Kevin Russell (footballer)
Kevin John Russell (born 6 December 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Brighton & Hove Albion, Portsmouth, Wrexham, Leicester City, Peterborough United, Cardiff City, Hereford United, Stoke City, Burnley, Bournemouth and Notts County.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin John Russell | ||
| Date of birth | 6 December 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Portsmouth, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Stoke City U23s (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1984 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | (0) |
| 1984–1987 | Portsmouth | 4 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | Wrexham | 84 | (43) |
| 1989–1992 | Leicester City | 43 | (10) |
| 1990 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 7 | (3) |
| 1991 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1991 | → Hereford United (loan) | 3 | (1) |
| 1992 | → Stoke City (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1992–1993 | Stoke City | 40 | (5) |
| 1993–1994 | Burnley | 28 | (6) |
| 1994–1995 | Bournemouth | 30 | (1) |
| 1995 | Notts County | 11 | (0) |
| 1995–2002 | Wrexham | 198 | (17) |
| Total | 456 | (87) | |
| National team | |||
| 1984–1985 | England U18 | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Playing career
A former England Youth international,[1] Russell (nicknamed Rooster early in his career because of his quiff[2]); later to lose all his hair[3]) was a professional footballer who played for 11 clubs in a career spanning nearly 20 years. Released by Brighton after an apprenticeship Russell returned to his hometown club Portsmouth but appearances were limited[4] He then moved on to Wrexham during the 1987 close season. In the first of his two spells with the club he scored at a rate of just over a goal every two games.[5] In 1989, he joined Leicester City, but was loaned out four times.[6] However, he fought his way into the first team at the end of the 1991–92 season and became a cult-hero, scoring several important late goals after coming off the bench as he helped fire Leicester to the play-off final, eventually losing to Blackburn Rovers. Despite this, he went to Stoke City at the end of the season. While at Stoke he became a key member of the first team as Stoke won the Second Division title in 1992–93.
After one season at Stoke City, he moved onto Burnley for a fee of £130,000.[7] Short spells with Bournemouth and Notts County followed before a move back to the Racecourse Ground. Here, at last, Russell found a permanent home – he was to play nearly 200 more league games for The Robins in a deeper role, eventually being rewarded with a testimonial against Manchester United.[8] In his second spell at Wrexham, he was best remembered for his winning goal against West Ham in an FA Cup third round replay in the 1996–97 season. With the tie goalless, Russell scored a 90th-minute goal to dump West Ham out of the cup at Upton Park.
Coaching career
He remained at the club as a coach until being sacked in January 2007. On 12 January 2011, he agreed to rejoin Peterborough United, with Darren Ferguson for a second spell.[9] On 18 August 2014, it was confirmed that he rejoined Stoke City as a coach for the Under 21 and Under 18 sides.[10] He was promoted to Stoke City U23s manager for the 2018–19 season.[11] In January 2019 he began work, alongside Andy Quy, assisting Stoke's new caretaker manager Rory Delap.[12]
Career statistics
Source:[13]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Portsmouth | 1985–86 | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1986–87 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Wrexham | 1987–88 | Fourth Division | 38 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 22 |
| 1988–89 | Fourth Division | 46 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 60 | 25 | |
| Total | 84 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 102 | 47 | ||
| Leicester City | 1989–90 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1990–91 | Second Division | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | |
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 7 | |
| Total | 43 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 50 | 12 | ||
| Peterborough United (loan) | 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Cardiff City (loan) | 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Hereford United (loan) | 1991–92 | Fourth Division | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Stoke City (loan) | 1991–92 | Third Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Stoke City | 1992–93 | Second Division | 40 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 50 | 6 |
| Total | 45 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 7 | ||
| Burnley | 1993–94 | Second Division | 28 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 8 |
| Bournemouth | 1993–94 | Second Division | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| 1994–95 | Second Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 3 | ||
| Notts County | 1994–95 | First Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Wrexham | 1995–96 | Second Division | 40 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 8 |
| 1996–97 | Second Division | 41 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 3 | |
| 1997–98 | Second Division | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Second Division | 31 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
| 1999–2000 | Second Division | 33 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| 2000–01 | Second Division | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |
| 2001–02 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2002–03 | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 198 | 17 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 240 | 23 | ||
| Career Total | 456 | 87 | 37 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 35 | 8 | 552 | 105 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Full Members Cup.
Honours
- Stoke City
- Football League Second Division champions: 1992–93
- Burnley
- Football League Second Division play-offs winner: 1994
References
- Six u-18 caps in the 1984–85 season AFS DataBase
- Portsmouth Sports Mail- "Russell to start against Hull": article by Mike Neasom, 14 February 2007
- humorous chant
- "Portsmouth, from Tindall to Ball" Farmery, C: Southend-on-Sea, Desert Island Books, 1999 ISBN 1-874287-25-2
- "The PFA Premier League and Football League Players' Records 1946–98" Hugman,B: Harpenden, Queen Anne Press, 1998 ISBN 1-85291-585-4
- Loan details
- "Sporting Digest: Football". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 28 June 1993. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- "Russell in awe of Utd youngsters". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- Sacked from Wrexham
- "Academy coaching details confirmed". Stoke City. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46794337
- Kevin Russell at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
External links
- Kevin Russell at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database