Simon Paul Funnell (born 8 August 1974) is an English 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 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) ** Smal ...

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 ...

for

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

Life and career

Funnell was born in 1974 in

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, where he attended King's Manor School. He played youth football for Adur Athletic and was an associate schoolboy with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

before joining

as a trainee in 1990. He made his senior debut in May 1992, in the last match of the season that confirmed Brighton's relegation from 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 ...

. He turned professional soon afterwards, and made 25 appearances in the 1993–94 season, but played rarely thereafter following an injury , and spent time

on loan In sports, a loan involves a particular player being able to temporarily play for a club other than the one to which they are currently contracted. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to a full season, sometimes persisting for multiple seasons ...

Sussex County League The Southern Combination Football League (named Premier Sports Southern Combination Football League) is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and South West London, England. The league consists of e ...

club Shoreham before being released in 1995. Funnell went on to play

non-league football 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 ...

in the Sussex area for clubs including Stamco,

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently co ...

, Southwick, Oakwood and Three Bridges, before moving into coaching and management at non-league level with clubs including East Grinstead Town, Chipstead, Shoreham,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, and Worthing United. He became manager of Copthorne in August 2021, remaining in post until resigning in February 2024. In May 2024 he was appointed manager of

Alfold Alfold is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England on the West Sussex border. Alfold is a dispersed or polyfocal village in the Green Belt, which is buffered from all other settlements. The Greensand Way runs north of the village along ...

of the Southern Combination.

References

1974 births Living people Footballers from Shoreham-by-Sea English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Shoreham F.C. players St. Leonards F.C. players Worthing F.C. players Bognor Regis Town F.C. players Southwick F.C. players Three Bridges F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players English football managers East Grinstead Town F.C. managers Shoreham F.C. managers Worthing United F.C. managers Copthorne F.C. managers Alfold F.C. managers {{England-footy-forward-1970s-stub