| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jeffrey Simon Thompson Minton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1973-12-28)28 December 1973 (age 51)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | (1) |
| 1994–1999 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 174 | (31) |
| 1999–2001 | Port Vale | 36 | (4) |
| 2001 | Rotherham United | 9 | (2) |
| 2001–2002 | Leyton Orient | 33 | (5) |
| 2002 | Grays Athletic | ||
| 2002–2006 | Canvey Island | ||
| 2006–2009 | Chelmsford City | ||
| 2009 | Welling United | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–201? | Ware | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jeffrey Simon Thompson Minton (born 28 December 1973) is an English former professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder. He scored 49 goals in 296 league and cup games in a ten-year career in theFootball League.
Minton began his career atTottenham Hotspur, but only made twoPremier League appearances before being allowed to joinBrighton & Hove Albion in July 1994. He made 199 appearances for the "Seagulls" and was voted onto thePFA Team of the Year (Third Division) in 1998–99. He moved on toPort Vale in June 1999 but did not establish himself in the first team. He wastransferred toRotherham United in March 2001. He helped the "Millers" to winpromotion out of theSecond Division, before signing withLeyton Orient in July 2001. He joinednon-LeagueGrays Athletic in August 2002, before quickly moving on toCanvey Island. He helped the "Gulls" to theIsthmian League title in 2003–04, following their second-place finish in 2002–03, and also played in the2004 FA Trophy final. He moved ontoChelmsford City in August 2006 and helped his new side to the Isthmian League title in 2007–08. He signed withWelling United in July 2009 but left the club a month later. He joined amateur sideWare in November 2012.
Minton began his professional career as a trainee withTottenham Hotspur in 1992, having been with the club since the age of ten.[2][4] He scored on his debut on 25 April 1992, whenmanagerPeter Shreeves played him in a 3–3 draw withEverton atWhite Hart Lane, which was also saw farewell presentations forGary Lineker andPaul Gascoigne before they left for Japan and Italy respectively.[5][2] He was only to make two further appearances however, oneFirst Division defeat toManchester United atOld Trafford and oneLeague Cup win overBrentford.[2]
He was released in July 1994 and joinedBrighton & Hove Albion of theSecond Division on afree transfer. The "Seagulls" finished 16th in1994–95 under the stewardship ofLiam Brady. He described Brady as "like a father figure to me" and "somebody who had great confidence in my ability during his spell as manager".[2] However, rookie bossJimmy Case could not prevent the club from sufferingrelegation to theThird Division at the end of the1995–96 season; they were 12 points short of the safety mark set byYork City. Brighton continued to decline and spent most of the following season in last place in the league, recovering underSteve Gritt to avoid losing theirFootball League status on the last day of the1996–97 season with a dramatic final day draw withHereford United that relegated their opponents. Minton finished as theclub's top scorer in1997–98 with seven goals in 39 appearances, as Albion again finished second-from-bottom, though this time were 15 points clear of last placeDoncaster Rovers.[2] New managerBrian Horton had a brief spell in charge, before the club finished1998–99 in 17th place underMicky Adams; Minton scored nine goals in 38 games, and was voted onto thePFA Team of the Year. In total, Minton made 199 league and cup appearances, scoring 32 goals, in five seasons, during a poor time inthe club's history which saw them forced to sell theGoldstone Ground and temporarily reside atGillingham'sPriestfield Stadium.
He joinedPort Vale on a free transfer in June 1999, in a move that reunited him with Brian Horton.[4] He scored four goals in 26 games in1999–2000, as the "Valiants" were relegated out of theFirst Division. Following a 2–1 defeat tonon-LeagueCanvey Island atVale Park in theFA Cup, he and four other players were placed on thetransfer list in December 2000;[6] this was despite him scoring twice in the original 4–4 draw at Park Lane. He scored four goals in 29 games in2000–01. He struggled to hold down a place in the first team in the New Year and entered talks withRotherham United in March 2001.[7] He was signed to provide cover for the suspendedStewart Talbot.[8] Minton scored twice on his debut for the "Millers" in a 3–0 win overBristol City atMillmoor.[9] He made eight further appearances in the remainder of the2000–01 season asRonnie Moore's side securedpromotion to the First Division with a second-place finish, just two points behind championsMillwall.
Minton joinedThird Division sideLeyton Orient in July 2001.[4] He made 39 league and cup appearances in the2001–02 season and was part of the team that beat First DivisionPortsmouth in the third round of theFA Cup in January 2002.[10] He was offered a two-year extension to hiscontract in January 2002 by managerPaul Brush,[11] but left the club in August 2002 and joinedIsthmian League clubGrays Athletic.[12] Two weeks later, he moved toJeff King'sCanvey Island in a player exchange deal for midfielderAdam Miller.[13]
He scored nine goals in 41 starts in2002–03, and was voted as Supporters Player of the Year, as Canvey finished second in the Isthmian League.[14] He scored five goals in 38 starts in2003–04, as the "Gulls" won the Isthmian League title and promotion into theConference National.[15] He also featured in the final of theFA Trophy in2004, where they were beaten 3–2 byHednesford Town.[16][17] He scored once in 20 games in2004–05, as Canvey finished 18th.[18] He scored six goals in 40 games in2005–06; however, Canvey chose to be demoted into the Isthmian League despite a mid-table finish.[19]
Minton joinedChelmsford City in August 2006,[20] and went on to score seven goals in 43 appearances in 2006–07.[21] He then helped the "Clarets" to the Isthmian League championship in2007–08. They reached theConference South play-offs following a fifth-place finish in2008–09, but lost out toHampton & Richmond Borough. Minton was released in June 2009,[22] and joinedWelling United the following month. He was subsequently made teamcaptain; however, after three appearances, he was released after just a month.[23]
After taking a break from the game, he signed for Isthmian League clubWare in November 2012.[24]
According to the Rotherham United website, Minton was a "dynamicmidfielder" and "was a player with a goodpassing ability with a liking to push forward".[8]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1991–92 | First Division | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1994–95 | Second Division | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 5 |
| 1995–96 | Second Division | 39 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 8 | |
| 1996–97 | Third Division | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |
| 1997–98 | Third Division | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 7 | |
| 1998–99 | Third Division | 35 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 9 | |
| Total | 174 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 197 | 32 | ||
| Port Vale | 1999–2000 | First Division | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 4 |
| 2000–01 | Second Division | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 4 | |
| Total | 36 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 8 | ||
| Rotherham United | 2000–01 | Second Division | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Leyton Orient | 2001–02 | Third Division | 33 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 39 | |
| Canvey Island | 2004–05 | Conference National | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 2005–06 | Conference National | 40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| Chelmsford City | 2007–08 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
| 2008–09 | Conference South | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Welling United | 2009–10 | Conference South | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | 472 | 55 | 13 | 2 | 26 | 4 | 511 | 61 | ||
Rotherham United
Canvey Island
Chelmsford City
Individual
