Stephen Paul Halford (born 21 September 1980) 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 subsequently managed several non-League clubs. He joined

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, south-east of Oldham and east of Manchester. The town grew ...

in July 2011 from Hyde, where he was also player-manager, before leaving the club in December 2011 and rejoining in January 2012 as player-manager. He has also played for Chester City,

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

and Bury where he 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 ...

Career

Born in

Bury, Greater Manchester Bury (, ) is a market town on the River Irwell in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. which had a population of 81,101 in 2021 while the wider borough had a population of 193,846. The town was originally part of the ...

, he started his career at hometown club Bury where he played 5 games in the

, before joining

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

side Chester City in October 2001. He later joined

and then

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

, helping Droylsden to promotion into the Conference. On 9 December 2008 he scored the winning goal in Droylsden's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

first-round tie with Chesterfield, taking Droylsden into the second round. In September 2010 Halford was released from

after five years at the club making 103 league appearances scoring 6 goals, a brief statement on the website read "we are sad to see Steve leave the club and we thank him for his services". Halford was also rejected following a trial with Notts County in 1993. After his release from

in September 2010 he signed for their local rivals

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 ...

on 1 October 2010. He made his debut in a 3–1 win at

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

on 2 October 2010. He was made captain for the game against Harrogate Town on 6 November 2010 in the absence of the club captain and assistant manager,

Scott McNiven Scott Andrew McNiven (born 27 May 1978) is an English-born Scottish footballer. He started his career at Oldham Athletic in 1995 before moving on to Oxford United in 2002. He jointly managed Hyde with Steve Halford at the end of the 2010–11 s ...

. On 8 January 2011 he scored his first goal for Hyde in a 1–0 win over fellow strugglers

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

, coming from a header from a

Shaun Whalley Shaun James Whalley (born 7 August 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Accrington Stanley. Born in Prescot, Merseyside, Whalley played for Norwich City and Southport as a youth before making his Football ...

corner. On 4 April 2011, he took over as joint player-manager on a caretaker basis at Hyde after the sacking of

Neil Tolson Neil Tolson (born 25 October 1973) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a striker. He later moved onto a coaching career with Hyde, Altrincham and Stalybridge Celtic. Career Born in Dudley, Worcestershire, Tols ...

. Later that month Halford was awarded the Hyde Football Club Player's Player of the Year 2010–11 in his debut season with the ''tigers''. He was replaced as the joint-manager of Hyde before the start of the 2011–12 season by Gary Lowe. After being released by Hyde in June 2011, he joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

outfit

. In January 2012, following the resignation of manager Gareth McClelland, he took over the

rein Reins are used to direct a horse (or other animal) when riding or driving. They are attached to a bridle's bit or noseband and are made of leather, nylon, or other materials. Reins are used to give subtle commands or cues—also known as r ...

s as player-manager at Mossley AFC. On 4 May 2013, Halford guided Mossley to a position in the Evo-Stik Northern League Division One North play-offs following a 3–0 win against Harrogate Railway Athletic. He left the club in December 2011 and rejoined in January 2012 as player-manager. On 19 May 2017, he took over as joint manager at

Glossop North End Glossop North End Association Football Club is a football club in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, which competes in the . The club was founded in February 1886. Between 1899 and 1992 the club was officially known as Glossop. Their current home gr ...

In March 2018 Halford and Phillips became joint managers of

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

. He left Buxton in February 2019.

Personal life

As well as playing for

, Halford works as a

window cleaner Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed and ...

.Granada Reports, 2008-11-27, FA Cup feature including interview with Halford

Honours

Bury *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 1996–97 Accrington Stanley *

: 2002–03 *

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

: 2002–03 Droylsden *

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

: 2006–07 *

Manchester Premier Cup The Manchester Premier Cup (also known as the Frank Hannah Manchester Premier Cup) is an annual English football knockout tournament involving teams from Greater Manchester, England. It is a County Cup competition of the Manchester Football A ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 Individual * Hyde Football Club Player's Player of the Year: 2010–11

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halford, Steve 1980 births Living people Footballers from Bury, Greater Manchester English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Bury F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Hyde United F.C. managers Mossley A.F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. managers Ashton United F.C. managers Stalybridge Celtic F.C. managers Glossop North End A.F.C. managers Buxton F.C. managers English Football League players National League (English football) players English football managers 21st-century English sportsmen