg of the play-off semi-final away to
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
, he scored a goal which took the match to extra time and eventually a
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
which his side won. In the final on 20 May at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
, he came on as a 36th-minute substitute for goalscorer Lee Phillips in a 1–2 loss to
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...
. On 26 April 2008, Stansfield scored in Exeter's 4–4 draw at Burton Albion which qualified them for that season's play-offs. He started in the final, whereby the team returned to The Football League for the first time in five years with a 1–0 Wembley win over
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
. He scored 10 goals in 37 league games as they won a second consecutive promotion into League One in the 2008–09 season. This included consecutive braces on 27 September and 4 October, in wins over Macclesfield Town (4–1 away) and Gillingham (3–0 home). The following campaign, despite never having previously played at as high a level, he was a regular starter for Exeter in League One, scoring eight goals in a season curtailed by his cancer diagnosis.


International career

Stansfield earned five
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
and scored one goal for the England national semi-professional team. He featured in the 2002 edition of the Four Nations Tournament, and made his debut in England's opening match, a 1–1 draw with
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
at York Street in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
on 14 May. Stansfield was injured in the first half of the last match, a 2–0 win against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
at Rockingham Road in
Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...
on 18 May, while Wales won the title. In 2005, while back in the Conference with Hereford, he was again called up for the tournament by manager
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 ...
. Stansfield played in two matches as England won the tournament with three wins.


Illness and death

Stansfield suffered from persistent abdominal pain in the early part of 2010, and was admitted to hospital for tests at the end of March. On 8 April 2010, Exeter City confirmed to the media that he had been diagnosed with
colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...
. Manager
Paul Tisdale Paul Robert Tisdale (born 14 January 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player. He is currently Head of Football Operations at Celtic. As a player, Tisdale represented Southampton, Bristol City, FinnPa, Panionios and ...
told local news programme '' BBC Spotlight'' that "there's little good on this subject... but if there's someone who can deal with it and meet it head on with real purpose, Adam's the man". Later that month, Stansfield underwent surgery to remove part of his colon. Club vice-chairman Julian Tagg reported that the operation was successful, and that Stansfield appeared happy and was making jokes. He joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre-season training in July, appearing weak from
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August in
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
, with his death being announced shortly after Exeter's loss to Ipswich Town in the League Cup. As a mark of respect, Dagenham & Redbridge postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them at Victoria Road four days after his death. Exeter retired his shirt number 9 for nine seasons. His son, Jay Stansfield, wore the number 9 shirt for Exeter City, when he was on loan from Fulham in the 2022–23 season. Stansfield's body was taken from St James Park to his funeral service at
Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...
on 25 August, attended by more than 1,000 mourners. A private family service was held later.


Posthumous recognition

At his funeral, Stansfield's widow Marie had an idea to set up the Adam Stansfield Foundation, which by the fourth anniversary of his death had raised over £150,000. It works in offering children football in Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire, the three counties in which he played professionally, as well as increasing opportunities for the disabled to take part in the sport. The foundation also aims to increase awareness of bowel cancer. Stansfield continues to be remembered by fans of his former teams. On 9 August 2014, as Exeter started the new season against
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 ...
, a giant flag resembling his club shirt was displayed by the crowd.
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
, the phoenix club of Hereford United, gave a minute's applause to Stansfield in the ninth minute – his number for the Bulls — in the 2016 FA Vase Final. Exeter and Yeovil agreed that on their meeting at St James Park on 8 August 2015, there would be a minute's applause in the seventh minute and ninth, for the numbers he wore at each club. Earlier the same day, there was also a match between the two clubs' supporters in
Topsham, Devon Topsham (, also ) is a town in Devon, England, located on the east side of the River Exe, immediately north of its confluence with the River Clyst and the former's estuary, between Exeter and Exmouth, Devon, Exmouth. Topsham is a historic port ...
, to raise funds for his foundation. In March 2011, Elmore named their new stand at Horsdon Park after Stansfield, ahead of a game against Hengrove Athletic. The match attracted over 100 fans, ahead of a usual average of 35. From 2011 to 2015, an aeroplane belonging to Flybe bore an image of Stansfield, with other aeroplanes belonging to the company featuring such former footballers as
George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...
and
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...
. In 2015, Stansfield was featured on £5
Exeter Pound The Exeter pound (£E) was a form of local complementary currency, or community currency launched in Exeter, UK on 1 September 2015. Its objective was to ensure more money was spent with local and independent businesses. It was one of the man ...
notes in the city. In recognition of his achievements at Exeter City, Stansfield was in 2017 inducted into the Exeter City Hall of Fame alongside Sidney Thomas, Graham Rees and Peter Hatch. In 2018 Exeter City named their new stand the Stagecoach Adam Stansfield Stand. His passing and legacy is referenced in the Minnie Birch song ''Show Me the Way to Go Home''.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ofJ9i3Kdn4&pp=ygUdbWlubmllIGJpcmNoIHNob3cgbWUgdGhlIHdheSA%3D


Career statistics


Honours

Yeovil Town *
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
: 2001–02 *
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
: 2002–03 Hereford United *
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
play-offs:
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Exeter City *
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
play-offs:
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
England semi-professional * Four Nations Tournament: 2005


References


External links


Adam Stansfield Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stansfield, Adam 1978 births Footballers from Plymouth, Devon 2010 deaths Deaths from colorectal cancer in England English men's footballers Footballers from Devon England men's semi-pro international footballers Men's association football forwards Cullompton Rangers F.C. players Elmore F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen