Gerry Sweeney is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 former footballer and manager

Manager (association football)

In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...

. Sweeney spent the majority of his time in football with Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

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Playing career

Initially with non-league Renfrew F.C.

Renfrew F.C.

Renfrew F.C. are a Scottish football club from the town of Renfrew. Formed in 1912, they play in the Western Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association.The club play home games at Western Park...

, Sweeney signed for Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

 in 1966. He played 137 games for the club before moving to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with Bristol City in 1971. Sweeney was a regular in Alan Dicks

Alan Dicks

Alan Dicks is a retired English footballer and football manager. He managed Bristol City for thirteen years and managed clubs in five countries on three continents....

's City side that won promotion to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 during the 1975–76 season. Sweeney finally left City in 1982 when he was one of the infamous "Ashton Gate

Ashton Gate

Ashton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches of around 19,500, with an average...

 Eight", a group of top-earning players who tore up their contracts in order to save the free-falling club from bankruptcy. In all he managed 406 league games for the club, placing him near the top in City's appearance records.

After leaving Bristol City Sweeney rounded out his career in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 with a brief spell at York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

 before finishing his playing career in non-league football with Forest Green Rovers

Forest Green Rovers F.C.

Forest Green Rovers Football Club is an English football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, currently the longest-serving members of the Conference National. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.-Early years:...

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Management

Following his retirement from playing Sweeney initially remained in football. He served as a coach at Walsall

Walsall F.C.

Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...

 under Tommy Coakley

Tommy Coakley

Tommy Coakley is a Scottish former football player and coach. Coakley, who played as a right winger, made 95 league appearances in a professional career which saw him play in Scotland, England, and the United States...

, a former team-mate at Morton, and was instrumental in the Saddlers strong shwoing during the 1986–87 season

1986-87 in English football

The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off...

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Sweeney would later return to Ashton Gate and following the departure of Joe Jordan

Joe Jordan (footballer)

Joseph "Joe" Jordan is a Scottish football coach and former player and manager. He is currently first team coach for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, under manager Harry Redknapp....

 in 1997 he served a spell as caretaker manager. Sweeney had been assistant to Jordan before the latter's departure.

Subsequently Sweeney left football and worked as a postman in Portishead, Somerset

Portishead, Somerset

Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...

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