Ron Futcher
Encyclopedia
Ronald Futcher (born 25 September 1956 in Chester
) is a former professional soccer centre-forward. He was the fourth highest career scorer of the North American Soccer League
, and made over 400 appearances in total for nine different Football League
clubs.
' on the field, noted for his aerial ability and solid ball control.
in the Fourth Division
, appearing in four first-team games in 1973–74. He played the next four seasons with Luton Town
, scoring seven goals in 17 games in the First Division
in 1974–75, and 33 goals in 103 Second Division
matches in the next three seasons. In August 1978, Futcher transferred to Manchester City
and played at Maine Road
for one season.
Futcher began playing summers in the NASL in 1976 with the Minnesota Kicks
, spending the next five seasons with the team. He played with the Portland Timbers for the summer of 1982 and then the Tulsa Roughnecks
in 1983 and 1984, having spent a brief period in early 1983 back in England with Southampton
, without making any first–team appearances. He finished with 296 points in 201 career games in the league, including 119 goals. After almost being suspended for the 1983 Soccer Bowl
, he scored Tulsa's second goal as the Roughnecks won the NASL championship. Returning to Europe
, Futcher had a spell with NAC Breda
before heading back to England with Barnsley
in 1984. After a season with Barnsley he joined Oldham Athletic
, making 65 league appearances before leaving for Bradford City
in 1987. In August 1988, Port Vale
paid £35,000 for his services and he enjoyed regular football in the 1988–89 season
and played in both legs of the play-off final
which saw the club promoted. However he was dropped in October 1989, and he 'forced the issue' and was sold on to Burnley
for £60,000 the following month.
He made 57 appearances for Burnley from 1989 to 1991 before finishing his professional playing career with Crewe Alexandra
, scoring four goals in 21 league games in 1991–92. His last senior game for them was in the Fourth Division Play-off Semi Final 1st leg, and his last Football League
goal was a few weeks earlier against Doncaster Rovers
. He later played at non-league Boston United
in 1992 before he retired.
in America, including at Oakland University
. Futcher is currently coaching at RSL Florida coaching the under-12 boys in Tampa, FL. He has previously worked as Bradford City's Community Officer and Youth Development Officer.
played some 20 years in the Football League
, and Paul's son Ben
also has extensive Football League experience. Ron's other brother Graham
also played professionally. Paul and Graham also started their careers with Chester City
.
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
) is a former professional soccer centre-forward. He was the fourth highest career scorer of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
, and made over 400 appearances in total for nine different Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
clubs.
Playing style
A gentleman off the pitch, he was a 'psychopathPsychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
' on the field, noted for his aerial ability and solid ball control.
Playing career
Futcher started his professional career with hometown Chester CityChester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
in the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
, appearing in four first-team games in 1973–74. He played the next four seasons with Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
, scoring seven goals in 17 games in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
in 1974–75, and 33 goals in 103 Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
matches in the next three seasons. In August 1978, Futcher transferred to Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
and played at Maine Road
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
for one season.
Futcher began playing summers in the NASL in 1976 with the Minnesota Kicks
Minnesota Kicks
Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League. The team had relocated to Minnesota after having been based in Denver, Colorado as the Denver Dynamos...
, spending the next five seasons with the team. He played with the Portland Timbers for the summer of 1982 and then the Tulsa Roughnecks
Tulsa Roughnecks
-NASL:The Tulsa Roughnecks were a North American Soccer League team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The Roughnecks were a regular in the NASL playoffs, and won the NASL Soccer Bowl in 1983, defeating the Toronto Blizzard at B.C. Place...
in 1983 and 1984, having spent a brief period in early 1983 back in England with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, without making any first–team appearances. He finished with 296 points in 201 career games in the league, including 119 goals. After almost being suspended for the 1983 Soccer Bowl
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the championship game of the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1983. The event was created by NASL Commissioner Phil Woosnam who was trying to build a neutral-site championship event in the mold of the NFL's Super Bowl....
, he scored Tulsa's second goal as the Roughnecks won the NASL championship. Returning to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Futcher had a spell with NAC Breda
NAC Breda
NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of...
before heading back to England with Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
in 1984. After a season with Barnsley he joined Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, making 65 league appearances before leaving for Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
in 1987. In August 1988, Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
paid £35,000 for his services and he enjoyed regular football in the 1988–89 season
1988–89 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1988–89 season was Port Vale's seventy-seventh season of football in the Football League, and third successive season in the Third Division. They achieved promotion to the Second Division with a 2–1 aggregate win over Bristol Rovers in the two-legged play-off Final...
and played in both legs of the play-off final
1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final was a two-legged football match played at on 31 May and 3 June 1989, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of The Football League in the 1988–89 season. Port Vale faced Bristol...
which saw the club promoted. However he was dropped in October 1989, and he 'forced the issue' and was sold on to Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
for £60,000 the following month.
He made 57 appearances for Burnley from 1989 to 1991 before finishing his professional playing career with Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
, scoring four goals in 21 league games in 1991–92. His last senior game for them was in the Fourth Division Play-off Semi Final 1st leg, and his last Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
goal was a few weeks earlier against Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
. He later played at non-league Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...
in 1992 before he retired.
Coaching career
As a coach he has been involved in college soccerCollege soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
in America, including at Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
. Futcher is currently coaching at RSL Florida coaching the under-12 boys in Tampa, FL. He has previously worked as Bradford City's Community Officer and Youth Development Officer.
Family
Futcher's twin brother PaulPaul Futcher
Paul Futcher is a former professional footballer who had a distinguished career as defender in the English football league, for England under 21s and as manager of several non-league clubs. Futcher is also the father of fellow footballer Ben Futcher.-Playing career:Futcher was the defensive half...
played some 20 years in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, and Paul's son Ben
Ben Futcher
Benjamin Paul "Ben" Futcher is an English professional footballer currently playing for Mansfield Town on loan from Bury. He notably played for Lincoln City between 2002 and 2005 where he played in two play-off finals...
also has extensive Football League experience. Ron's other brother Graham
Graham Futcher
Graham Futcher is a former professional footballer who played in the Football League his hometown club Chester. He is best known as the oldest of three brothers to play for the club during this period....
also played professionally. Paul and Graham also started their careers with Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
.
Honours
with Port Vale- Football League Third DivisionFootball League Third DivisionThe Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
Play-offFootball League One play-offsThe Football League One Playoffs are a series of playoff matches, contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the NPower Football League One table to determine the third spot for promotion to the second tier of English football, the Championship....
winner: 19891989 Football League Third Division play-off FinalThe 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final was a two-legged football match played at on 31 May and 3 June 1989, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of The Football League in the 1988–89 season. Port Vale faced Bristol...