Steve Stone (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Steve Stone


fullname = Steven Brian Stone
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|8|20
cityofbirth = Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = height|ft=5|in=9
position = Midfielder (Retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs = Nottingham Forest
years = 1989-1999
1999-2002
2002-2005
2005-2006
clubs = Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa
Portsmouth
Leeds United
Total
caps(goals) = 229 (23)
090 0(4)
073 0(9)
012 0(1)
404 (37)
nationalyears = 1995–1996
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 009 0(2)

Steven Brian Stone (born 20 August 1971 in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England) is an English former footballer. He usually played on the right side of midfield, but could also play at full back.

Stone began his career at Nottingham Forest, where, despite suffering broken legs on three occasions, he managed to establish himself as a vital team player, and also earned a call up to the England squad, making his international debut in 1995 against Norway. He went on to earn nine caps, scoring twice, and was part of Terry Venables' squad for Euro 96.

However, another serious leg injury meant he missed the entire 1996-97 season. Despite this, he fought his way back into the Forest team.

Following the club's relegation from the Premier League, he moved to Aston Villa for £5.5 million in 1999, having made 229 appearances for Forest. He soon became a vital team player under then manager John Gregory. However, following Gregory's dismissal, Stone failed to impress new manager Graham Taylor, and, having failed to land a place at Manchester United two seasons earlier, he was transferred to Portsmouth for the 2002-03 season, having played in 121 games for Villa.

A famous crowd chant dedicated to him went: "Stevie Stone. Stevie Stone, Stevie Stevie Stone. He's got no hair but we don't care. Stevie Stevie Stone".

Despite continued injuries, he established himself as a regular in the Portsmouth team. He was an invaluable part of the team that won promotion to the Premier League in 2002-2003, and then achieved a mid-table finish the following season and narrowly avoided relegation the next. However, when his contract expired in June 2005, new manager Alain Perrin decided to release Stone, and he signed for Leeds United.

Stone's career at Leeds was short-lived. He was injured in training as soon as he joined the club, and it took him most of his first season to recover from the injury to his knee. Stone played a few matches at the end of the 2005-06 campaign, and continued to play at the start of the 2006-07 campaign. Injuries, however, struck again, and Steve retired early on 15 December [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/6184901.stm] .

References

External links

*soccerbase|7658|Steve Stone
* [http://www.englandstats.com England National Team Statistics]