Dale Gordon
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dale Andrew Gordon | ||
| Date of birth | 9 January 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Caister, England | ||
| Playing position | Right winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1984–1991 | Norwich City | 206 | (31) |
| 1991–1993 | Rangers | 45 | (6) |
| 1993–1996 | West Ham United | 9 | (1) |
| 1995 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 1996 | → Millwall (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | AFC Bournemouth | 16 | (0) |
| Total | 288 | (39) | |
| National team | |||
| 1987 | England U21 | 4 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Dale Andrew Gordon (born 9 January 1967 in Caister, Great Yarmouth) is a former professional association football player who played for Norwich City, Rangers, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Millwall and AFC Bournemouth. He was a midfielder – predominantly right-sided – who excited supporters by running at defenders and setting up numerous goals for his team mates.
Gordon used to be the Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town.[1]
Early life
Gordon grew up as an Ipswich Town supporter and has said that he cried when watching the 1978 FA Cup Final on television in which Ipswich beat Arsenal 1–0.
Norwich City
However, he signed for Town's rivals Norwich City and made his league debut for them on 25 August 1984 in a 3–3 draw against Liverpool.
His first goal for Norwich came on 10 November 1984 in a 3–0 win against Luton Town. Gordon made 27 appearances during that 1984–85 season. He found first-team opportunities limited during the following 1985–86 season but did score the goal that secured the Division 2 championship for Norwich in a 1–1 draw against Stoke City on 19 April 1986.
1986–87 was Gordon's breakthrough season. He established himself as a first-team regular and played 41 league games as a vital part of the team that recorded what was then their best ever league finish of fifth position – though he was denied the chance to play in the UEFA Cup due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel disaster of 1985. Gordon was capped by England under 21s towards the end of the campaign, but hampered his chances of future selection when he and his Norwich City team mate Robert Rosario broke curfew while away with the under 21s and went to a nightclub. Gordon was later capped twice for the England B team, but never played for his country at senior level.
In December 1988, Gordon achieved "a unique place in Norwich City history – a record nobody can ever take away. He was the first player to score in a live televised Football League match involving the Canaries", a 2–1 win over West Ham.[2]
The 1988–89 season ended with Gordon being voted Norwich City player of the year as the team finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, though again he and his colleagues were deprived of UEFA Cup action as the ban on English clubs in European competitions was still in force. In total, Gordon played 261 games for Norwich (the majority of which were as a right-sided midfielder) between his 1984 debut and his final appearance on 2 November 1991. After the match against Nottingham Forest on 2 November 1991, he signed for Scottish club Rangers for a fee of £1,200,000.
Rangers
Gordon scored twice on his debut for Rangers against Dunfermline Athletic and went on to win two Scottish Championships, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.
West Ham United
He joined West Ham United for £750,000 on 8 July 1993, but his career at Upton Park was disrupted by injuries. He did, however, score West Ham's first ever goal in the Premier League in a 1–1 draw against Coventry City on 21 August 1993 at Highfield Road, his only West Ham goal. In just over three years he made only 11 appearance in all competitions for West Ham and had a six-game loan period, in 1996, at Millwall[3] before leaving to join Bournemouth in August 1996 on a free transfer.[4] In 1996, Gordon expressed a desire to return to Norwich City, but his injuries got the better of him and he retired as a professional player in February 1997.
After football
Coaching
Since his retirement, Gordon has spent a great deal of time running his own football schools for young players. He briefly ran a football academy in Lowestoft on behalf of Ipswich Town and has coached at schools in the Great Yarmouth area, including Caister High School
Gordon managed Great Yarmouth Town in the Jewson League, appointed to the position in May 1997. He also managed Gorleston where he was assisted by fellow former Norwich players Robert Fleck and Mal Lucas.
Gordon was appointed Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town in October 2007.
Gordon has opened his own academy in Dubai and he coaches young children.
Family
In 2007, Gordon mentioned in a newspaper interview that his young son Remy is training with Norwich and on 29 July 2009 it was confirmed that Remy Gordon signed a scholarship with Norwich City Football Club, following in his father's footsteps. City.[5]
Business
In 2008, Gordon was reported to be running his own "Legends" lounge bar in Yarmouth and his own soccer academy.[2]
Honours
In 2002, Norwich supporters voted Gordon into the Norwich City Hall of Fame.
Notes
- ↑ Pink Un
- 1 2 Evening News 24
- ↑ "Millwall Players E to L". Millwall-history.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Dale Gordon". Westhamstats.info. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ↑ "EDP24 – City hoping to unearth another gem". New.edp24.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
References
- Canary Citizens by Mark Davage, John Eastwood, Kevin Platt, published by Jarrold Publishing, (2001), ISBN 0-7117-2020-7
External links
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