Gary Shelton (born 21 March 1958) 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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Playing career

Shelton came through the ranks at

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 ...

to become a first-team player, catching the eye of neighbours

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. He made an £80,000 switch to

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 ...

in January 1978 but was to struggle to establish himself at the club. He made no appearances in the 1980–81 championship success and enjoyed just one more league outing before a £50,000 switch to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in March 1982. Shelton spent five years at Hillsborough, helping the club win promotion to the top-flight in 1984 and reach 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 ...

semi-finals two years later. In July 1987 Shelton moved 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 ...

for £150,000, but he was unable to prevent their relegation out of Division One and League Cup semi-final loss to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. Shelton was transferred again in August 1989, when he joined Third Division side

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in a swap deal with future England manager

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...

. His first season ended in promotion and Shelton was to enjoy a brief spell in joint caretaker charge of the club with Mark Aizlewood and

Russell Osman Russell Charles Osman (born 14 February 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back in the Football League for Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Southampton, Bristol City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Cardiff City. ...

in 1992. Shelton started more than 40 league games in three of his five seasons at Ashton Gate but appeared just three times in 1993–94 when he spent time on loan with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. In July 1994 Shelton joined Division Two side Chester City, where he was to remain for six years. He was appointed assistant manager to

Kevin Ratcliffe Kevin Ratcliffe (born 12 November 1960) is a Welsh former professional footballer who spent most of his career playing for Everton. Club career Ratcliffe was born in Mancot, near Queensferry in Flintshire, Wales. He joined Everton as an appre ...

in 1995 but continued to play for the club as he approached his late 30s. His final league appearance for the club was a month before his 40th birthday on 14 February 1998, in a goalless draw at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

. He remained registered as a player but was not involved on the playing side again. Shelton left his role with Chester in June 2000 shortly after they were relegated out of

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 ...

and he took up a coaching role with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

that he held for several years. Gary's eldest son,

Andy Shelton Andrew Marc Shelton (born 19 June 1980) is an English footballer who played in the Football League for Chester City. He is the son of former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Gary Shelton, who was assistant manager at Chester when Andy was part o ...

, played for Chester while Gary was on the coaching staff. Gary's youngest son, Gary Shelton, also played for Bristol Rovers and Chester youth teams before having brief spells at both Altrincham Town and Vauxhall Motors.

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday *

Football League Division Two 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 ...

runners-up: 1983–84. Bristol City *

Football League 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 ...

runners-up: 1989–90.

External links

*
Bristol City managerial details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Gary 1958 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Walsall F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players English football managers Bristol City F.C. managers English Football League players England men's under-21 international footballers Chester City F.C. non-playing staff