Clive Middlemass (25 August 1944 – 4 July 2022) 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 ...

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 ...

Playing career

As a player, Middlemass made 169 appearances in

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

as a defender for

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

before a near fatal car crash ended his career. Middlemass had gone to see his parents in Sheffield (with his wife and son) to inform them about a possible transfer to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

. However, on the way home his car was hit by a lorry near Bradford. After nearly a year out of the game, Middlemass returned to the side at Workington (then in the 3rd tier), but after a few appearances he realised his injuries had been too severe, and retired from professional playing.

Coaching and management career

Middlemass started his career away from playing as assistant to Terry Cooper at

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

(1980), and then

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

(1982). After leaving Carlisle United (1987–1991), Middlemass had a brief stint as first team coach at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

(1991), before becoming assistant to Jimmy Mullen at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

(1992). After Jimmy Mullen left in 1996, Middlemass briefly took over as caretaker manager, before becoming assistant manager to

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He currently serves as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is best known for his six seasons at Everton, where ...

and then chief scout under

Chris Waddle Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He currently works as a commentator. Nicknamed "Magic Chris", football journalist Luke Ginnell wrote that Waddle was "widely ack ...

. In 1998, he joined

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

as chief scout to

David Moyes David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...

, and remained for the tenures of Craig Brown and

Billy Davies William McIntosh Davies (born 31 May 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager. He won the 2007 Play-offs with Derby County, finished as runners-up in 2005 with Preston North End, and reached the semi-finals in 2006 (Pres ...

. In 2006, he left as part of Billy Davies' back-room team to take over as chief scout at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. In 2010, he hooked up again with David Moyes (a centre-half during Middlemass' days at Bristol City) as opposition scout at Everton. In his only role as a manager, Middlemass took over at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

in November 1987, converting a club that had suffered consecutive relegations from the Second to the Fourth Division, to one that narrowly failed to reach the

promotion play-offs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

on goal-difference in 1990. During this season, where Carlisle United had led the division for several weeks, he was complimented by the national press on the way he played an attractive style of football with three at the back. A good FA Cup run also saw them drawn against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, which ended in a 3–0 defeat in front of nearly 20,000 at Brunton Park. However, two broken legs to key players, and a run of four consecutive away matches to London (in a two weeks) towards the end of the season took their toll. The following season the side failed to kick on, and Middlemass left the club in March 1991.

References

External links

League stats
at Neil Brown's site {{DEFAULTSORT:Middlemass, Clive 1944 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Leeds English footballers Men's association football defenders Workington A.F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Carlisle United F.C. managers Burnley F.C. managers English Football League managers Football managers from Leeds Darlington F.C. non-playing staff Burnley F.C. non-playing staff Leeds United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Bristol City F.C. non-playing staff Preston North End F.C. non-playing staff Derby County F.C. non-playing staff Everton F.C. non-playing staff