Ian Tracey Benjamin (born 11 December 1961) 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 made nearly 500 appearances 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 ...

between 1979 and 1994, playing primarily as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

Benjamin joined

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

as a youngster and then made a move to

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 ...

for £100,000. Whilst a West Bromwich Albion player he played in a benefit match for Len Cantello, that saw a team of white players play against a team of black players. He struggled in his early days and it was not until he joined

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 ...

that he became a first team regular. He then joined the Cobblers, and after a spell in

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

, he moved up

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...

and won the player of the year award. He fitted in well with

Graham Carr William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town. Club career Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, North ...

's side, but he later lost his place as the manager believed he had better options available for Northampton. Benjamin later joined a number of clubs. He helped

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

to promotion and scored against Bury, but was with

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 ...

when they were relegated. In 1996 he dropped into non-League, signing for Chelmsford City and later

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...

. His first managerial job was at Corby Town in the late 1990s. He then managed Warboys Town, while working part-time for the

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

postal service, before joining

Soham Town Rangers Soham Town Rangers Football Club is an English football club based in Soham, Cambridgeshire. The club are currently members of the and play at Julius Martin Lane. History The club was established in 1947 by a merger of Soham Town and Soham Ra ...

as a player, later becoming joint manager in May 2001. In January 2002 Benjamin was appointed manager of Wisbech Town.Meet the Fenmen
Fenmen Online He returned to

at the start of the 2005–06 season and led the club to their first

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

title in 2007–08, earning promotion to the Southern League. He left Soham in 2011, after which he worked as a youth coach for

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

and for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

as a scout. In June 2015 he was appointed manager of Yaxley, with Andy Furnell as his assistant.Ex-Posh strikers take over at Yaxley
Peterborough Today, 9 June 2015 However, on 31 March 2016 Benjamin resigned as Yaxley manager, stating 'I didn't feel all the committee were behind me'. In June 2016 he became manager of Stewarts & Lloyds Corby, where he remained in post until resigning in December 2017.S&L on the hunt for a new boss as Benjamin steps down
Northants Telegraph, 21 December 2017

Honours

Northampton Town * Player of the Season: 1986-87

References

External links

*
Cobblers Greats Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Ian 1961 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English Football League players English men's footballers Sheffield United F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players Soham Town Rangers F.C. players England men's youth international footballers Notts County F.C. players Black British sportsmen 20th-century English sportsmen English football managers Warboys Town F.C. managers Wisbech Town F.C. managers Corby Town F.C. managers Soham Town Rangers F.C. managers Yaxley F.C. managers Stewarts & Lloyds Corby A.F.C. managers Men's association football forwards Northampton Town F.C. non-playing staff Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff English football coaches English football scouts