| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Futcher[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-09-25)25 September 1956 (age 68)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Chester, England[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1974 | Chester | 4 | (0) |
| 1974–1978 | Luton Town | 120 | (40) |
| 1978–1979 | Manchester City | 17 | (7) |
| 1976–1981 | Minnesota Kicks | 129 | (73) |
| 1982 | Portland Timbers | 23 | (13) |
| 1983 | Southampton | 0 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 75 | (58) |
| 1984 | NAC Breda | ||
| 1984–1985 | Barnsley | 19 | (5) |
| 1985–1987 | Oldham Athletic | 65 | (30) |
| 1987–1988 | Bradford City | 42 | (18) |
| 1988–1990 | Port Vale | 52 | (20) |
| 1990–1991 | Burnley | 57 | (25) |
| 1991–1992 | Crewe Alexandra | 21 | (4) |
| 1992 | Boston United | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 624 | (253) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ronald Futcher (born 25 September 1956) is an English formerfootballer who played as acentre-forward. He was the fourth-highest career scorer of theNorth American Soccer League and made over 400 appearances in total for nine differentEnglish Football League clubs. He was noted for his aerial ability and solid ball control.[3]
He began his career atChester before moving on toLuton Town the following year. He signed withManchester City in August 1978 but leftMaine Road the following year to concentrate on his career in the United States with theMinnesota Kicks. After the club disbanded, he moved on toPortland Timbers and then theTulsa Roughnecks, winning theSoccer Bowl in1983. The next year, he returned to England withBarnsley, following a brief spell with Dutch sideNAC Breda. He signed withOldham Athletic in 1985, and thentransferred toBradford City in 1987. He was bought byPort Vale in August 1988 for £35,000. He helped the "Valiants" to winpromotion out of theThird Division via the play-offs in1989. He was sold on toBurnley for £60,000 in November 1989 before moving on toCrewe Alexandra. He announced his retirement the next year after a brief spell in theConference withBoston United.
Futcher started his professional career with hometown clubChester in theFourth Division, appearing in four first-team games underKen Roberts in1973–74. He moved with twin brotherPaul on toHarry Haslam'sLuton Town for a joint £125,000 fee in June 1974. He scored seven goals in 17 games in theFirst Divisionrelegation campaign in1974–75, including ahat-trick againstWolverhampton Wanderers.[4] The "Hatters" remained in theSecond Division in1975–76. He bagged 13 goals in1976–77 to become theclub's joint-top scorer (withJimmy Husband). He hit 10 goals in1977–78, as didPhil Boersma, to again become the club's joint-highest scorer. He leftKenilworth Road afterDavid Pleat was appointedmanager. In August 1978, Futchertransferred back to the top-flight withManchester City and played atMaine Road for the1978–79 campaign, scoring seven goals in 17 league games forTony Book. This included a hat-trick in a 4–1 win overChelsea atStamford Bridge on 17 September.[5]
Futcher began playing summers in theNorth American Soccer League in 1976 with theMinnesota Kicks, spending the next five seasons with the team. The Kicks reached theSoccer Bowl in1976 under managerFreddie Goodwin, where they were beaten byToronto Metros-Croatia. They reached the Conference semi-finals in1977, losing to theSeattle Sounders. They again reached the semi-finals in1978, losing to theNew York Cosmos. In1979, they lost in the First Round of the play-offs to theTulsa Roughnecks, costingcoachRoy McCrohan his job. They again lost out at the First Round in1980 under returning manager Freddie Goodwin, losing toDallas Tornado. The1981 season was his last at theMetropolitan Stadium, as Kicks lost in the quarter-finals toFort Lauderdale Strikers underGeoff Barnett. Having been with the Minnesota Kicks since the club's founding in 1976, he remained with it until it closed in 1981.
He played with thePortland Timbers in thesummer of 1982, becoming theclub's top scorer with 13 goals, including a hat-trick against theVancouver Whitecaps. He also spent a brief period in early 1983 back in England withSouthampton without making first-team appearances.[6] He moved on to theTulsa Roughnecks, scoring the second goal in a1983 2–0 win overToronto in theSoccer Bowl atBC Place despite having initially being suspended following ared card in the previous game.[7] However,1984 proved a disappointing campaign, and he then left the United States for good. He finished with 296 points in 201 career games in the league, including 119 goals.
Returning to Europe, Futcher had a spell withNAC Breda in the Netherlands, scoring three goals in sevenEerste Divisie games in1983–84. Futcher then headed back to the English Second Division, signing a two-year contract withBarnsley in1984–85 on a £12,000 transfer, joining his twin brother.[8] He joined league rivalsOldham Athletic after being signed byJoe Royle for a £5,000 fee, and became the club'stop scorer in1985–86 with 17 goals. The "Latics" reached the play-offs in1986–87, but were beaten on away goals byLeeds United in the semi-finals. However, he was transfer-listed after beingsent off twice in two days, once for the first team and then for thereserve team.[8] He leftBoundary Park and was signed byTerry Dolan atBradford City for £40,000, and scored 19 goals in 38 games in1987–88 to become the "Bantams"top scorer. Bradford lost toMiddlesbrough in the Second Division play-off semi-finals despite a 2–1 victory in the first leg atValley Parade. He had a fight withStan Ternent in training and was ordered to leave the club.[8]
In August 1988,Port Vale managerJohn Rudge paid £35,000 for his services, having tried unsuccessfully to sign a total of five other strikers.[9] Futcher had verbally agreed to move toMansfield Town and was also scheduled to meet withBolton Wanderers managerPhil Neal, but instead signed a contract with Rudge and chairmanBill Bell.[8] He scored 19 goals in 54 appearances in the1988–89 season, including a strike from over 30 yards (27 m) out in a 6–1 victory overCardiff City.[1][10] He was less impressive in the game atSwansea City, however, as he was sent off for verbally abusing a linesman.[8] He played in both legs of theThird Divisionplay-off final victory overBristol Rovers, setting upRobbie Earle for the first goal of a 2–1aggregate victory.[1] However, he was dropped in October 1989, after losing his spot to new signingNicky Cross in1989–90, and he 'forced the issue' and was sold on to Fourth DivisionBurnley for £60,000 the following month.[1] He hit 10 goals in 30 games forFrank Casper's "Clarets" in1989–90 to become theclub's top scorer. With a full season atTurf Moor in1990–91, he was the club's top scorer with 20 goals in 43 games, as Burnley reached the play-offs, where they were beaten byTorquay United.[11]
He left Burnley in July 1991 and moved on toCrewe Alexandra, scoring four goals in 21 league games in1991–92.[12]Dario Gradi's "Railwaymen" reached the Fourth Division play-offs, where they were beaten byScunthorpe United. He later played twoConference games forBoston United in1992–93 before he retired.
Futcher was astriker with cool finishing skills and footballing intelligence but a distinct lack of pace.[13][14]
As a coach, he has been involved incollege soccer in America, including atOakland University.[15] He has previously worked asBradford City's Community Officer and Youth Development Officer.[15]
Futcher's twin brotherPaul played over 20 years in theFootball League,[16] and Paul's sonBen also has extensive Football League experience.[17] Ron's other brotherGraham also played professionally. Paul and Graham also started their careers withChester City. He is also the uncle of formerPremier League midfielderDanny Murphy.[18]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chester | 1973–74 | Fourth Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Luton Town | 1974–75 | First Division | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 |
| 1975–76 | Second Division | 31 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 12 | |
| 1976–77 | Second Division | 33 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13 | |
| 1977–78 | Second Division | 39 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 11 | |
| Total | 120 | 40 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 133 | 43 | ||
| Manchester City | 1978–79 | First Division | 17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 7 |
| Minnesota Kicks | 1976 | NASL | 20 | 14 | – | – | – | – | 20 | 14 |
| 1977 | NASL | 20 | 11 | – | – | – | – | 20 | 11 | |
| 1978 | NASL | 16 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 7 | |
| 1979 | NASL | 24 | 14 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 14 | |
| 1980 | NASL | 21 | 13 | – | – | – | – | 21 | 13 | |
| 1981 | NASL | 28 | 14 | – | – | – | – | 28 | 14 | |
| Total | 129 | 73 | – | – | – | – | 129 | 73 | ||
| Portland Timbers | 1982 | NASL | 23 | 13 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 13 |
| Southampton | 1982–83 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulsa Roughnecks | 1983 | NASL | 26 | 15 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 15 |
| 1983 | NASL Indoor | 26 | 23 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 23 | |
| 1984 | NASL | 23 | 18 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 18 | |
| Total | 75 | 58 | – | – | – | – | 75 | 56 | ||
| Barnsley | 1984–85 | Second Division | 19 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 7 |
| Oldham Athletic | 1985–86 | Second Division | 40 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 17 |
| 1986–87 | Second Division | 25 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 15 | |
| Total | 65 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 73 | 32 | ||
| Bradford City | 1986–87 | Second Division | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| 1987–88 | Second Division | 32 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 43 | 19 | |
| Total | 42 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 53 | 23 | ||
| Port Vale | 1988–89 | Third Division | 41 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 54 | 19 |
| 1989–90 | Second Division | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 4 | |
| Total | 52 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 69 | 23 | ||
| Burnley | 1989–90 | Fourth Division | 23 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 10 |
| 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 34 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 44 | 20 | |
| Total | 57 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 74 | 30 | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 1991–92 | Fourth Division | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 31 | 6 |
| Career total | 624 | 253 | 32 | 7 | 52 | 15 | 710 | 275 | ||
Minnesota Kicks
Tulsa Roughnecks
Port Vale