| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nigel James Spackman | ||
| Date of birth | (1960-12-02)2 December 1960 (age 65) | ||
| Place of birth | Romsey, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Andover | |||
| 1980–1983 | AFC Bournemouth | 119 | (10) |
| 1983–1987 | Chelsea | 141 | (12) |
| 1987–1989 | Liverpool | 51 | (0) |
| 1989 | Queens Park Rangers | 29 | (1) |
| 1989–1992 | Rangers | 100 | (1) |
| 1992–1996 | Chelsea | 67 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Sheffield United | 24 | (0) |
| Total | 521 | (24) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Sheffield United (player-manager) | ||
| 2001 | Barnsley | ||
| 2006 | Millwall | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nigel James Spackman (born 2 December 1960) is a former professional footballer and Englishfootball manager, and is a sports television pundit.
As a player he was as amidfielder from 1980 to 1998, notably forLiverpool,Chelsea andRangers. He also played forAFC Bournemouth,Queens Park Rangers andSheffield United. He initially started out with Non-leagueAndover. He took over as player-manager ofSheffield United in 1997, but lasted less than a year.
He became a full time manager from 1997 and had brief spells in charge ofBarnsley in 2001 andMillwall in 2006. He now works for theGlenn Hoddle Academy as well as working as a pundit and co-commentator.
Born inRomsey,Hampshire, Spackman started atAndover and spent his first three years as a professional withAFC Bournemouth before joiningChelsea for £35,000 in the summer of 1983. He signed for Chelsea as part of managerJohn Neal's re-building of the side alongside the likes ofKerry Dixon,Pat Nevin andDavid Speedie. Spackman scored on his debut for the club in a 5–0 opening day win overDerby County, though he was not a regular goalscorer. Chelsea were promoted at the end of that season asSecond Division champions and finished 6th in the following two seasons back in the top tier, with Spackman a near ever-present. During the1986–87 season, several key players, including Spackman, fell out with managerJohn Hollins and he was sporadically left out of the starting line-up or played out of position. He was sold to Liverpool in 1987 for £400,000.
Initially he was a frequently used substitute at Liverpool, and he was in the team which lost the 1987League Cup final toArsenal. Spackman only had a regular role in the Liverpool team during this season, but played an essential role.
When regular midfield generalRonnie Whelan was injured early in the campaign, Spackman was handed the No.5 shirt and he never missed a game for the whole campaign, gaining plaudits for his unselfish running and industry around the park in a team which featured the likes ofJohn Barnes,Peter Beardsley andJohn Aldridge.
Liverpool lost just twice in theleague all season, claiming the title with ease and Spackman was in the side which beatNottingham Forest5–0. Spackman's stamina and unselfishness set up the last goal for Aldridge. Whelan was fit again with a month of the season left, but wasn't selected. Spackman was selected for the rest of the campaign, including theFA Cup Final, which Liverpool surprisingly lost toWimbledon.[2] Spackman and teammateGary Gillespie both played that game withbandages around their heads after the two had suffered cuts in a clash during a game againstDerby County the previous week.
He left Liverpool forQueens Park Rangers in February 1989 but stayed there for less than a year, joining Scottish sideRangers in November 1989, winning honours there including threeScottish Premier Division titles, theScottish Cup and theScottish League Cup.[2] He went back to Chelsea in 1992 before moving toSheffield United in 1996 as player-coach and assistant-manager toHoward Kendall.
When Kendall left the Blades in 1997 Spackman became caretaker manager before being appointed as manager on 5 August. United had a good start to the season but huge losses and high wages from the previous season's promotion failure led to enforced sales of key personnel. The final straw being the sale of both of the club's top scoring strikers (Brian Deane – 11 league goals – went toS.L. Benfica &Jan Åge Fjørtoft – 9 league goals – toBarnsley) on the same day. Even though leaving midseason, Deane would go on to become the team's top scorer that year, such was the lack of replacements. Spackman was unhappy over this and resigned in March 1998.
He later managed Barnsley between January and October 2001 but was sacked with the club near the bottom of the table. They were relegated at the end of that season. He re-entered management withMillwall in May 2006 but left only a few months later in September, with the club in the relegation zone ofLeague One. As of 2022, he has failed to manage any club for a full season.
After Spackman left Barnsley, he began a new career in the media, becoming apundit withSky Sports before re-entering management with Millwall in 2006. Spackman currently appears as a regular pundit onSingapore'sFootball Channel, alongside other former players such asJohn Burridge andRob Lee. Spackman regularly appears on Setanta Sport Saturday afternoon as an expert pundit. Spackman currently appears as a pundit on Britain's sports TV stationSports Tonight Live. He also works forAl Jazeera on La Liga Coverage as well as LFC TV.Spackman has also featured for a number of seasons on LFCTV, the home TV channel for Liverpool FC, alongside former colleagues Gary Gillespie and Mark Wright. He recently provided pitch side commentary on Liverpool's victory in the 2022 Community Shield over Manchester City.
Spackman is of Scottish descent through a grandfather.[3]
Chelsea
Liverpool
Rangers
