Adam Stansfield
Encyclopedia
Adam Stansfield was an English footballer who played as a striker. He played for Cullompton Rangers, Elmore
, Yeovil Town
, Hereford United
and Exeter City
.
side Cullompton Rangers under former Exeter City
forward Ray Pratt. He later moved to Elmore
, where his prolific goalscoring first attracted the interest of Exeter City. He was strongly linked with a move to St James Park in the late 1990s, and had a trial with the club, but a move did not materialise, and he returned to Elmore.
He also caught the attention of Torquay United
, whose then manager Wes Saunders
offered him a 2-week trial in the 2000 close season. He played in the friendly against Portsmouth
on 18 July, and against Millbrook
on 24 July, but was released at the end of his trial. He returned to Elmore, continuing to work as a circuit board inspector, and continued to score regularly for them. In October 2001, Stansfield played for Elmore against Yeovil Town
Reserves and impressed watching Yeovil manager Gary Johnson
so much that he signed a professional contract with Yeovil the following month and soon after made his conference debut for Yeovil in a 3–0 defeat away to Southport
.
His first season at Huish Park
was a success, finishing as the top scorer with 15 goals, 3 of which came in the club's victorious FA Trophy
run. He scored in the final of that competition at Villa Park, and was so overcome with excitement that he swore on live TV in a post-match interview.
He suffered a broken leg just 17 minutes into the first game of the following season, causing him to miss the entire season and watch from the sidelines as Yeovil won the Conference championship and promotion to the Football League. He recovered to feature in the club's first ever Football League campaign, making his league debut on 16 August 2003 coming on as late substitute for Kirk Jackson
in a 3–0 win at home to Carlisle United
, but was largely used as a squad player, with most of his appearances coming from the bench.
In June 2004, he left, joining Conference side Hereford United
. His first season at Hereford was hugely successful, with 20 goals scored, but the season ended in disappointment as the club lost against Stevenage Borough
in the playoff semi-finals. The next season was less successful for Stansfield, who did not get on the scoresheet until December, by which time he had lost his first-team place, which he was unable to recover. The season ended in promotion to the Football League for Hereford, via the playoffs, and Stansfield actually started the final against Halifax Town.
In June 2006, he decided to remain in the Conference, joining Exeter City
. He scored nine league goals in his first season at Exeter, including two on the final day to secure the club's qualification for the playoffs.
Saturday afternoon television programme Soccer Saturday
, presenter Jeff Stelling
usually joked that "His sister Lisa will be happy", referring to the singer Lisa Stansfield
.
He was married to Marie, having three children together.
, and he underwent surgery to remove part of his colon
. The operation was considered a success and Stansfield joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre-season training in July, but his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August 2010. As a mark of respect Dagenham & Redbridge FC postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them.
His funeral service was held on Wednesday 25 August. The club also announced the shirt number 9 would be retired for nine seasons.
Elmore F.C.
Elmore F.C. are a football club based in Tiverton, Devon, England. They currently play in the Western League Division One.-Club history:The club was founded in 1947 and joined the South Western League in 1974 and played there for four years before gaining admittance to the Western Football League...
, Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
, Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
and Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
.
Career
Born in Tiverton, Devon, Stansfield's senior career began with local non-LeagueNon-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
side Cullompton Rangers under former Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
forward Ray Pratt. He later moved to Elmore
Elmore F.C.
Elmore F.C. are a football club based in Tiverton, Devon, England. They currently play in the Western League Division One.-Club history:The club was founded in 1947 and joined the South Western League in 1974 and played there for four years before gaining admittance to the Western Football League...
, where his prolific goalscoring first attracted the interest of Exeter City. He was strongly linked with a move to St James Park in the late 1990s, and had a trial with the club, but a move did not materialise, and he returned to Elmore.
He also caught the attention of Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
, whose then manager Wes Saunders
Wes Saunders
Wes Saunders is an English former professional footballer and football club manager.Saunders was born in Sunderland and brought up in Boldon Colliery, attending Boldon Comprehensive school...
offered him a 2-week trial in the 2000 close season. He played in the friendly against Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
on 18 July, and against Millbrook
Millbrook F.C.
Millbrook A.F.C. are a football club that represent the village of Millbrook in Cornwall, England, UK.-History:The club was established in 1896 and joined the South Western League in 1980 after competing at a local level for nearly a century...
on 24 July, but was released at the end of his trial. He returned to Elmore, continuing to work as a circuit board inspector, and continued to score regularly for them. In October 2001, Stansfield played for Elmore against Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...
Reserves and impressed watching Yeovil manager Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson (footballer)
Gary Johnson is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Npower League Two's Northampton Town....
so much that he signed a professional contract with Yeovil the following month and soon after made his conference debut for Yeovil in a 3–0 defeat away to Southport
Southport F.C.
Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...
.
His first season at Huish Park
Huish Park
Huish Park is a football ground in the suburbs of Yeovil, Somerset, England and is the home ground of Yeovil Town Football Club. The stadium replaced the club's previous ground, The Huish famous for numerous FA Cup giant-killings was officially opened on 4 August 1990, with a match against then...
was a success, finishing as the top scorer with 15 goals, 3 of which came in the club's victorious FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
run. He scored in the final of that competition at Villa Park, and was so overcome with excitement that he swore on live TV in a post-match interview.
He suffered a broken leg just 17 minutes into the first game of the following season, causing him to miss the entire season and watch from the sidelines as Yeovil won the Conference championship and promotion to the Football League. He recovered to feature in the club's first ever Football League campaign, making his league debut on 16 August 2003 coming on as late substitute for Kirk Jackson
Kirk Jackson
Kirk Jackson is a semi professional footballer, currently playing for Northern Premier League side Sheffield F.C., he plays as a striker....
in a 3–0 win at home to Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
, but was largely used as a squad player, with most of his appearances coming from the bench.
In June 2004, he left, joining Conference side Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
. His first season at Hereford was hugely successful, with 20 goals scored, but the season ended in disappointment as the club lost against Stevenage Borough
Stevenage Borough F.C.
Stevenage Football Club is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League One, the third tier of English football, having won promotion from League Two in the 2010–11 season...
in the playoff semi-finals. The next season was less successful for Stansfield, who did not get on the scoresheet until December, by which time he had lost his first-team place, which he was unable to recover. The season ended in promotion to the Football League for Hereford, via the playoffs, and Stansfield actually started the final against Halifax Town.
In June 2006, he decided to remain in the Conference, joining Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
. He scored nine league goals in his first season at Exeter, including two on the final day to secure the club's qualification for the playoffs.
Personal life
Stansfield had a sister, Andrea Hayes (née Stansfield). However, whenever a goal by Stansfield came through on the Sky SportsSky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
Saturday afternoon television programme Soccer Saturday
Soccer Saturday
Gillette Soccer Saturday is a weekly television programme broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of association football games in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Saturday afternoons. The current host is...
, presenter Jeff Stelling
Jeff Stelling
Robert Jeffrey "Jeff" Stelling is an English sports journalist and sport television presenter, of Gillette Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports and other programming for the satellite broadcaster. In January 2009 he took over as host of the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown...
usually joked that "His sister Lisa will be happy", referring to the singer Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...
.
He was married to Marie, having three children together.
Illness and death
Stansfield suffered from persistent abdominal pain in the early part of 2010, and was admitted to hospital for tests at the end of March. On 8 April 2010, it was announced that Stansfield had been diagnosed with a form of colorectal cancerColorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel cancer, is a cancer caused by uncontrolled cell growth , in the colon, rectum, or vermiform appendix. Colorectal cancer is clinically distinct from anal cancer, which affects the anus....
, and he underwent surgery to remove part of his colon
Colon (anatomy)
The colon is the last part of the digestive system in most vertebrates; it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body, and is the site in which flora-aided fermentation of unabsorbed material occurs. Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a...
. The operation was considered a success and Stansfield joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre-season training in July, but his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August 2010. As a mark of respect Dagenham & Redbridge FC postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them.
His funeral service was held on Wednesday 25 August. The club also announced the shirt number 9 would be retired for nine seasons.
Career statistics
| Club | Division | Season | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Yeovil Town Yeovil Town F.C. Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05... |
Football Conference Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2001–02 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 16 |
| Football Conference Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2002–03 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Third Division Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two... |
2003–04 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 6 | |
| Hereford United Hereford United F.C. Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',... |
Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2004–05 | 39 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 53 | 22 |
| Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2005–06 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 9 | |
| Exeter City Exeter City F.C. Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003... |
Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2006–07 | 38 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 10 |
| Conference National Conference National Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system... |
2007–08 | 40 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 11 | |
| League Two Football League Two Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system.... |
2008–09 2008–09 in English football The 2008–09 season was the 129th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City were all playing in the Premier League after winning promotion from the Championship last season. Stoke returned to the top flight after a 23-year absence, while... |
37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 10 | |
| League One Football League One Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system.... |
2009–10 2009–10 in English football The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League... |
27 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 8 | |
| League One Football League One Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system.... |
2010–11 2010–11 in English football The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 260 | 76 | 12 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 313 | 92 | ||
Honours
- FA TrophyFA TrophyThe Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
: 2001–02 - Football ConferenceConference NationalConference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
: champions 2002–03 - Conference NationalConference NationalConference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
: play-offs 2005–06, 2007–08
External links
- http://www.adamstansfieldfoundation.com (official website for the foundation page)
- Tribute on BBC Sport