Derek Jeffries (born 22 March 1951 in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester City Centre, city centre, bounded by Ardwick and Gorton, West Gorton to the north and east; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park, Man ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England) is an English former

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 ...

. He played for

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 ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. He played mainly as a central defender, but also operated in midfield.

Career

He played for

between 1968 and 1973. In the 1968–69 season he played no games. In the 1969–70 season he made his debut for City, playing seven games. In the 1970–71 season he made 19 appearances. In the 1971–72 season he played 12 games. He played as a substitute as City won the

1972 FA Charity Shield The 1972 FA Charity Shield was contested between Manchester City and Aston Villa. Normally, the Charity Shield would have been contested by the First Division champions and FA Cup holders, who were Derby County and Leeds United respectively, but ...

. In the

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

he played 34 games. In 1973, he transferred to

, where he remained for four years apart from time on loan at

and

. In the summer of 1977, Jeffries joined

, who were managed by his former Manchester City teammate

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. Oakes is a midfielder who, in total, played 776 matches in the Football League – the tenth-most in history ...

. In his first season, Jeffries helped them finish fifth in

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 ...

(now League One), their highest position in the last 60 years. Jeffries would be voted the club's player of the season in 1978-79 and was part of the side that reached the fifth round of 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 ...

the following season (equalling the club's best run). He left Chester on a free transfer in 1981 and drifted out of professional football, joining Telford United.

Honours

* Crystal Palace F.C. Player of the Year: 1974–75 * Chester City F.C. Player of the Year: 1978–79

References

External links

Sporting heroes Derek Jeffries at Man City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Derek 1951 births Living people People from Longsight English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football central defenders Manchester City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players