John Sheridan (footballer)

John Joseph Sheridan (born 1 October 1964) is an Irish former football player and current manager who manages Swindon Town.

For other people named John Sheridan, see John Sheridan (disambiguation).

John Sheridan
Sheridan pictured in 2010
Personal information
Full name John Joseph Sheridan[1]
Date of birth (1964-10-01) 1 October 1964[2]
Place of birth Stretford,[2] England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Swindon Town (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1982 Manchester City 0 (0)
1982–1989 Leeds United 230 (47)
1989 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
1989–1996 Sheffield Wednesday 199 (25)
1996 → Birmingham City (loan) 2 (0)
1996 → Bolton Wanderers (loan) 6 (3)
1996–1998 Bolton Wanderers 33 (0)
1998 Doncaster Rovers 7 (0)
1998–2004 Oldham Athletic 144 (14)
Total 621 (89)
National team
1985–1987 Republic of Ireland U21 2 (0)
1988–1995 Republic of Ireland 34 (5)
1994 Republic of Ireland B 1 (0)
Teams managed
2001 Oldham Athletic (co-caretaker)
2003–2004 Oldham Athletic (caretaker)
2006–2009 Oldham Athletic
2009–2012 Chesterfield
2013–2015 Plymouth Argyle
2015–2016 Newport County
2016 Oldham Athletic
2016–2017 Notts County
2017 Oldham Athletic
2018 Fleetwood Town
2018–2019 Carlisle United
2019–2020 Chesterfield
2020 Waterford
2020 Wigan Athletic
2020– Swindon Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A midfielder, he began his playing career with Manchester City and then moved to Leeds United, where he scored 47 league goals in 230 appearances. He played for Nottingham Forest briefly, under the management of Brian Clough, and then joined Sheffield Wednesday, for whom he scored the winning goal in the 1991 Football League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Near the end of his time with the club, he played for Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers on loan before joining the latter permanently. Sheridan made 199 league appearances for Wednesday and scored 25 goals. He won the First Division title with Bolton in 1997. Sheridan then played for Doncaster Rovers after leaving Bolton and then joined Oldham Athletic, where he spent the last six years of his playing career, scoring 14 league goals in 144 appearances.

He played international football for the Republic of Ireland, for whom he won 34 caps and scored five goals over a seven-year period. Having been included in the Republic's squad for UEFA Euro 1988, Sheridan went on to play one game at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and four in the 1994 tournament.

He became Oldham's manager in 2006, having served as caretaker twice during his time as an Oldham player. Sheridan left the club in 2009, having spent more than ten years there as a player, coach and manager. He joined Chesterfield later that year, where he achieved success in league and cup competition. Sheridan was next Plymouth Argyle manager from 2013 to 2015, and then had a succession of short-lived managerial positions, including spells at Newport County, Oldham (twice more), Notts County, Fleetwood Town, Carlisle United, Chesterfield (again), Waterford, Wigan Athletic and currently Swindon Town

Playing career

Club career

Born in Stretford, Lancashire, in 1964, Sheridan joined Manchester City in 1981, but never played for the first team, before moving to Leeds United in July 1982. He made his debut for Leeds in the Football League Second Division on 20 November 1982 in a goalless home draw with Middlesbrough. He appeared 27 times in the league that season, scoring twice. He was rarely out of the side at Elland Road, and was a hugely popular player with the fans. His best season with the club was the 1986–87 season, when Leeds reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and finished fourth in the Second Division—their highest finish since relegation from the First Division in 1982. He scored 15 goals in the league, but Leeds were beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by eventual winners Coventry City and lost the Second Division promotion/First Division relegation playoff final to Charlton Athletic, and therefore stayed in the Second Division.

However, he remained loyal to the club until 3 August 1989, when after seven years in the Leeds first team (during which he played 230 league games and scored 47 goals) he fell out with manager Howard Wilkinson (who succeeded Billy Bremner the previous autumn) and joined First Division club Nottingham Forest for £650,000.[4]

He made only one appearance for Forest (in a League Cup tie against Huddersfield) before joining Sheffield Wednesday on 3 November 1989. It was with Sheffield Wednesday that Sheridan played arguably the best football of his career, scoring 33 goals in 243 appearances. Sheridan scored a "rocket" goal in Wednesday's 1–0 win over Manchester United in the 1991 Football League Cup Final. He also helped Sheffield Wednesday win promotion that season, while they were managed by Ron Atkinson. Atkinson then departed to Aston Villa in June 1991 and veteran player Trevor Francis took over as manager. Sheridan remained a key part of the team under Francis, helping them finish third in the league in 1992, reach both domestic cup finals in 1993 (where they were beaten 2–1 by Arsenal in both finals) and also reached the League Cup semi-finals in the 1993–94 season.

However, Francis was sacked at the end of the 1994–95 season and new manager David Pleat picked Sheridan less often than Atkinson and Francis had. He played just 17 times in the 1995–96 campaign, and made his final two appearances for Sheffield Wednesday early in the 1996–97 season.

Sheridan himself says that he supported Manchester City despite growing up in Stretford, on the doorstep of Manchester United.[5]

He was loaned to Birmingham City for a four-match spell in the autumn of 1996 (where he once again played under Trevor Francis) before finally exiting Hillsborough on 13 November 1996 in a £180,000 move to Division One leaders Bolton Wanderers.[6]

He played 20 times for the Trotters in the 1996–97 season and scored twice as they were promoted to the FA Premier League as Division One champions with 100 goals and 98 points. He played 12 times in the 1997–98 season, as his side were relegated on the last day of the season.

He then made a surprise move to Doncaster Rovers, the crisis-ridden club who had just been relegated from the Football League to the Football Conference. He made eight appearances in the 1998–99 before making a Football League comeback with Division Two side Oldham Athletic, where he would remain for the rest of his playing career. Over six seasons in Division Two, he played 114 games and scored 14 league goals as Latics managed to avoid falling into Division Three but never quite made it to Division One, the closest they came being a playoff semi-final defeat in the 2002–03 season. Sheridan finally retired at the end of the 2003–04 season, a few months short of his 40th birthday.

International career

Sheridan played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team that qualified for the 1982 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship. In the finals he scored against Austria.

In the 1983 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship he scored the winner against Belgium.

Sheridan also won 34 caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring five times. He also scored the 100th Irish international goal at Lansdowne Road in 1994 against Bolivia.[7]

Sheridan was part of the squad that travelled to UEFA Euro 1988 but didn't feature in any of Ireland's three games. Sheridan was also part of Ireland's squads for the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He played just one game as a substitute in 1990 but started in all 4 matches in 1994 including a 1–0 win over Italy in the opening game in which Sheridan hit the bar. Ireland won thanks to a goal from Ray Houghton.

In qualifying Sheridan scored one goal against Spain,[8] but as a result of goal difference this was actually an important goal despite Ireland losing 3–1. Had Ireland lost 3–0 they wouldn't have qualified.

Managerial career

Oldham Athletic

Following the departure of Iain Dowie to Crystal Palace in late 2003, Sheridan took over the coaching of the Oldham first team, along with fellow-veteran David Eyres, before they were both replaced by Brian Talbot. On 1 June 2006, Talbot's successor, Ronnie Moore, was himself sacked and Sheridan stepped in to fill in the manager's position on a permanent basis.[9]

On 7 December 2006, Sheridan was named Football League One Manager of the Month.[10] He guided Oldham to sixth place in League One in 2006–07, and their promotion challenge was ended in the play-off semi-finals by eventual winners Blackpool.[11]

They finished eighth the following season, but had made a far more convincing bid for promotion during the 2008–09 season. On 9 March 2009, reports surfaced of a fight involving players and Sheridan at a racetrack,[12] which Sheridan described as being "overblown".[13] Sheridan remained with the club for the next game, a 6–2 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons.[14] The following day, Sheridan agreed to leave the club after a discussion with Oldham managing director Simon Corney.[15] He was immediately replaced with former Oldham manager Joe Royle.[16] Sheridan later admitted that a series of poor results had led to his departure from Oldham.[17]

Chesterfield

On 9 June 2009, Sheridan was named as manager of Chesterfield in League Two. Signing a three-year contract with the club, he brought assistant Tommy Wright and goalkeeper Mark Crossley along with him.[18]

Sheridan's second season with the club saw him bringing in his own players, and on 22 April 2011 a draw between Torquay United and Wycombe Wanderers meant Chesterfield were promoted without even kicking a ball in League Two.[19] On 7 May 2011, Chesterfield were confirmed as champions of League Two after a 3–1 victory over play-off contenders Gillingham in their last match of the season.[20] Sheridan's side won the Football League Trophy the following season but the club's league campaign ended in relegation back to League Two.[21]

On 28 August 2012, it was announced that Sheridan had been relieved of his duties after the team gained two points from the opening three league games of the 2012–13 season.[21] After five weeks on gardening leave, a club statement on 3 October announced that Sheridan had resigned with effect from 18 September 2012.[22]

Plymouth Argyle

Sheridan was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle on 6 January 2013.[23][24] "There have been one or two other jobs while I've been out of work that I didn't go for. But as soon as Plymouth came up, a lot of people told me how good it is," said Sheridan, who signed a contract until the end of the 2012–13 season.[25][26] "I have been in Yorkshire for the majority of my career and it's a change for me. It's a big upheaval for me to come to Plymouth, but I'm really excited."[27] He was named Football League Two Manager of the Month for March after Argyle won four and drew one of their six matches.[28][29] By the end of the season, the club had won eight and drawn four of Sheridan's 19 games in charge and avoided relegation from the Football League.[30][31] Sheridan signed a new three-year contract with the club in May.[32] "Obviously, now the hard work starts. I keep saying it – I'm ready to get this club pushed up the league and that's what I am going to try to do," he said.[33]

Sheridan improved the fortunes of Plymouth Argyle in 2013/14, leading the club to a 10th-placed finish in League 2,[34] the first time the club has finished higher than 21st in league competition since 2007/08. However, the season ended on a negative note, as following a 2–1 victory over Sheridan's former club Chesterfield which put the Pilgrims into the play off positions,[35] the team then self capitulated and only won one of the final nine games. This led to Sheridan deciding against renewing the contracts of seven professionals, including former player of the year Maxime Blanchard and Plymouth-born midfielder Luke Young,[36] with promotion the target for 2014–15.[37]

Sheridan's Plymouth finished in 7th place in 2014/15, securing a place in the League 2 play offs[38] following a 2–0 win at Shrewsbury Town on the final day of the regular season.[39] However they were defeated by 4th placed Wycombe Wanderers over the 2-legged semi final, with the Pilgrims succumbing to a 5–3 defeat on aggregate.[40]

On 28 May 2015 Plymouth announced that Sheridan had left the club by mutual consent after expressing a desire to return to the north of England for family reasons.[41]

Newport County

On 2 October 2015, Sheridan was confirmed as the new manager of Newport County replacing Terry Butcher who had been sacked the previous day.[42] Sheridan took over the role with Newport bottom of League Two, having gained five points from the first ten matches of the 2015–16 season. Sheridan managed to secure only one point from his first three games, but then took the side on a ten-game unbeaten run and led the side to an FA Cup 3rd round appearance against EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers in January 2016. He would finish the season with a record of five wins, seven draws, and five defeats, producing 20 of a possible 51 points.

He left the club in January 2016 to join Oldham for a fourth spell. His departure nearly led to a complaint by Newport County, who were unhappy at images which emerged on social media of Sheridan allegedly meeting with Oldham staff prior to Newport being approached.[43] Club director Gavin Foxall wished Sheridan "all the best" but noted that "the manner of his departure has not been right". Oldham officially maintained that they had contacted Newport prior to the meeting.[43]

Return to Oldham Athletic

On 13 January 2016, Sheridan was confirmed to be returning to Oldham Athletic for a second spell as full-time manager having resigned from his position as Newport County manager after just four months. He managed to save Oldham from relegation to League Two. On 27 May 2016, he joined Notts County on a 3-year-deal.

Notts County

On 27 May 2016, Sheridan was appointed as manager of Notts County on a 3-year contract.

On 2 January 2017, equalling a club record of 9 successive defeats, Sheridan was sacked for gross misconduct[44] as manager shortly after losing 4–0 to Cambridge United, Sheridan left the club with them just 1 point above the relegation zone with just 22 points from 24 games.

Third spell at Oldham Athletic

On 12 January 2017, Sheridan became manager of Oldham Athletic for a third time, he replaced Steve Robinson at the League One club.[45][46] On 25 September 2017 he left Oldham by mutual consent.[47]

Fleetwood Town

On 22 February 2018, Sheridan was appointed manager of League One club Fleetwood Town until the end of the 2017/18 season, replacing Uwe Rosler. He joined with the club 20th in the league having lost their last eight games in all competitions, but successfully guided them to safety finishing in 14th place.

Carlisle United

In June 2018, Sheridan was appointed manager of Carlisle United replacing Keith Curle. He resigned on 4 January 2019.[48]

Second spell at Chesterfield

On 9 January 2019, Sheridan was reappointed as manager of National League club Chesterfield, returning to the club he left in August 2012. He joined with Chesterfield 22nd in the fifth tier having won just one of their last twenty-five league games. On 2 January 2020, following a 3–0 defeat at Solihull Moors that left Chesterfield in 22nd place with only 17 games of the season left, Sheridan's contract was terminated.[49]

Waterford

In July 2020 Sheridan was named manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club Waterford[50] He left the role after just eight games in charge of the team to return to England.

Wigan Athletic

Sheridan was appointed manager of League One club Wigan Athletic by the administrators on 11 September 2020.[51] He only lasted fifteen games in charge before making another move.

Swindon Town

On 11 November 2020, Sheridan was approached by Swindon Town to become their next manager following the departure of Richie Wellens.[52] He signed a contract to the end of the season with the Wiltshire club on 13 November 2020.[53] This saw him take charge of his fourth team during the 2020/21 season.

Career statistics

Playing statistics
Club Years League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City1981–1982 000000 00
Leeds United1982–1989 23047183243 27253
Nottingham Forest1989 000010 10
Sheffield Wednesday1989–1996 19925203243 24331
Birmingham City1996 200020 40
Bolton Wanderers1996 630010 73
Bolton Wanderers1996–1998 3302010 360
Doncaster Rovers1998 700000 70
Oldham Athletic1998–2004 1441415240 16316
Total 62189558576 733103

Managerial statistics
As of match played on 2 February 2021[54]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Oldham Athletic (co-caretaker) 31 October 2001 7 November 2001 1 0 1 0 000.00
Oldham Athletic (caretaker) 20 December 2003 10 March 2004 13 3 6 4 023.08
Oldham Athletic 1 June 2006 15 March 2009 151 61 43 47 040.40
Chesterfield 9 June 2009 28 August 2012 160 63 38 59 039.38
Plymouth Argyle 6 January 2013 28 May 2015 126 48 31 47 038.10
Newport County 2 October 2015 13 January 2016 17 5 7 5 029.41
Oldham Athletic 13 January 2016 27 May 2016 22 9 6 7 040.91
Notts County 27 May 2016 2 January 2017 32 8 6 18 025.00
Oldham Athletic 12 January 2017 25 September 2017 33 10 9 14 030.30
Fleetwood Town 22 February 2018 1 June 2018 13 6 3 4 046.15
Carlisle United 5 June 2018 4 January 2019 32 15 4 13 046.88
Chesterfield 9 January 2019 2 January 2020 52 17 13 22 032.69
Waterford 8 July 2020 11 September 2020 8 3 2 3 037.50
Wigan Athletic 11 September 2020 13 November 2020 15 3 2 10 020.00
Swindon Town 13 November 2020 Present 17 4 3 10 023.53
Total 692 255 174 263 036.85

Honours

As a player

Sheffield Wednesday

Bolton Wanderers

As a manager

Chesterfield

See also

References
  1. Cowdery, Rick (6 January 2013). "John Sheridan: The Player". Plymouth Argyle F.C. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  2. "John Sheridan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  3. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  4. "Venables and Co can't buy success". New Straits Times. 29 September 1989. p. 26. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. Hince, Paul (14 February 2004). "John's ready for a knees up". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  6. "Football: United offered Batistuta for pounds 13m". The Independent. 20 December 1996. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. "FAI History Chapter 32 – World Cup 1994 final tournament". Football Association of Ireland. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  8. "FAI History Chapter 31 – World Cup 1994 qualifying tournament". Football Association of Ireland. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  9. "Sheridan replaces Moore at Oldham". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  10. "Sheridan honoured in League One". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  11. "Blackpool 3–1 Oldham (agg 5–2)". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  12. "Oldham look into 'fight' reports". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  13. "Sheridan plays down brawl reports". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  14. "MK Dons 6–2 Oldham". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  15. "Oldham boss Sheridan leaves club". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  16. "Royle replaces Sheridan at Oldham". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  17. "Results cost me my job – Sheridan". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  18. "Sheridan lands Chesterfield job". Derbyshire Times. Chesterfield. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  19. "Chesterfield promoted to League One after Wycombe draw". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  20. "Chesterfield 3–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  21. "Chesterfield manager John Sheridan relieved of duties". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  22. "Chesterfield confirm John Sheridan resignation". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  23. "John Sheridan Is New Argyle Manager". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  24. Errington, Chris (6 January 2013). "Argyle confirm Sheridan as their new manager". The Herald. Plymouth. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  25. Pilnick, Brent (8 January 2013). "John Sheridan: Plymouth Argyle boss vows to keep club up". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  26. "John Sheridan wants three new signings at Plymouth Argyle by Saturday". The Herald. Plymouth. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  27. "John Sheridan at Plymouth Argyle: I'm really looking forward to the job". The Herald. Plymouth. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  28. "Sheridan named Manager of the Month". The Football League. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  29. "John Is Manager Of The Month". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  30. "John Sheridan set to stay on as Plymouth Argyle boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  31. Errington, Chris (2 May 2013). "John Sheridan finalises his future as Plymouth Argyle manager". The Herald. Plymouth. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  32. "Sheridan Signs Three-Year Deal". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  33. Pilnick, Brent (3 May 2013). "John Sheridan signs three-year deal as Plymouth Argyle boss". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  34. "League Two Tables". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  35. "Plymouth 2-1 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  36. "New contract for Paul Wotton at Argyle but seven players are released". Plymouth Herald. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  37. "Our target is to push for promotion, says Argyle manager John Sheridan". Plymouth Herald. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  38. "Shrewsbury Town 0-2 Plymouth Argyle". Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  39. "Shrewsbury Town 0-2 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  40. "Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Plymouth Argyle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  41. "Plymouth announce departure of manager John Sheridan for family reasons". Guardian Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  42. "Newport County appoint former Plymouth manager John Sheridan". BBC News. 2 October 2015.
  43. "John Sheridan: Newport County angered by coffee shop picture". 15 January 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  44. Wilson, Jeremy (25 September 2017). "John Sheridan's foul-mouthed rant at referee lays bare abuse at officials". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  45. "CLUB STATEMENT: Managerial Change". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 12 January 2017.
  46. "Oldham Athletic: John Sheridan returns, Stephen Robinson sacked". BBC Sport. 12 January 2017.
  47. "John Sheridan: Oldham Athletic manager leaves by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  48. "Chesterfield set to appoint John Sheridan after Carlisle United resignation". BBC Sport. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  49. https://www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk/news/20202/january/20200102-managers-departure-announced/
  50. "John Sheridan named as new Waterford FC boss". RTÉ Sport. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  51. "Wigan's administrators appoint Waterford manager as new boss". BBC Sport. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  52. "Sheridan set for Swindon manager job". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  53. "John Sheridan leaves Wigan to become new manager of Swindon Town". The42.ie. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  54. "John Sheridan managerial statistics". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
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