Steve Potts (footballer)
Steven John Potts (born 7 May 1967) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a defender and is associated with his time spent at West Ham United. He also represented the English national team eleven times at youth level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven John Potts[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1967[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hartford, Connecticut,[1] United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1984 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–2002 | West Ham United | 399 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 420 | (1) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011–2012 | West Ham U16s | ||
| 2012–2015 | West Ham U18s | ||
| 2015– | West Ham U21s | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Football career
Potts started his career at West Ham United as an apprentice in 1983, making his first appearance against Queens Park Rangers on 1 January 1985. Known as Pottsy,[3] he played for West Ham United for the next seventeen years. Primarily a fullback, Potts developed into a 'utility' player, he spent large portions of his career playing at centre-half despite being undersized for such a position. He also on occasion featured in midfield.
Potts was West Ham United Club captain for a 3 years between 1993 and 1996, and was voted Hammer of The Year in 1993 and 1995, and runner up in both 1992 and 1994. During his career he amassed a total of 505 appearances for the club (good enough for ninth place in the club's all-time appearance charts),[3] scoring only one goal, in a 7–1 win against Hull City in 1990. His last competitive appearance for the club was on 7 March 2001 against Chelsea,[4] although he stayed on until 2002. In 1997 he was awarded a testimonial by West Ham. The game was played on 2 August 1997 and was a 2–0 win against QPR.[5]
Potts transferred to Dagenham & Redbridge on 13 September 2002 and played there for a full season before retiring from football. In August 2011 he was appointed as coach for the West Ham United under-16 team.[6] Potts was promoted to manage the West Ham United under-18 team in December 2012,[7] taking charge of a 1–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in his maiden game. In January 2015, Potts was named as West Ham United Under-21 team coach.[8]
Personal life
In August 2007, he completed The Knowledge and qualified to drive a Hackney carriage.[3] In 2008, he ran the London Marathon in aid of the charity Children with Leukaemia, raising £24,052.99 in the process.[9]
His son, Daniel is a professional footballer and currently plays for Luton Town.[10]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United | 1984–85 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985–86 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1986–87 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1987–88 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1988–89 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 1990–91 | 37 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 1991–92 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | 41 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| 1994–95 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1999-00 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| West Ham United total | 399 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 505 | 1 | |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | |||||||||||
| 2002–03 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Dagenham & Redbridge total | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Career total | 420 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 529 | 1 | |
References
- "Steve Potts". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- "Potts the marathon man | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- "Chelsea ease past poor Hammers". BBC. 7 March 2001. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- "Steve Potts Testimonial - theyflysohigh". theyflysohigh.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- "Carr welcomes Potts return". www.whufc.com. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- "Potts prepared for Under-18 debuyt". www.whufc.com. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- "Potts named U21 coach". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- Steve Potts 2008 Flora London Marathon www.bmycharity.com
- Ed Smith. "LUTON TOWN SIGN DEFENDER DAN POTTS FROM WEST HAM UTD". Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- "Steve Potts". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- "Intertoto win gives Hammers Uefa spot". BBC. 24 August 1999. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
External links
- Steve Potts at Soccerbase
