 Mark Stimson | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Nicholas Stimson | ||
| Date of birth | (1967-12-27)27 December 1967 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Plaistow, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–1984 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1984–1985 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1989 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | (0) |
| 1988 | →Leyton Orient (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 1989 | →Gillingham (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 1989–1993 | Newcastle United | 86 | (2) |
| 1992 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1993–1996 | Portsmouth | 58 | (2) |
| 1995 | →Barnet (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 1996–1999 | Southend United | 57 | (0) |
| 1999 | Leyton Orient | 2 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Canvey Island | ? | (?) |
| 2002–2004 | Grays Athletic | ? | (?) |
| 2017–2018 | Thurrock | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2002 | England National Game XI | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2006 | Grays Athletic | ||
| 2006–2007 | Stevenage Borough | ||
| 2007–2010 | Gillingham | ||
| 2010–2011 | Barnet | ||
| 2011–2012 | Kettering Town | ||
| 2012–2018 | Thurrock | ||
| 2018 | Waltham Abbey | ||
| 2018–2023 | Hornchurch | ||
| 2023 | Grays Athletic | ||
| 2023–2024 | Margate | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mark Nicholas Stimson (born 27 December 1967)[2] is an English formerfootballer andmanager. He signed his first professional contract withTottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team. In 1989, he moved on toNewcastle United, where he made over 80 appearances inthe Football League. He later played forPortsmouth,Southend United andLeyton Orient before dropping intonon-League football.
He was appointed manager ofGrays Athletic in 2002 and remained in charge until 2006 when he took over as manager ofStevenage Borough. He led Grays to victory in the Final of theFA Trophy in 2005 and 2006, and repeated the feat with Stevenage in 2007. In November 2007, he became manager of a Football League team for the first time when he took over at one of his former clubs,Gillingham, but he was unable to prevent the club'srelegation fromLeague One at the end of the2007–08 season. He led Gillingham back into League One the following season via theLeague Two play-off final, but his contract was terminated after the team was relegated back to League Two the following season. On 1 June 2010, Stimson was appointed as the new manager of League Two clubBarnet, but he was sacked on New Year's Day 2011 with the club near the bottom of the table. He later had a spell as manager with Conference clubKettering Town. He ledHornchurch to the2021 FA Trophy Final atWembley Stadium, beatingHereford 3–1.
Born inPlaistow in east London, Stimson played for theEssex county representative football team and was on the books ofQueens Park Rangers, before joiningTottenham Hotspur on an apprenticeship in July 1984. A year later, he signed his first professional contract, at the age of 17.[3] He made hisFootball League debut againstEverton in May 1987,[4] but struggled to gain a place in the first team, and was sent toLeyton Orient on loan in March 1988, where he played ten times.[5] During the following season, he was loaned out again, this time toGillingham, whose manager,Keith Burkinshaw, had worked with him at Tottenham. Stimson made 18 appearances for theKent-based club and, although he was unable to help the team avoidrelegation from theThird Division, his contribution impressed the fans, who voted him into second place in the club's Player of the Year ballot.[3]
At the end of the1988–89 season, Stimson was transferred toNewcastle United, then in theSecond Division,[6] for a fee of £200,000.[5] He spent four years with the club and finally gained a regular first team place, making over 80 appearances.[5] AfterKevin Keegan took over as manager, however, Stimson found himself out of favour and he had a short spell on loan toPortsmouth in December 1992, which led to a £100,000 transfer at the end of that season.[3][7] He made over fifty appearances for Portsmouth but was also loaned out again, this time toBarnet during the early part of the1995–96 season.[5] In March 1996, he was transferred toSouthend United for a fee of £25,000.[5] His first season at the club was affected by a long lay-off due to injury,[8] meaning that he did not play between August and November,[9] but he ultimately made over 50 Football League appearances for the club.[5] During his time atRoots Hall the club suffered two consecutive relegations, dropping from theFirst Division into the Second Division in 1997 and from there into the Third Division in 1998.[10] In March 1999, having not played for Southend since the previous November, he returned to his former club Leyton Orient on afree transfer.[11] He played for the club in the semi-finals of theplay-offs, but was restricted to an appearance as an unused substitute in the final, which Orient lost.[11][12]
Prior to the1999–2000 season, Stimson spent a short period on trial at another of his former clubs, Gillingham, but managerPeter Taylor decided against offering him a contract and he instead joinedIsthmian League clubCanvey Island.[3] He helped the "Gulls" win theFA Trophy in the2000–01 season, setting up the only goal and winning the man of the match award in Canvey's 1–0 defeat ofForest Green Rovers in the final.[3][13] He was also selected to play for theEngland National Game XI, the national team for semi-professional players,[14] earning onecap against an equivalent team from the United States.[15] He left Canvey in May 2002 to joinGrays Athletic as player-coach.[16]
In September 2002, Stimson took over as manager of Grays after the sacking of Craig Edwards, initially ascaretaker manager, but after leading the team to its first victory of the season, he was quickly given the job on an ongoing basis.[17] Despite the signing of a number of former top-level players, such asCarl Leaburn andJason Dozzell,[18] the team escaped relegation by only one point.[19] The following season, however, boosted by a switch to full-time professional status and helped by the goals ofFreddy Eastwood, Grays finished in 6th place,[20] sufficient to gain a place in the newly formedConference South for the2004–05 season.[21] Grays won the Conference South at the first attempt by a margin of 23 points,[21] thus achieving promotion to theConference National, the top level ofnon-league football, for the first time in their history.[20] In the same season, Stimson also led Grays to the FA Trophy Final, where the team beatHucknall Town in apenalty shoot-out.[22] Grays reached the FA Trophy Final again in the following season, and claimed a second successive win after a 2–0 victory overWoking atUpton Park.[23] In the Conference, Grays finished in third place and qualified for the play-offs forpromotion tothe Football League, but lost toHalifax Town in the semi-finals.[23]
Citing his disappointment at failing to gain promotion, Stimson resigned from his post at Grays on 16 May 2006.[24] He stated that at the time he had received no firm job offers from other clubs, and acknowledged that he was taking a gamble with his career, but said that if he was unable to find a new job as a manager he would move into youth coaching or open his own football school.[25] He was linked with the managerial vacancy atLeague TwoPeterborough United,[26] but eventually took over as manager ofStevenage Borough on 28 May,[27] and led the club to an eighth-place finish in the Conference National in his first season in charge.[28] Stevenage also defeated Stimson's former club Grays to reach the FA Trophy final,[29] and beatKidderminster Harriers 3–2 at the newWembley Stadium in the final, giving Stimson a third consecutive Trophy win as a manager.[30]
In the early part of the2007–08 season, speculation began to mount that Stimson would be approached to take over as manager of a Football League club, with Gillingham,Port Vale andMillwall all alleged to be interested in his services.[31] He was offered a new contract by Stevenage on 16 October 2007,[32] but resigned the following day.[33] On 1 November, he was appointed as the new manager of Gillingham,[34] and quickly moved to sign a number of Stevenage players, includingAdam Miller andJohn Nutter.[35] He was unable to recreate his previous success, however, and at the end of the 2007–08 season Gillingham were relegated fromLeague One.[36] He was also criticised by departing playerAaron Brown, who acknowledged that Stimson had strong coaching skills but described his man-management as "shocking".[37] The following season the Gills finished fifth in League Two and beatShrewsbury Town 1–0 in theplay-off final atWembley Stadium to gain promotion,[38] but in the2009–10 season Gillingham were relegated back to League Two, after which Stimson's contract was terminated "by mutual consent" on 10 May 2010.[39]
On 1 June, Stimson was appointed as the new manager of League Two clubBarnet,[40] but was sacked seven months later on 1 January 2011 due to a bad string of results which left the club near the bottom of the table.[41] Towards the latter stages of the 2010–11 season, Stimson accepted a coaching role atDagenham & Redbridge.[42] After a brief spell at Dagenham, he was appointed manager ofConference National clubKettering Town on 7 September 2011.[43] On 4 January 2012, Stimson left Kettering with the team placed in the Conference relegation places.[44] Four months later he was appointed manager ofThurrock following the club's relegation to theIsthmian League.[45] At the age of 49, Stimson was registered as a player again for the 2017–18 season and named himself as a substitute on a number of occasions.[46]
On 10 May 2018, after leaving Thurrock as a result of the club folding, Stimson was appointed manager ofWaltham Abbey.[47] In November of the same year, however, he resigned in order to take over as manager ofAFC Hornchurch.[48] He led the club to the2021 FA Trophy Final atWembley Stadium, beatingHereford 3–1.
After leaving Hornchurch at the end of the2022–23 season, Stimson returned toGrays Athletic for the upcoming season,[49] but he was sacked in November with the club lying second from bottom in theIsthmian League North Division.[50] The following month he was appointed manager ofMargate.[51] Having been unable to prevent the club from being relegated, Stimson was dismissed from his role at the end of the season.[52]
Stimson is married, and when he returned to former club Grays Athletic as manager of Stevenage Borough in 2007, he and his wife were praised for visiting the clubhouse after the game to chat to home supporters.[53] He has three children, including a son,Charlie, who in 2008 joined Gillingham's youth team, but turned down the offer of a professional contract in 2010 after his father's dismissal from the manager's job.[54][55] In 2000, Stimson presented hisEssex Senior Cup winner's medal to a disabled Canvey Island fan, saying "it's easy to forget the fans who come along and support us, often in pouring rain."[56]
In July 2024, Stimson was found guilty of assault following a trial at Stevenage Magistrates' Court. He was ordered to pay a total of £1,052, including £750 towards costs incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service, and £50 compensation to the victim.[57]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Grays Athletic | 17 September 2002 | 16 May 2006 | 202 | 111 | 60 | 31 | 55 | [58][59][60][61] |
| Stevenage Borough | 28 May 2006 | 17 October 2007 | 72 | 38 | 13 | 21 | 52.8 | [62][63] |
| Gillingham | 1 November 2007 | 10 May 2010 | 144 | 48 | 41 | 55 | 33.3 | [64] |
| Barnet | 1 June 2010 | 1 January 2011 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 19.2 | [64] |
| Kettering Town | 7 September 2011 | 4 January 2012 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 18.2 | [64] |
| Total | 466 | 206 | 124 | 136 | 44.2 | |||
Grays Athletic
Stevenage
Gillingham
Thurrock
Hornchurch
