Neil Jason Shipperley (born 30 October 1974) is an English
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
manager and former professional player who played 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)
** Sm ...
.
He notably played in the
Premier League for
Chelsea,
Southampton,
Crystal Palace,
Nottingham Forest and
Sheffield United as well as featuring 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Watford,
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
,
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
and
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
. He scored the only goal of the
2004 Football League First Division play-off Final for Crystal Palace. He was also capped seven times by the
England U21 team, scoring three goals.
Following retirement he moved into management with non-league clubs
Bedfont,
Walton Casuals and
North Greenford United
North Greenford United Football Club is a football club based in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association.
History
Established in 1944, original ...
.
Playing career
Chelsea
Shipperley got his break in football at the age of 15, when playing for
Spartan League side Brook House in the Middlesex Charity Cup. The tournament's patron, celebrity astrologer
Russell Grant, was friends with
Chelsea chairman
Ken Bates, whose club sent a team to the tournament. Shipperley bettered Chelsea centre-back
Frank Sinclair for strength and pace, and was scouted by the club.
[ An article in '' The Independent'' in January 1994 predicted that Shipperley could become Chelsea's first homegrown star striker since Peter Osgood in the 1960s.][
In the inaugural Premier League season of 1992–93, Shipperley made his professional debut towards the end of the campaign. On 10 April, he came on as a 65th-minute substitute for Robert Fleck in a 1–0 loss at his future club Southampton, and two days later on his first start and first game at ]Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
he scored their last goal in a 4–2 win against Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
.
Southampton and Crystal Palace
Shipperley was signed for Southampton by Alan Ball for a record fee of £1.25 million on 6 January 1995. New manager Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit.
A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
signed Norwegian Egil Østenstad, prompting Shipperley to drop to the First Division by signing for Crystal Palace for a £1 million fee in October 1996. He scored 13 times for the Eagles over the rest of the season as they were promoted via the play-offs, including one on 10 May in a 3–1 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first leg of the semi-finals. In 1997–98, he scored seven times – including five consecutive games from October to December – in a season that ended with relegation.
Nottingham Forest and Barnsley
In September 1998, Shipperley returned to the Premier League by signing for Nottingham Forest for £1.5 million. He scored only once in 21 games as Forest went down, that coming on 13 March 1999 to round off a 3–1 win at his future club Wimbledon.
For 1999–2000, Shipperley signed for First Division club Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
for £700,000.[ He scored 15 times in 46 total games in his first season, including both of a 2–0 home win over South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United on 6 November.] On 13 May 2000, he opened the scoring in a 4–0 win at Birmingham City in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals, though his team would lose 4–2 to Ipswich Town in the final at Wembley.
Wimbledon and return to Palace
Ahead of the 2001–02 season, Shipperley joined Wimbledon for £750,000, and scored on his debut on 11 August to open a 3–1 win over Birmingham. He scored 12 times in his first season with the Dons, including braces in both games against eventual champions Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
(4–0 away and 2–1 home wins). He captained the side, and built a prolific partnership with Irishman David Connolly in 2002–03, the club's final season.
In July 2003, Shipperley returned to Palace on a three-year deal.[ On 29 May 2004 at the ]Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
, he captained the side and scored the only goal of a play-off final
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
win against West Ham United to take the Eagles back to the Premier League.
Later career
After Palace's immediate relegation, Shipperley moved on to Sheffield United on a two-year deal on a free transfer in July 2005. He scored 11 times as the Blades won promotion as runners-up to Reading, including two on 10 December in a 3–0 home win over Burnley.
On 15 January 2007, his contract with Sheffield United was terminated by mutual consent, and he signed a four-month contract with Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
, eight days later. He failed to score in his eleven appearances for Brentford, and on 25 April 2007 announced his retirement from professional football. In June that year, he rejected the chance to play for Wimbledon's successor AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...
, telling the ''Surrey Comet
The ''Surrey Comet'' is a weekly local newspaper covering the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, and surrounding areas. It is now a free sheet but can also be purchased. It was founded in 1854 and is among the oldest Lo ...
'' that he was in the Middle East to coach a club there.
Managerial career
On 20 May 2009, it was announced that Shipperley had become manager of Bedfont in the Combined Counties League. In the summer of 2010, Shipperley was appointed manager of Walton Casuals in the Isthmian League Division One South. In October 2011, after 15 months in the role he re resigned from the role.
On Boxing Day 2011, Shipperley was confirmed as the successor to Steve Ringrose at North Greenford United
North Greenford United Football Club is a football club based in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association.
History
Established in 1944, original ...
a post he held until May 2012 when he resigned to look for management experience at a higher level, though he returned in October 2012 following the sacking of Jon-Barrie Bates. He made an appearance as a player against Leighton Town in the final game of the 2012–13 season.
Shipperley's second spell as manager at North Greenford United came to an end when he resigned in February 2014 following a 4–1 defeat to Dunstable Town
Dunstable Town Football Club is a football club based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated with the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Creasey Park.
History
The club was establ ...
.
Personal life
Shipperley's father was Dave Shipperley
David John Shipperley (12 April 1952 – 21 January 2017) was an English professional footballer. His clubs included Charlton Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, and Gillingham, where he made over 140 Football League appearances. At Gillingham he was na ...
, who played for many years at centre back for Charlton Athletic and Gillingham.
In December 2019, Shipperley was found guilty of public masturbation
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...
and was given a 12-month community order, ordered to complete 120 hours' unpaid work plus costs and compensation. He was also made subject to a five-year sexual offences notification requirement order and told to report to Hayes police station within three days. Shipperley had been receiving counselling for personal issues, including the death of his father and gambling addiction, as well as debts.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipperley, Neil
1974 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Chatham, Kent
Footballers from Kent
English footballers
Association football forwards
Chelsea F.C. players
Watford F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Barnsley F.C. players
Wimbledon F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Brentford F.C. players
North Greenford United F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Isthmian League players
England under-21 international footballers
English football managers
Bedfont F.C. managers
Walton Casuals F.C. managers
North Greenford United F.C. managers
Isthmian League managers
Sportspeople convicted of crimes