| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen Andrew Guppy[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-03-29)29 March 1969 (age 56)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Winchester,Hampshire, England[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger;wing-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1989 | Colden Common | ||
| 1989 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1994 | Wycombe Wanderers | 178 | (26) |
| 1994 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Port Vale | 105 | (12) |
| 1997–2001 | Leicester City | 146 | (9) |
| 2001–2004 | Celtic | 33 | (0) |
| 2004 | Leicester City | 15 | (0) |
| 2004 | Leeds United | 3 | (1) |
| 2004 | Stoke City | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Wycombe Wanderers | 14 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | D.C. United | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Stevenage Borough | 27 | (1) |
| 2008 | Rochester Rhinos | 22 | (0) |
| Total | 552 | (50) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990 | England under-21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1993 | England semi-pro | 1 | (0) |
| 1998 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1999 | England | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stephen Andrew Guppy (born 29 March 1969) is an Englishfootballcoach and former professional footballer who now coaches atNashville SC.
Awinger, he started his senior career withWycombe Wanderers in 1989; over five years, he made around 200 appearances for the club, helping Wycombe winpromotion to the Football League. Earning a move toNewcastle United in 1994, later in the year, hetransferred toPort Vale. After three successful years at Vale, he signed withLeicester City in 1997. After four years with the "Foxes", he moved to Scotland to play forCeltic. In 2004, he returned to Leicester before brief spells withLeeds United,Stoke City, and another return to Wycombe. In 2005, he joined American clubD.C. United, and after another year returned to the Englishnon-League scene withStevenage Borough. He retired in 2008 following a spell in the States withRochester Rhinos.
In addition to a successful nineteen-year club career, he earned Englandcaps atunder-21,semi-pro, 'B', and finally at fullsenior level.
Guppy was spotted playing for his local team,Colden Common and offered a chance withSouthampton in March 1989. He made a handful of appearances in the Saints reserves at the end of the1988–89 season (but failed to break into the first-team)[4] before moving toJim Kelman'sWycombe Wanderers in September 1989.[5] He turned professional with Wycombe in 1992, at the age of 23.[6] Before turning professional he worked on building sites.[7]
At Wycombe, he first teamed up with newly appointedMartin O'Neill. He helped take them into theFootball League asConference champions in1992–93 as well as completing thenon-League double by winning theFA Trophy. He was a virtual ever-present in Wycombe's debut1993–94 season in the Football League, at the end of which they securedpromotion toSecond Division via theplay-offs.
In August 1994, he was signed byKevin Keegan'sNewcastle United for a fee of £150,000.[5] He made one first-team appearance as asubstitute in theLeague Cup in Newcastle's 2–0 defeat ofManchester United.[6] He subsequently moved on toPort Vale in November 1994 for £225,000.[8] He later recalled seeing a local newspaper headline "'Vale sign Premiership star' and I thought 'Great! Who else have they signed?' but of course the headline was about me. I thought – but I've only played a handful of games in the Premiership I'm hardly a star!"[9] Vale was a step down, but another topmanager – in the form ofJohn Rudge, helped him focus on being a first-team performer again.[6] Two days after signing for the club, on 26 November, Guppy made his debut in a 2–1 win over Millwall, where he collected assists for both goals.[10] He played in the1996 Anglo-Italian Cup final, as Vale lost 5–2 toGenoa. In nearly three seasons at the thenFirst Division club, he became a fan favourite and a club legend after his memorable performances on the left wing.
In February 1997, he was tracked down by his former boss Martin O'Neill, who paid £850,000 to take him toPremier League clubLeicester City for the first time.[5] He was cup-tied for their victory in the1997 League Cup final.[11] He was the only Premier League player to play every minute of the1998–99 season. Also, he completed the mostcrosses in the division.[12] He gained League Cup honours with Leicester City in2000, having also reached thefinal in the previous season. However, he was dropped by new managerPeter Taylor in the2000–01 campaign.[13]
In August 2001, Guppy re-joined O'Neill atCeltic for £700,000,[14] where he spent two and a half years.[5] During his time at Celtic, they won theScottish Premier League in his first season at the club.[15] The following season, 2002–03, Guppy had several injury problems, meaning he missed the2003 UEFA Cup final.[16] In 2003-04 Guppy only made one appearance for Celtic, in aScottish League Cup tie againstPartick Thistle,[17][18] before leaving Celtic to re-join Leicester City in January 2004.[19] However, he found that he did not suit managerMicky Adams's style of play.[13] Guppy left Leicester in the summer of 2004 to try to get to the US to play.[20] He then spent a brief spell atLeeds United in August 2004,[21] scoring once against Nottingham Forest,[22] before gaining a short-term deal atStoke City, where former Vale manager John Rudge wasdirector of football.[13][23] This was followed by a short spell back at Wycombe,[5][24] scoring once against Swansea City.[25] He moved to the United States[26] but his short stint inMajor League Soccer with Washington-basedD.C. United was ended prematurely due to injury. The club released him after playing in just five league games, during which he was featured in a starting line-up alongsideFreddy Adu in midfield.
In August 2006 he signed forStevenage Borough,[27] scoring his first goal for them in a 1–1 draw atExeter City.[28] WithJeff Kenna, Guppy became the first player to play at both thenew Wembley and theold Wembley.[6] This was achieved on 12 May 2007 whenKidderminster Harriers played Borough in the2007 final of theFA Trophy at the new Wembley Stadium. Borough won 3–2 despite being 2–0 down athalf-time;Craig Dobson, who replaced Guppy on 63 minutes, scored the equalizing goal.[29] Due to Stevenage winning, Guppy became the first ever person to win medals at both the old and new Wembley Stadium.[6]
In 2008, he headed for America again, signing with theRochester Rhinos as Player and Assistant Coach. Guppy logged 1,520 minutes of playing time in 21 league matches, starting in most of his appearances. He tallied two assists from his trademark crosses from the left wing. Guppy's first goal for the Rhinos came off of aheader on 26 September in the final 10 minutes of the first round, first-leg play-off tie against theCharleston Battery.
It was whilst at Leicester that he gained his onlyEnglandcap, playing againstBelgium on 10 October 1999.[5][30] Manager Kevin Keegan described him as "a little bit like a left-sidedDavid Beckham".[31] Guppy remains the only footballer to have played forEngland under-21,England semi-pro,England B and the fullEngland teams.
Port Vale player and lifelong fanTom Pope described Guppy as "a very tricky winger, one who could go on the inside or the outside" and a player with goodcrossing ability.[32] In May 2019, he was voted into the "Ultimate Port Vale XI" by members of theOneValeFan supporter website.[33]
After a season as a player-coach at Rochester, Guppy was recruited for the position of assistant coach toGary Smith atMajor League Soccer teamColorado Rapids. Having had one more year of his coachingcontract with the Rochester Rhinos, Rochester released Guppy from his duties, allowing him to move on to a higher level of coaching. He was assistant coach at the Colorado Rapids for three years, from 2009 to 2012. During his time at the club, the Rapids lifted theMLS Cup in2010. He left the club when the Rapids parted company with Gary Smith in November 2011.[34] In March 2012, Guppy reunited with his old bossMartin O'Neill atSunderland to work as a part-time coach, giving extra specialised sessions on technical work to "Black Cats" young players.[35] A few months later he settled into the role on a full-time basis.[36]
In April 2013, Guppy followed O'Neill out of Sunderland as incoming managerPaolo Di Canio appointed his own coaching staff.[37]In 2014, he joined O'Neill's coaching staff to specifically coach the wingers and strikers of theRepublic of Ireland national side.[38] He helped former teammateNeil Aspin to coachPort Vale during2018–19 pre-season.[39] O'Neill was sacked by Ireland in November 2018 followingrelegation out of theUEFA Nations LeagueB Group 3, and Guppy also lost his position.[40] He went on to be reunited with Gary Smith atNashville SC, where he worked as an assistant coach.[41]
Source:[42]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wycombe Wanderers[43] | 1989–90 | Conference | 30 | 4 | 30 | 4 | ||||
| 1990–91 | Conference | 30 | 1 | 30 | 1 | |||||
| 1991–92 | Conference | 39 | 7 | 39 | 7 | |||||
| 1992–93 | Conference | 38 | 6 | 38 | 6 | |||||
| 1993–94 | Third Division | 41 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 58 | 10 | |
| Total | 178 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 195 | 28 | ||
| Newcastle United | 1994–95 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Port Vale | 1994–95 | First Division | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| 1995–96 | First Division | 44 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 60 | 5 | |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| Total | 105 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 128 | 13 | ||
| Leicester City | 1996–97 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 38 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 48 | 5 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Total | 146 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 174 | 10 | ||
| Celtic | 2001–02 | Scottish Premier League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | Scottish Premier League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Scottish Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
| Leicester City | 2003–04 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Leeds United | 2004–05 | Championship | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Stoke City | 2004–05 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2004–05 | League Two | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| D.C. United[43] | 2005 | Major League Soccer | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Stevenage Borough[43] | 2006–07 | Conference National | 27 | 1 | 27 | 1 | ||||
| Rochester Rhinos[43] | 2008 | USL First Division | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 552 | 50 | 25 | 1 | 63 | 3 | 640 | 54 | ||
Source:[43]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Wycombe Wanderers
Port Vale
Leicester City
Celtic
Stevenage Borough
Individual
