Kevin John Sheldon (born 14 June 1956) 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 le ...

. He had the nickname Bomber. A winger, he made sporadic appearances for

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

between 1975 and 1981, before helping

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

to win promotion out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He featured twice for Crewe Alexandra, before entering the non-League scene in 1984 with

Trowbridge Town Trowbridge Town Football Club is a football club based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. They are currently champions of the and play at The Daykin Estates Ground, Woodmarsh, on the southern edge of the town. History A Trowbridge Town team ...

, Burton Albion, Leek Town and Telford United. In the 2000s he managed Meir KA, Stone Dominoes, and

Leek CSOB Leek County School Old Boys Football Club (usually shortened to Leek CSOB) is a football club based in Leek, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Pointon Park. History The club was formed in 1945 and has been ...

Playing career

Sheldon turned professional at Tony Waddington's

in June 1973, before making his First Division debut in a 1–0 win over

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

at Victoria Ground on 19 April 1976; he went on feature in two further games in the 1975–76 season. He made nine appearances in the 1976–77

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

campaign, but made just one substitute appearances in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1978–79, as the "Potters" won promotion back to the top-flight under

Alan Durban William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...

. Sheldon played once in 1979–80 and 1980–81, before departing for

side

in August 1981. He helped Larry Lloyd's "Latics" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1981–82. At Wigan he had a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell with

beginning in August 1982. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat at Swindon Town on 28 August 1982 and played the next four games before returning to Springfield Park in late September. John McGrath led the "Valiants" to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83. Following his transfer in August 1983, he played twice for Fourth Division Crewe Alexandra in 1983–84, before

Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of the ...

allowed him to move on to the local non-League scene with

, Burton Albion, Leek Town and Telford United.

Management career

Sheldon was invited to help Leek Town

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Paul Ogden in September 2003. He was appointed as manager of

Midland Football Combination The Midland Football Combination was an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprised five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions. The league was one of three official feeder l ...

side Meir KA in August 2005. He was sacked in November 2005, with the chairman Des Reaney citing his "bizarre

managerial style Management consists of the planning, prioritizing, and organizing work efforts to accomplish objectives within a business organization. A management style is the particular way managers go about accomplishing these objectives. It encompasses the wa ...

" as a factor. The next month he took charge at Stone Dominoes – who were in a ground-share agreement with the Meir club. Dominoes finished 21st in the 22 team North West Counties League in 2005–06, before finishing in last place in 2006–07 with just nine points. He left the club "by mutual consent" in November 2007, and took up coaching at

Alsager Town Alsager Town Football Club is a association football, football club, based in Alsager, Cheshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at Wood Park Stadium. Affiliated to the Cheshire County Football Association, they also operate ...

. He later went onto manage

of the North West Counties League in the 2009–10 season, before resigning.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Wigan Athletic *

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. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

third-place promotion: 1981–82 Port Vale *

third-place promotion: 1982–83

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Kevin 1956 births Living people Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Stoke City F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Leek Town F.C. players Telford United F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players North West Counties Football League players English football managers Association football coaches