Jon Gittens
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Antoni "Jon" Gittens, (born 22 January 1964), is a former footballer who played for Swindon Town
as well as for Southampton
, Middlesbrough
, Portsmouth
, Torquay United
and Exeter City
.
, Gittens started his career with Midlands Combination side Paget Rangers
whilst taking a two-year course in menswear tailoring when he was spotted by Southampton
.
Gittens joined the Saints in October 1985 for a fee of £10,000. At the time of his signing he was raw but had pace and was considered one for the future. He made his league debut in a 2-0 victory at Birmingham City
on 19 April 1986 and retained his place for the next three games. In the following season he was in and out of the team, making 14 appearances, usually as a replacement for Mark Wright or Kevin Bond
.
In July 1987 he became a free agent and, having found it difficult to hold down a regular place in the Southampton side, he moved to Swindon Town
for a fee of £40,000. The fee was fixed by tribunal, the first Saints had been involved in as a selling side.
. He had a tendency to be rough at times, and was always likely to be booked (but was only sent off twice). His two red cards came in a 4–0 defeat at Leeds United
on 23 September 1989 and a year later in a 5–1 defeat at Barnsley
.
During his four seasons with Swindon, the club reached the play-offs twice (in 1988–89 and again in 1989–90), but failed to gain promotion to the First Division
. Swindon Town
won the Second Division playoff final in 1989–90 but Sunderland
were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities.
In March 1991, after 126 games for the Robins, Chris Nicholl
re-signed him for Southampton, and he returned to The Dell
a day before the transfer deadline, this time for a fee of £400,000.
, replacing the injured Kevin Moore alongside Neil Ruddock
, the following season, under new manager Ian Branfoot
, he only made eleven appearances, generally as cover for Richard Hall
.
Having again failed to establish himself at The Dell, he joined promotion chasing Middlesbrough
on loan in February 1992.
.
in 1995 his appearances were limited under new manager Terry Fenwick
. Gittens was one of two Pompey players sent off in January 1995's 1-0 FA Cup
4th round defeat at Fratton Park
against Leicester City
. In appalling conditions referee Dermot Gallagher
firstly sent off both Gittens and goalkeeper Alan Knight
.
The 1995–96 season saw his chances limited to just fifteen appearances, the last of these coming in January 1996 as the club crashed out of the FA Cup 3–0 against Gitten's former club, local rivals Southampton.
on a free transfer, one of Kevin Hodges
' first signings. Despite achieving national attention by allegedly punching West Ham United
's Romania
n international Florin Raducioiu
in a friendly later that month (his first game for the Gulls) he settled in well at Plainmoor
in terms of first-team football. However travelling in from Dorchester was causing him problems and on 24 March 1997, after falling out with the management team, he was released on full pay until the end of the season. He returned the following season and finished it as the club's player of the year with an appearance at Wembley in the playoff
final defeat at the hands of Colchester United
, Gittens giving away a harshly awarded penalty.
in July 1998 on a free transfer, having previously been linked with a move to Swansea City
as player-coach. He played 82 times for the Grecians, but was released at the end of the 1999-2000 season as part of Noel Blake
's mass clearout, joining Conference
side Nuneaton Borough on 6 August 2000. He had an unsuccessful time with Nuneaton, joining Dorchester Town
on a three month loan deal in January 2001.
in December 2001 and was appointed as manager in June 2002. Whilst manager at Fareham, he was charged with misconduct for using "foul" language against a referee's assistant on Easter Monday 2004. Gittens was sent to the stands for calling the assistant a "chicken nugget".
Following a disagreement with the Club, notably over their decision to scrap the reserve team, Gittens resigned in late July 2004.
After leaving Fareham he Managed and coached the successful Solent University side Team Solent in the Southampton League
. In May 2007, he was named as the manager of Wessex League
Division 1 team, Blackfield & Langley
. They clinched promotion in April 2009 to the Wessex Senior League. His position as manager was terminated in late August 2010.
Gittens is a UEFA "A" licenced coach who currently works part time as Coach Educator while studying at Bournemouth University
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
as well as for Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
, 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...
, 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...
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...
.
Southampton
Born in MoseleyMoseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, Gittens started his career with Midlands Combination side Paget Rangers
Paget Rangers F.C.
Paget Rangers F.C. is a defunct English association football club which was based in Birmingham. The club originally formed in 1938 when a group of former pupils of Paget Road School together with Jack Hughes Snr combined to form a football team.-History:...
whilst taking a two-year course in menswear tailoring when he was spotted by Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
.
Gittens joined the Saints in October 1985 for a fee of £10,000. At the time of his signing he was raw but had pace and was considered one for the future. He made his league debut in a 2-0 victory at Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
on 19 April 1986 and retained his place for the next three games. In the following season he was in and out of the team, making 14 appearances, usually as a replacement for Mark Wright or Kevin Bond
Kevin Bond (footballer)
Kevin John Bond is an English football manager and former player. He is the son of John Bond, also a former footballer. He is currently employed as assistant manager at Tottenham Hotspur.-Playing career:...
.
In July 1987 he became a free agent and, having found it difficult to hold down a regular place in the Southampton side, he moved to Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
for a fee of £40,000. The fee was fixed by tribunal, the first Saints had been involved in as a selling side.
Swindon Town
Gittens was a strong player in the centre of Swindon's defence, and formed a great partnership with Colin CalderwoodColin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood is a Scottish football player and coach. In November 2011 he was appointed as Chris Hughton's assistant manager at Birmingham City....
. He had a tendency to be rough at times, and was always likely to be booked (but was only sent off twice). His two red cards came in a 4–0 defeat at Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
on 23 September 1989 and a year later in a 5–1 defeat at Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
.
During his four seasons with Swindon, the club reached the play-offs twice (in 1988–89 and again in 1989–90), but failed to gain 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....
. Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
won the Second Division playoff final in 1989–90 but Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
were promoted instead after the Swindon board admitted a series of financial irregularities.
In March 1991, after 126 games for the Robins, Chris Nicholl
Chris Nicholl
Christopher John "Chris" Nicholl is an English-born former Northern Ireland international footballer.-Playing career:Nicholl was born in Macclesfield...
re-signed him for Southampton, and he returned to The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
a day before the transfer deadline, this time for a fee of £400,000.
Return to Southampton
Although he played in the final eight games of the 1990-91 season1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
, replacing the injured Kevin Moore alongside Neil Ruddock
Neil Ruddock
Neil "Razor" Ruddock is a retired English footballer, who played as a central defender.He made his debut at Millwall , and he had a long career playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and finally a short-lived spell as a player/coach at Swindon Town Neil...
, the following season, under new manager Ian Branfoot
Ian Branfoot
Ian Grant Branfoot is an English former footballer and manager.He played as a defender, and after starting at Gateshead joined Sheffield Wednesday, making his Football League debut in 1965. After 42 senior appearances for the club he left in 1969-70 for Doncaster Rovers...
, he only made eleven appearances, generally as cover for Richard Hall
Richard Hall (footballer)
Richard Anthony Hall is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently a Development Coach at Colchester United, having previously been the reserve team coach at Ipswich Town.-Early career:...
.
Having again failed to establish himself at The Dell, he joined promotion chasing Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
on loan in February 1992.
Middlesbrough
With promotion to the new Premiership duly achieved he made the permanent move to Middlesbrough in July that summer for a fee of £350,000. As Middlesbrough struggled at the foot of the table, Gittens lost his place, and left on a free transfer in August the following year, joining PortsmouthPortsmouth 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...
.
Portsmouth
At Portsmouth, he was a near regular throughout the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons but following the sacking of Jim SmithJim Smith (footballer)
James Michael "Jim" Smith is a retired English footballer and manager. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division of The Football League, representing Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City and Colchester United, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United of the...
in 1995 his appearances were limited under new manager Terry Fenwick
Terry Fenwick
Terence William 'Terry' Fenwick is an English football coach and former player. He is the current head coach for San Juan Jabloteh of the TT Pro League in Trinidad and Tobago.- Player :...
. Gittens was one of two Pompey players sent off in January 1995's 1-0 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
4th round defeat at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...
against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. In appalling conditions referee Dermot Gallagher
Dermot Gallagher
Dermot J. Gallagher is a retired English-based association football referee, who lives in Banbury, Oxfordshire. He refereed in the Premier League of English football until May 2007.-Career:...
firstly sent off both Gittens and goalkeeper Alan Knight
Alan Knight
Alan Knight is the name of:*Alan Knight , Australian academic and professor of journalism and media studies*Alan Knight , English footballer, played a record number of games as goalkeeper for Portsmouth FC...
.
The 1995–96 season saw his chances limited to just fifteen appearances, the last of these coming in January 1996 as the club crashed out of the FA Cup 3–0 against Gitten's former club, local rivals Southampton.
Torquay United
In August 1996, after a total of 99 games for Pompey he joined Torquay UnitedTorquay 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...
on a free transfer, one of Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges is a retired English footballer and manager who played as a midfielder, and now works as a coach. He spent the majority of his playing career with Plymouth Argyle of the Football League, where he is the club's all-time appearance record holder...
' first signings. Despite achieving national attention by allegedly punching West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
's Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n international Florin Raducioiu
Florin Raducioiu
Florin Valeriu Răducioiu is a former Romanian football striker, who played for Dinamo Bucureşti, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and A.S...
in a friendly later that month (his first game for the Gulls) he settled in well at Plainmoor
Plainmoor
Plainmoor is a suburb of Torquay, Devon, but is best known as the name of the stadium in which Torquay United Football Club currently play.-History:...
in terms of first-team football. However travelling in from Dorchester was causing him problems and on 24 March 1997, after falling out with the management team, he was released on full pay until the end of the season. He returned the following season and finished it as the club's player of the year with an appearance at Wembley in the playoff
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
final defeat at the hands of Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
, Gittens giving away a harshly awarded penalty.
Exeter City
He moved to local rivals Exeter CityExeter 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...
in July 1998 on a free transfer, having previously been linked with a move to Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
as player-coach. He played 82 times for the Grecians, but was released at the end of the 1999-2000 season as part of Noel Blake
Noel Blake
Noel Blake is a retired footballer and current head coach of the England national under-19 football team...
's mass clearout, joining Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
side Nuneaton Borough on 6 August 2000. He had an unsuccessful time with Nuneaton, joining Dorchester Town
Dorchester Town F.C.
Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...
on a three month loan deal in January 2001.
Coaching and management career
Gittens joined the coaching staff at Fareham TownFareham Town F.C.
Fareham Town F.C. is a football club based in Fareham, Hampshire, England. They were formed in 1946 and have reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup on four occasions in their history. Fareham's most successful exploit in the FA Trophy came in the 1986–87 season when they reached the semi finals...
in December 2001 and was appointed as manager in June 2002. Whilst manager at Fareham, he was charged with misconduct for using "foul" language against a referee's assistant on Easter Monday 2004. Gittens was sent to the stands for calling the assistant a "chicken nugget".
Following a disagreement with the Club, notably over their decision to scrap the reserve team, Gittens resigned in late July 2004.
After leaving Fareham he Managed and coached the successful Solent University side Team Solent in the Southampton League
Southampton Saturday Football League
The Southampton Saturday League is a football competition based in Hampshire, England. It has a total of eight divisions: Premier, Senior One, and Junior One to Six. It is a feeder to the Hampshire League and the top division sits at level 13 of the English football league system...
. In May 2007, he was named as the manager of Wessex League
Wessex League
The Wessex League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system...
Division 1 team, Blackfield & Langley
Blackfield & Langley F.C.
Blackfield & Langley F.C. are a football club based in the village of Blackfield, near Southampton, England. Their first FA Cup appearance was in 2001 when they were knocked out in the preliminary round. They are currently members of Wessex League Premier Division. They play at the Gang Warily...
. They clinched promotion in April 2009 to the Wessex Senior League. His position as manager was terminated in late August 2010.
Gittens is a UEFA "A" licenced coach who currently works part time as Coach Educator while studying at Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...