Stephen Alan Spooner (born 25 January 1961) is an English footballer who played as a central midfielder. He was the interim manager of

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in 2024. Spooner began his professional 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 ...

but got his breakthrough with Halifax Town, where in the 1982–83 season he was a key player in midfield in Halifax's highest league finish of the decade (11th). He then moved to Chesterfield where he won promotion in 1985, and then on to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

before finishing his League career at Chesterfield. He then later went into non-league football and has since worked as a coach in numerous roles. Currently Spooner is the lead Professional Development Coach with

and was appointed in temporary charge of the first-team alongside

Craig Gardner Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player who made 260 appearances in the Premier League and a further 67 in the Championship. He joined the coaching staff at Birmingham City in January 20 ...

on 9 July 2020 following the departure of

Pep Clotet Josep "Pep" Clotet Ruiz (born 28 April 1977) is a Spanish Association football, football coach. As well as working as assistant at several clubs, he managed UE Cornellà, Cornellà, UE Figueres, Figueres, RCD Espanyol B, Espanyol B, Halmstads B ...

. Spooner also took charge of one match in January 2024 after the dismissal of manager

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

. Spooner is a Christian.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1989–90 Fourth Division

References

External links

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Profile
1961 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Sutton People from Sutton, London English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Derby County F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players York City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Birmingham City F.C. non-playing staff Birmingham City F.C. managers English Christians {{England-footy-midfielder-1960s-stub