Kevin Stanley Brock (born 9 September 1962) 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 ...

who played 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

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 ...

for

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 ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

for England at under-21 and B international level. After his playing career ended, he managed a series of non-league clubs in Oxfordshire, most recently Hellenic League Premier Division club Ardley United.

Playing career

Brock signed professional forms for

in 1979 and spent eight years at the club, scoring 26 goals from 246 League games. He was with Oxford as they rose through the divisions, enjoyed two years in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

with the club, and played in the team who defeated

in the 1986 League Cup Final. Brock holds a special place in Everton's supporters' folklore: in a League Cup tie against Everton at the Manor Ground in January 1984, Brock's back pass was intercepted by

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He most recently served as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United until October 2023. As a player, he is best known for his six season ...

, who scored a late equaliser; Everton won the replay, and this is viewed as the moment when their fortunes began to improve. He was part of the England under-21 team that won the European championships in 1984. In August 1987, fellow First Division club Queens Park Rangers bought him for £260,000. He played 40 League matches scoring two goals in his one-and-a-half-year period at the club. Shortly after leaving

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

to manage

, Jim Smith then paid £300,000 for the

on 8 December 1988 to take him to

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

. In a six-year period, he played 145 matches and scored 15 goals. He was unable to stop them from sliding out of the First Division in 1988–89, but remained a regular player in the Newcastle midfield until the arrival of Robert Lee in the autumn of 1992, meaning that he played little part in Newcastle's promotion-winning side that season and didn't play a single first team game the following season, when Newcastle appeared in the

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

. Brock's most memorable contribution during the promotion campaign came as a deputy goalkeeper. Stepping in for the injured Tommy Wright, he did an admirable job in a 3–2 victory at Birmingham City in November. Far down the pecking order at Newcastle he played in 14 matches scoring two goals while on loan to

in the 1993–94 season. Following his Newcastle release he finished his Football League playing career with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

then playing in the third tier of English football. After leaving the club he had further short-term spells with Conference sides

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

and

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

Managerial career

Brock was sacked as

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of Oxford City after seven months in charge, as the club were relegated from the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division at the end of the 1997–1998 season. He then briefly joined

Banbury United Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium. History The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Sp ...

as a player, and then Bicester Town, before returning to Banbury before the 1999–2000 season as player-manager. In his first season, he led the team to the Hellenic League Premier Division championship, followed by promotion to the

Southern Football League Premier Division The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and ...

four years later. After three seasons at that level, Brock resigned because of budget cuts. He temporarily took an assistant manager role at

Woodford United Woodford United Football Club is a football club based in Woodford Halse, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Byfield Road. History The club was established in 1946. After playing in the Rugby & District ...

, before agreeing to take over as manager of Hellenic League Premier Division club Ardley United from the end of the 2008–09 season, before resigning in early September 2015. His league record at Ardley over his spell in charge of the club was played 286, won 169, drew 45 and lost 72. The team never finished lower than 8th in the table with a best of 2nd in the 2013–14 season, in addition to which they won the Hellenic Premier League Cup twice, the Floodlit Cup once and most memorably the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in the 2013–14 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brock, Kevin Living people 1962 births Sportspeople from Bicester English men's footballers England men's B international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Oxford United F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players Bicester Town F.C. players English football managers Oxford City F.C. managers Banbury United F.C. managers Ardley United F.C. managers English Football League players