Steve Hayward (born 8 September 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder in a sixteen-year career spanning from 1988 to 2004.

Career

Born in

Pelsall Pelsall is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Forming part of the borough's border with Staffordshire, Pelsall is north of Walsall and midway between the towns of Bloxwich and Brow ...

near

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, Hayward began his career with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

and made his League debut in 1990, but found first-team opportunities limited. He joined

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

in 1994 and won two promotions from Division Three and the 1997 Football League Trophy Final during his time at the club before moving to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in 1997. He played a role in Fulham's promotion and run to the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1999. Hayward was signed by

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in January 2001. That

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

he had made one league appearance for Fulham up to that point, which ironically was against Barnsley. Fulham would go on to get promoted to 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 ...

that season in his absence. Hayward scored on his Barnsley debut; a 2–1 defeat at

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 ...

. Injuries hampered his stay at Barnsley and he retired in 2004.

Honours

Carlisle United *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

: 1995–96; third-place promotion: 1996–97 *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

: 1996–97; runner-up: 1994–95 Fulham *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1998–99

References

External links

* * English men's footballers Derby County F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Living people 1971 births People from Pelsall Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall Footballers from Walsall Men's association football midfielders English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub