Chris Lightfoot (born 1 April 1970) 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 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 ...

for four clubs. He later managed in non-league football. Lightfoot spent much of his career with Chester City, where he came through the youth ranks to make his debut as a 17-year-old on 19 September 1987 in a 1–0 win over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. He scored his first goal in his next appearance against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in November 1987 and ended the season with 17 first team appearances to his name. Lightfoot joined fellow youngsters such as Brian Croft, Robbie Painter and Colin Woodthorpe in emerging from the Chester youth set-up to become first-team regulars during this period. In future seasons Lightfoot was a regular in the Chester side, making more than 30 league appearances in each season until 1993–94. By this point Lightfoot had been converted by

Graham Barrow Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) is an English former footballer who has since become a professional manager in the English game. He is currently working for Wigan Athletic as an assistant manager to Shaun Maloney. Playing career Having previo ...

from a central defender to an attacking midfielder, reflected in his 14 goals as Chester won promotion from

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

. In the summer of 1995 Lightfoot followed Barrow to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

for a tribunal fee of £87,500. However, by March 1996 he was on the move again when he joined

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

. In May 1997 Lightfoot appeared as a substitute as Crewe beat

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in the

Division Two Division II or Division 2 may refer to: Sports * NCAA Division II, an intermediate-level division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association * Division 2 (Swedish football) * Division 2 (Swedish ice hockey), the fourth tier of ice hockey in S ...

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

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 ...

, giving Lightfoot his first chance to play in the second tier in English football. Lightfoot's final taste of league football came during a loan spell with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in the early weeks of the 2000–01 season. At the end of the campaign he left Crewe and joined Conference side

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 ...

, where he played for one season. In 2002, he joined

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

, who he became manager of in October 2003 . He was sacked 12 months later . After spells with

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * Mari ...

and Leek Town, Lightfoot ended his playing days with two appearances for NEWI Cefn Druids.

Honours

;with Crewe Alexandra *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

play-off final winner:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

External links

*
Welsh Premier career details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightfoot, Chris (Footballer) 1970 births English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders English football managers English Football League players Chester City F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Marine A.F.C. players Cefn Druids A.F.C. players Runcorn F.C. Halton players Leek Town F.C. players Runcorn F.C. Halton managers National League (English football) players Cymru Premier players Living people Men's association football utility players Footballers from Warrington