Derek Spence
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Derek William Spence | ||
Date of birth | 18 January 1952 | ||
Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1969–1971 | Crusaders | ? | (?) |
1971–1972 | Oldham Athletic | 6 | (0) |
1972–1976 | Bury | 140 | (44) |
1976–1978 | Blackpool | 27 | (3) |
1978 | Olympiacos | 21 | (6) |
1978–1980 | Blackpool | 58 | (18) |
1980–1982 | Southend United | 103 | (32) |
1982 | Sparta Rotterdam | ? | (0) |
1982 | Sea Bee | ? | (?) |
1982–1983 | Hong Kong Rangers | ? | (?) |
1983–1984 | Bury | 13 | (1) |
Total | 348 | (98) | |
International career | |||
1975–1982 | Northern Ireland | 29 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Derek William Spence (born 18 January 1952) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played as a forward in a career spanning seventeen years from 1969 to 1986.
He played for clubs in Northern Ireland, England, Greece, the Netherlands and Hong Kong. He also played for Northern Ireland.
Club career
In 1976, Spence joined
A serious injury kept Spence out of the entire
Spence then joined Greek
On 26 December 1979, in a game against Hull City at Bloomfield Road, Spence suffered an injury serious enough that it eventually forced his premature retirement from the game. In 1980, he moved to Fourth Division side Southend United, helping them to win promotion in the 1980–81 season as champions. He scored 32 goals in 104 games over a two-year period.
Between 1982 and 1986, Spence spent spells with Dutch club
International career
Spence won his first Northern Ireland cap on 16 March 1975, in a single-goal victory over Yugoslavia in Belfast. He went on to win 29 caps in total, scoring three goals. His most notable appearance occurred on 13 October 1976, when he came on as a late substitute and scored a late equaliser against the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifying game in Rotterdam.[4]
He ended his international career after discovering, via Teletext, that Billy Bingham had left him out of the 1982 World Cup squad.[5]
Post-football career
Spence ran his own off-licences in Walmersley, Bury, Greater Manchester, firstly, and then in Hambleton, Lancashire. He eventually returned to his first love of football by setting up his own coaching school, Sportslink. Then in 1996 he returned to Blackpool F.C. as the club's Football in the Community Officer, succeeding fellow ex-Tangerine and Shaker Craig Madden,[2][6] a role he fulfilled until 2016, when he retired.[7]
Personal life
Born in Belfast in 1952, Spence was one of seven children. In 1970, at the age of 18, he had the option of staying in Northern Ireland and practise his trade as a joiner, or leave to try his fortunes in England. With terrorism rife in his homeland, he asked his father for advice. "He said, 'Well, if I were you, son, I'd get out.'"[1]
Spence is married to Lyn, with whom he has two children, Thomas and Erin. He also has two children, Leanna and Matthew, from his first marriage.
Honours
Southend United
- 1980–81
Autobiography
Spence released a book about the early part of his life and playing career in 2019. The title, From the Troubles to the Tower, references the
References
- ^ a b "Derek Spence's journey from Shankill Road to playing alongside George Best" - Molly Brewer, Medium.com, May 6, 2016
- ^ a b c "Great memories". Bury F.C. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ ISBN 978-1-905411-50-4.
- ^ Gillespie, Marshall (6 July 2006). "Goalscoring Substitutes". Irish Football Association. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ Blackpool: A Complete Record: 1887–1992, Breedon Books, Roy Calley (1992)
- ^ "Contact Us". Blackpool F.C. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- ^ "DEREK SPENCE RETIRES AFTER 20 YEARS WITH TRUST" - Blackpool F.C. Community Trust, December 22, 2016
- ^ From the Troubles to the Tower - Amazon.co.uk