John Ridley (27 April 1952 – 3 May 2020) was an English

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 ...

. A versatile player able to play as a defender or

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 ...

, he had a twelve-year professional career in the

English 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 ...

, playing for Port Vale and Chesterfield, as well as

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He also played for

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

Stafford Rangers and the American side

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

. He was voted Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year in 1975–76, won the

Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format ...

with Chesterfield in 1981, and helped Port Vale to win

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out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83. Qualifying as a teacher before he began his football career, he returned to the education profession once he retired.

Early and later life

John Ridley was born in

Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...

on 27 April 1952. His father was a miner and moved the family to

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

in 1963. He attended Wolstanton Grammar School. He played for

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

and other English Universities, as he earned his degree and qualified as a teacher. After finishing his playing career, Ridley went on to coach at Stafford Rangers,

Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was esta ...

and Newcastle Town. He carried on playing amateur football long after leaving Port Vale and won the Sentinel Sunday Cup at age 48. He also went on to teach maths at various schools, spending many years at James Brindley High School in Chell.

Career

Port Vale

Ridley signed professional forms with Port Vale in July 1973, having previously been at the club on youth terms. He came through to the professional ranks at the same time as David Harris, who would also become a key player for the "Valiants". Ridley played ten Third Division games in 1973–74. He scored his first goal in senior football in a 3–1 win over

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 27 April 1974. He established himself in the first team as a

under

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Roy Sproson by March 1975 and played 19 games of the 1974–75 campaign. He was an ever-present for the 1975–76 season, playing 52 games and finding the net against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

. His performances earned him the

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

award at the end of the season. He played a further 45 games in 1976–77, scoring once against

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 ...

. He formed a solid centre-back partnership with David Harris. He was linked with a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

away from the club but suffered a loss of form and an injury at a crucial time. Ridley played 47 games of the 1977–78 season and found the net in a 5–2 demolition of

Arnold in 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 ...

First Round. However, Vale suffered

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

into the Fourth Division at the end of the season under Bobby Smith. In May 1978 he was

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

ed to American side

, who were competing in the now defunct

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Strikers finished third in their four-team East Division, though he returned early in August after suffering from illness. Strikers went on to reach the Conference finals, losing a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

to the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. He played 22 games in the United States, scoring one goal and claiming one assist. He played seven games for Vale at the start of the 1978–79, before he was sold to

for a then club-record £55,000 fee in October 1978.

Leicester City

The "Foxes" were then a Second Division side, and avoided relegation by three points in 1978–79. A Frank McLintock signing, when

Jock Wallace John Martin Bokas Wallace (6 September 1935 – 24 July 1996) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Wallace played as a goalkeeper, and has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Sco ...

took over as manager Ridley's days at

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

were numbered. He played 24 league games as a defensive midfielder for Leicester before he was sold to Chesterfield for a £35,000 fee in August 1979.

Chesterfield

He was used in defence at Chesterfield by manager Arthur Cox. He formed an impressive centre-back partnership with Bill Green. Chesterfield missed out on

from the Third Division in 1979–80 after finishing one point behind

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 ...

. The "Spireites" went close again 1980–81, finishing three points behind promotion winners

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and Charlton Athletic. They also won the last-ever instalment of the

following a 2–1 win over

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. Chesterfield then posted a disappointing eleventh-place finish in 1981–82. Ridley returned to Port Vale in July 1982 amid a financial crisis at Chesterfield that meant the club could not pay him the £10,000 signing-on fee that would be owed if he were to sign a new contract with them. He joined the Vale on a non-

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

basis to continue his day job as a teacher.

Return to Port Vale

Ridley switched between defence and midfield as he played 44 games in 1982–83, as Vale won promotion out of the Fourth Division in third place under the management of John McGrath. He also found the net in games at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

, and

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 ...

. However, Vale failed to retain their third-tier status in 1983–84; Ridley scored against Newport County and Southend United as he made 35 appearances. He played in a centre-back partnership with Phil Sproson, taking the place of Sproson's partner from Ridley's first spell – Graham Hawkins, who was now retired. He played 51 games under John Rudge in the 1984–85 campaign. At the end of the season, he joined Stafford Rangers in a player-

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

capacity for a fee that was settled at £700 following a tribunal. Rangers were promoted to the

Alliance Premier League The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League ...

for the 1985–86 season and also won the

Conference League Cup The National League Cup is an annual association football competition in England. The National League Cup is open to clubs playing in the National League and, since its revival in 2024, professional under-21 teams playing in the Premier League 2. ...

and

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

. He later played for Matlock Town, Newcastle Town, Eastwood Hanley, Silverdale Athletic and Rists United, before retiring in 1992.

Style of play

The Chesterfield F.C. website described Ridley as "a powerful, dominating type, honevertheless had a calming influence and elegant touch to his play." Jeff Kent described him as "tall and elegant".

Career statistics

Source:Profile
nasl-jerseys.com

Honours

Individual * Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year: 1976 Chesterfield *

: 1981 Port Vale *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

third-place promotion: 1982–83 Stafford Rangers *

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

: 1984–85 *

: 1986 *

: 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, John Footballers from Consett Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Alumni of the University of Sheffield Port Vale F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Leicester City F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Matlock Town F.C. players Newcastle Town F.C. players Eastwood Hanley F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players National League (English football) players English football coaches Schoolteachers from County Durham British mathematics educators 1952 births 2020 deaths