Dale Gordon

Dale Gordon

Personal information
Full name	Dale Andrew Gordon
Date of birth	9 January 1967
Place of birth	Caister, England
Playing position	Right winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1984–1991	Norwich City	206	(31)
1991–1993	Rangers	45	(6)
1993–1996	West Ham United	9	(1)
1995	→ Peterborough United (loan)	6	(1)
1996	→ Millwall (loan)	6	(0)
1996–1997	AFC Bournemouth	16	(0)
Total		288	(39)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Dale Andrew Gordon (born 9 January 1967 in Caister, Great Yarmouth) is a former professional association football player who played for Norwich City, Rangers, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Millwall and AFC Bournemouth. He was a midfielder - predominantly right-sided - who excited supporters by running at defenders and setting up numerous goals for his team mates.

Gordon is currently Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town.^[1]

Early life

Gordon grew up as an Ipswich Town supporter and has said that he cried when watching the 1978 FA Cup Final on television in which Ipswich beat Arsenal 1-0.

Norwich City

However, he signed for Town's rivals Norwich City and made his league debut for them on 25 August 1984 in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool.

His first goal for Norwich came on 10 November 1984 in a 3-0 win against Luton Town. Gordon made 27 appearances during that 1984-85 season. He found first-team opportunities limited during the following 1985-86 season but did score the goal that secured the Division 2 championship for Norwich in a 1-1 draw against Stoke City on 19 April 1986.

1986-87 was Gordon's breakthrough season. He established himself as a first-team regular and played 41 league games as a vital part of the team that recorded what was then their best ever league finish of fifth position - though he was denied the chance to play in the UEFA Cup due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel disaster of 1985. Gordon was capped by England under 21s towards the end of the campaign, but hampered his chances of future selection when he and his Norwich City team mate Robert Rosario broke curfew while away with the under 21s and went to a nightclub. Gordon was later capped twice for the England B team.

In December 1988, Gordon achieved "a unique place in Norwich City history - a record nobody can ever take away. He was the first player to score in a live televised Football League match involving the Canaries", a 2–1 win over West Ham.^[2]

The 1988-89 season ended with Gordon being voted Norwich City player of the year as the team finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, though again he and his colleagues were deprived of UEFA Cup action as the ban on English clubs in European competitions was still in force. In total, Gordon played 261 games for Norwich (the majority of which were as a right-sided midfielder) between his 1984 debut and his final appearance on 2 November 1991. After the match against Nottingham Forest on 2 November 1991, he signed for Scottish club Rangers for a fee of £1,200,000.

Rangers

Gordon scored twice on his debut for Rangers against Dunfermline Athletic and went on to win two Scottish Championships, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

West Ham United

He joined West Ham United for £750,000 on 8 July 1993, but his career at Upton Park was disrupted by injuries. He did, however, score West Ham's first ever goal in the Premier League in a 1-1 draw against Coventry City on 21 August 1993 at Highfield Road, his only West Ham goal. In just over three years he made only 11 appearance in all competitions for West Ham and had a six game loan period, in 1996, at Millwall^[3] before leaving to join Bournemouth in August 1996 on a free transfer.^[4] In 1996, Gordon expressed a desire to return to Norwich City, but his injuries got the better of him and he retired as a professional player in February 1997.

After football

Coaching

Since his retirement, Gordon has spent a great deal of time running his own football schools for young players. He briefly ran a football academy in Lowestoft on behalf of Ipswich Town and has coached at schools in the Ipswich area, including Caister High School

Gordon managed Great Yarmouth Town in the Jewson League, appointed to the position in May 1997. He also managed Gorleston where he was assisted by fellow former Norwich players Robert Fleck and Mal Lucas.

Gordon was appointed Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town in October 2007.

Family

In 2007, Gordon mentioned in a newspaper interview that his young son Remy is training with Norwich and on 29 July 2009 it was confirmed that Remy Gordon signed a scholarship with Norwich City Football Club, following in his father's footsteps. City.^[5]

Business

In 2008, Gordon was reported to be running his own "Legends" lounge bar in Yarmouth and his own soccer academy.^[2]

Honours

In 2002, Norwich supporters voted Gordon into the Norwich City Hall of Fame.

Notes

1. ^ Pink Un
2. ^ ^{a b} Evening News 24
3. ^ Millwall Players E to L
4. ^ Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Dale Gordon
5. ^ EDP24 - City hoping to unearth another gem

References

• Canary Citizens by Mark Davage, John Eastwood, Kevin Platt, published by Jarrold Publishing, (2001), ISBN 0-7117-2020-7

External links

• Career information at Flown from the Nest

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bryan Gunn	Norwich City Player of the Season 1988/89	Succeeded by Mark Bowen

Persondata
Name	Gordon, Dale
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 January 1967
Place of birth	Caister, England
Date of death
Place of death