Steven Anthony "Steve" Slade (born 6 October 1975 in Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

) is an English

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...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

.

Club career

Slade began his career in the youth teams of Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

, turning professional at the club for the 1994-95 season

1994-95 in English football

-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...

. He made his debut the following season

1995-96 in English football

- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....

 in a Football League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 tie against Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 in October 1995, before making his league bow two months later against Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

. However, unable to establish himself at White Hart Lane

White Hart Lane

White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....

, Slade joined newly relegated Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 in the summer of 1996 after manager Ray Wilkins

Ray Wilkins

Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE , often known as "Butch" Wilkins, is an English former footballer and at present a television pundit...

 paid Spurs £850,000 for the player. Slade remained at Loftus Road

Loftus Road

Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...

 for over four seasons, although made more substitute appearances than starts at the club and also spent time on loan at Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

. Released in 2000, he had a short, undistinguished spell at Cambridge United

Cambridge United F.C.

Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...

, before dropping into non-league football with Hayes

Hayes F.C.

Hayes F.C. was an English football club based in Hayes, in Greater London. The club started out as Botwell Mission in 1909 taking its present name in 1929. The team nickname, The Missioners was a salute to the history of the team. The club played in the Conference South for their last few seasons...

.

Following his release from Hayes, Slade briefly played football in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. A trial at Grimsby Town

Grimsby Town F.C.

Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

 followed and, although ultimately he did not land a contract, Slade featured in one game, appearing against Morecambe

Morecambe F.C.

Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...

 in the Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy

The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

. Slade returned to non-league football after this featuring for Maidenhead United

Maidenhead United F.C.

Maidenhead United Football Club is an English football club in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The club was founded in 1870 and moved to their current ground at York Road the following year...

, before spending two separate spells at Barking

Barking F.C.

Barking Football Club is am English football club based in Barking, Greater London. The club are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Mayesbrook Park in Dagenham.-History:...

.

International football

In the summer of 1996, immediately prior to his move from Spurs to QPR, Slade was selected for the England under-21 side

England national under-21 football team

England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

 that took part in the annual Toulon Tournament

Toulon Tournament

The Toulon Tournament is a football tournament which traditionally features invited national teams composed of under-21 players, although the first tournament in 1967 featured club teams...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Slade featured in four games in all, appearing against Belgium

Belgium national under-21 football team

The Belgium national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...

, Angola, Portugal

Portugal national under-21 football team

The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...

 and Brazil, although this was to be his sole taste of the international game.