Nicholas Michael Spooner (born 5 June 1971) is an English football coach and 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 is the manager of

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, formed in 1919. The team's strip is red shirts and black shorts and their home ground is the 4,250 capacity Ewen Fields. Hyde United's record ...

. As a player, he was a defender and

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 ...

who notably played in the

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 Lea ...

for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. He also played 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 ...

with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

and Chester City, in the United States with

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

and in non-league with

Leigh RMI Leigh Genesis Football Club, formerly known as Horwich RMI (Railway Mechanics Institute) and Leigh RMI, is an English amateur association football club that currently plays in the South Lancashire Counties Football League. The semi-professional ...

Radcliffe Borough Radcliffe Football Club (formerly Radcliffe Borough) is an English football club based in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, where they play their home games at Stainton Park. The club was formed on 24 May 1949 and currently plays in the National L ...

and

Playing career

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Spooner played for

, Chester City and

. He joined Bolton Wanderers in 1987 after signing YTS forms. His senior career with the club was marred by injury. In October 1994 he suffered a broken leg in a match against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

following a tackle by John Gayle, and he never played first-team football for the club again. He finally left Bolton in 1999 and moved to the United States, spending a year with Charleston Battery before returning to England to play non-league football for the final years of his playing career, with

, and

in 2003.

Coaching career

Spooner returned to Bolton Wanderers as a youth coach and initially coached the under-8s' team. In November 2011, Spooner was working as the under-16 coach, and in January 2013 he was the club's Head of Youth Development. In September 2016, he was promoted to under-18s' head coach. He left Bolton on 29 January 2021 after 17 years in his coaching roles. On 8 June 2021, he was appointed as the new Youth Team Coach at

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...

. In February 2022, he was appointed as the new manager of

, replacing former

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 ...

and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

manager

Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland but made most of his professional appearanc ...

.https://www.tamesidecorrespondent.co.uk/2022/02/19/former-player-nicky-spooner-named-new-hyde-united-manager/, Former player Nicky Spooner named Hyde United manager, Tameside Correspondent, 19 February 2022

Managerial statistics

References

External links

1971 births Living people English men's footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Charleston Battery players Chester City F.C. players Leigh Genesis F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Manchester English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English football coaches Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff FC Halifax Town non-playing staff Hyde United F.C. managers Radcliffe F.C. players {{England-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub