Stephen Sherwood (born 10 December 1953) is an English former

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, best remembered for his time at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, Chelsea and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

Career

He played for

for 11 years, making 211 league appearances during Watford's most successful years under Graham Taylor and was in goal for the team when they lost 2–0 to Everton in the 1984 FA Cup final. He is one of the few goalkeepers to score a goal, against Coventry in 1984. His opposite number that day was Raddy Avramovic. He started his career at Chelsea, breaking into the first team and making just 16 appearances between 1971 and 1976. At the end of the second of two

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

spells with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, he became the first ever loan player to go through a season as an ever-present in league matches, playing 46 matches in 1974–75, a season in which he was also voted the club's Supporters' Player of the Year. After Watford he played for

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

and made an exit from league football in 1994 at the age of 40, moving on to

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

before retiring in 1998 with

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

Personal life

His older brother is John Sherwood, a bronze medallist for hurdles at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He is now a financial adviser in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Honours

* Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 1974–75

References

External links

Blind, Stupid and Desperate - Watford FC site - Tributes - Steve Sherwood
1953 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers English Football League players Chelsea F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Watford F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Connecticut Bicentennials players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Lincoln City F.C. players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Sportspeople from Selby Footballers from North Yorkshire {{England-footy-goalkeeper-1950s-stub