Stern John
Stern John, CM (born 30 October 1976) is a Trinidadian football manager and former player who is currently managing Anguilla in the TT Pro League. He previously played for a number of American and English football clubs that included Columbus Crew, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Derby County.
John in 2004 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stern John[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 30 October 1976||
Place of birth | Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Anguilla (manager) | ||
Youth career | |||
1995 | Mercer CC | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996 | Malta Carib Alcons | 7 | (1) |
1997 | Carolina Dynamo | 5 | (0) |
1997 | New Orleans | 26 | (16) |
1998–1999 | Columbus Crew | 55 | (44) |
1999–2002 | Nottingham Forest | 72 | (18) |
2002–2004 | Birmingham City | 77 | (16) |
2004–2007 | Coventry City | 78 | (26) |
2005 | → Derby County (loan) | 7 | (0) |
2007 | Sunderland | 16 | (5) |
2007–2009 | Southampton | 47 | (19) |
2008–2009 | → Bristol City (loan) | 24 | (2) |
2009–2010 | Crystal Palace | 16 | (2) |
2009–2010 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 7 | (1) |
2011–2012 | North East Stars | ||
2012 | Solihull Moors | ||
2014 | WASA FC | ||
2017–2018 | Central F.C. | ||
Total | 437 | (150) | |
National team | |||
1995–2011[2] | Trinidad and Tobago | 115 | (70) |
Teams managed | |||
2017–2020 | Central F.C. | ||
2020- | Anguilla | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:38, 11 February 2014 (UTC) |
Club career
Early career in US
John was born in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago[1] and moved to the United States to attend Mercer County Community College in 1995. He joined the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS) from the now-defunct New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers of the A-League for the 1998 season. On the recommendation of his older cousin, Columbus Crew defender and Trinidad and Tobago international, Ansil Elcock, John received a try-out with Crew, where he became one of the most prolific scorers in league history. In 1998, John led the league with 26 goals, a record that currently puts him tied for fifth in MLS for goals in one season, and also with 57 points to be named the MLS Scoring Champion. He was named to the MLS Best XI that year as well, and tied for the lead with 18 goals in 1999.
Nottingham Forest
After the 1999 season with Columbus, John was acquired by Nottingham Forest of the English First Division for a fee of £1.5 million. However, eventual financial difficulties at Forest following the team's failed bid at promotion forced John's sale to Birmingham City in February 2002, then pushing for promotion to the Premier League, for the sum of £100,000. John scored 18 goals in 49 starts for Forest.
Birmingham City
At Birmingham, John only managed to score 9 Premier League goals but made almost 60 Premier League appearances in two full seasons and was effective with his hold up play and also had some memorable moments in the blue shirt of Birmingham, such as his turn and finish away at West Ham in 2002; his last minute equaliser at Villa Park in the Birmingham derby; and his last minute goal away at Millwall which put Birmingham through to the Playoff Final in 2002.[3] He then scored one of the penalties in the play-off final shootout to help them get promoted to the Premier League.[4] Popular with the Birmingham fans for his crucial and sometimes brilliant goals, he nonetheless fell out of favour with management, and was sold to Coventry City on 14 September 2004.
Coventry City
In his first season with Coventry, John finished second in team scoring with 12 goals despite starting in barely half of Coventry's games.
Derby County
At the start of the 2005–06 season, following the signing of James Scowcroft, John found himself outside of manager Micky Adams's first-team plans. As a result, he was loaned to Derby County on 16 September 2005. He rejoined Coventry three months later.
Sunderland
On 29 January 2007, John was transferred to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. The signing was Sunderland manager Roy Keane's sixth signing of the 2006–07 season January transfer window. He scored his first goals against Southend United in a 4–0 victory on 17 February 2007.
Southampton
On 29 August 2007, John moved to Southampton as part of a deal that took his international teammate Kenwyne Jones in the opposite direction.[5][6]
He scored his first goals with two in a 3–2 win against West Bromwich Albion on 6 October 2007. From then on he scored regularly for "The Saints", with nine goals in his first fifteen appearances, including a second half hat trick against Hull City on 8 December 2007.[7] He finished the 2007–08 season fourth highest scorer in the Championship with 19 goals for Southampton. (He had also scored once for Sunderland in the Premier League prior to his transfer.) Before being sent off for a second bookable offence, John scored two goals, including the match winner, in Southampton's final game of the season against Sheffield United, as the Saints narrowly avoided relegation to League One.
Bristol City
John was loaned to Bristol City in October 2008 until the end of the 2008–09 season.[8] John made his first Bristol City appearance, coming on as a substitute, against Barnsley in a 0–0 draw. John scored his first goal for Bristol City in a 4–1 defeat to Reading at Ashton Gate Stadium on 1 November 2008.
Crystal Palace
On 29 July 2009, John signed for Crystal Palace on a year-long deal after turning down an offer to stay at Southampton.[9] He made his debut on the opening day of the season against Plymouth Argyle, he had to come off after 35 minutes due to an injury. He returned in mid-October, but joined Ipswich Town on a one-month loan at the end of November. He scored his first goal for Ipswich in a 3–2 win over Coventry City on 16 January 2010.[10] Upon his return to Palace he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win at Watford on 30 March 2010.[11] New Palace manager George Burley had hoped to discuss the player's future at the end of the season, but no discussion occurred, and John left the club.[12]
Solihull Moors
In August 2012, after two seasons out of English football, John returned, signing for Solihull Moors.[13] However, as of November 2012, he had yet to make an appearance in any competition for the club.
WASA FC
John retired and moved back to his native Trinidad and Tobago after his spell at Solihull Moors. He came out of retirement a second time in order to join WASA FC of the National Super League of Trinidad and Tobago in January 2014. He scored on his debut[14]
Central F.C.
John came out of retirement once again in 2016 when he was appointed as player-coach of Central F.C. in the TT Pro League.[15]
International career
John made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago national football team on 15 February 1995 against Finland in a Friendly match at the Queen's Park Oval, scoring one goal on his debut. John has been a vital player for the Soca Warriors, currently the team's all-time leading scorer with 70 goals in 115 caps (as of 9 February 2011), and is also the 7th highest international goalscorer according to the list of Top international association football goal scorers by country, behind Pelé, Ferenc Puskás and Ali Daei. He is also the all-time top CONCACAF goal scorer. He was instrumental in helping his country qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and played in all three of his country's World Cup group matches at Germany 2006. In Germany, he scored an offside goal. He was also named Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Player of the Year in 2002. John is currently the second most capped Trinidad and Tobago international behind former teammate Angus Eve. He was the only player to score in 12 consecutive international matches, from 1998 to 1999.
Honours
- 1998 MLS Scoring Champion
- 1998 MLS Golden Boot
- 1998 MLS Best XI
- 2002 Division 1 Play-offs Winner's Medal
- 2002 Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Player of the Year
- 2007 Football League Championship Winners' Medal with Sunderland
Career statistics
Club statistics
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Columbus Crew | 1998[16][17] | Major League Soccer | 27 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 3 | 35 | 30 | ||
1999[16][18] | Major League Soccer | 28 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 5 | 35 | 25 | |||
Total | 55 | 44 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 70 | 55 | ||||
Nottingham Forest | 1999–2000[19] | First Division | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
2000–01[20] | First Division | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 32 | 3 | ||
2001–02[21][22] | First Division | 26 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 28 | 14 | ||
Total | 72 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 80 | 20 | |||
Birmingham City | 2001–02[21] | First Division | 15 | 7 | — | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 18 | 8 | ||
2002–03[23] | Premier League | 30 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — | 32 | 9 | ||
2003–04[24] | Premier League | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 4 | ||
2004–05[25] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
Total | 77 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 85 | 21 | ||
Coventry City | 2004–05[25] | Championship | 30 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 12 | |
2005–06[26] | Championship | 25 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 11 | ||
2006–07[27] | Championship | 23 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 6 | ||
Total | 78 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 88 | 29 | |||
Derby County (loan) | 2005–06[26] | Championship | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Sunderland | 2006–07[27] | Championship | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | |||
2007–08[28] | Premier League | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 16 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | ||||
Southampton | 2007–08[28] | Championship | 40 | 19 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 19 | ||
2008–09[29] | Championship | 7 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | |||
Total | 47 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 52 | 20 | |||
Bristol City (loan) | 2008–09[29] | Championship | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||
Crystal Palace | 2009–10[30] | Championship | 16 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | ||
Ipswich Town (loan) | 2009–10[30] | Championship | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
Career total | 399 | 133 | 26 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 449 | 155 |
- Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
- Appearances in Football League play-offs
International goals
- Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first.[2]
Notes
- Matches against Martinique and Guadeloupe are not considered full internationals by FIFA.
See also
References
- "Stern John". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- "Stern John – Century of International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
- Spencer, Nicholas (2 May 2002). "Last-gasp John strike means agony for Millwall". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- "Birmingham reach Premiership". BBC. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- "Keane pays £6m for Jones". safc.com. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- "Breaking transfer news". www.saintsfc.co.uk. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- "Saints 4 Hull 0". www.saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
- "John extends Bristol City stint". BBC. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
- "Eagles swoop for John". Daily Echo. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- "Ipswich 3–2 Coventry". BBC Sport. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
- "Watford 1–3 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- Jones, Daniel (9 July 2010). "John's time as an eagle comes to an end". Croydon Advertiser. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- "Stern John Makes Comeback With Moors - Pitchero Non-League". 17 August 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- Guardian), Andrew Gioannetti (T&T. "Stern salvages point for struggling WASA FC". Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- Prescott, Ian (23 September 2017). "'Central' in crisis". Trinidad Express. Port of Spain. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- "Stern John". MLS. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "1998 Columbus Crew Match Reports". TheCrew.com. SportsNet Ohio. Archived from the original on 9 February 2002.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
"U.S. Open Cup: Third-Round results (July 7)". Soccer America. 8 July 1998. Retrieved 23 November 2014. - "U.S. Open Cup: Third-round results (July 13)". and "U.S. Open Cup: Rochester and Colorado advance to final". Soccer America. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- Two league appearances not included in Soccerbase source: Rollin, Glenda & Rollin, Jack, eds. (2009). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2009–2010. Headline. p. 534. ISBN 978-0-7553-1948-0.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
Four league appearances not included in Soccerbase source: "Stern John". Premier League. Retrieved 23 November 2014. - "Games played by Stern John in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Games played by Stern John in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
External links
- Player profile from Southampton F.C. website (via archive.org)
- Stern John at Soccerbase