Neil Fisher (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Neil Fisher


fullname = Neil John Fisher
nickname = Fish
height = height|ft=5|in=10
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1970|11|7
cityofbirth = St. Helens, Merseyside
countryofbirth = England
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears = 1987–1989
youthclubs = Bolton Wanderers
years = 1989–1995
1995–1998
1998–1999
1999
1999–2001
2001–2003
2003
clubs = Bolton Wanderers
Chester City
Bangor City
Connah's Quay Nomads
Chester City
Leigh RMI
Hyde United
caps(goals) = 24 0 (1)
108 0(4)
10 0 (0)
7 0 0 (0)
77 0 (5)
45 0 (3)
3 0 0(0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 10 January 2008

Neil Fisher (born 7 November 1970, St Helens, Merseyside) was a professional footballer who mainly played as a midfielder. He played in The Football League for Bolton Wanderers and Chester City, as well as for non-league clubs in both England and Wales.

Playing career

Fisher joined Bolton Wanderers as an apprentice in 1987, two years before he signed professional forms with the club. He had to wait until August 1991 for his first-team debut in a Rumbelows Cup tie with York City [ [http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s474/st82680.htm Walking Down The Manny Road - Neil Fisher ] ] and he was to struggle to ever establish himself with Wanderers. His most prominent season was 1994-95 when he played in 11 league games, but he was not included in the matchday squad as Bolton played at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Coca Cola Cup and Division One play-off final.

In June 1995 Fisher moved to Division Three side Chester City on a free transfer [cite book | author=Chas Sumner | title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 | year=1997| pages= p.121|id=ISBN 1-874427-52-6] . He was to enjoy his first taste of regular first-team action with the Blues, missing just two league games in 1995–96. He made his debut in the opening day 2–0 win over Hartlepool United on 12 August 1995, with his first goal arriving in a 5–1 win against Lincoln City the following month.

Despite playing regularly in the closing stages of the 1997–98 season, Fisher was released at the end of the season and dropped into the League of Wales with Bangor City. He quickly moved to Connah's Quay Nomads before making a surprise return to Chester in March 1999 on a non-contract basis [Cite news
title= Alex Smith sold – Conroy signs
url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/march99news.asp
publisher= chester-city.co.uk
date= 1999-03-25
accessdate= 2008-01-09] .

Fisher remained with Chester for the next two years playing in midfield or at full back, featuring prominently in both the 1999-2000 relegation season from Division Three and the club’s first season in the Nationwide Conference. His final game for the club was in the final of the Nationwide Variety Club Trophy against Kingstonian on 7 May 2001, as he helped Chester to a victory on penalties after a goalless draw. It was announced on 13 June 2001 he would not be offered a new contract by Chester [Cite news
title= Fisher and Woods released
url= http://www.chester-city.co.uk/june01news.asp
publisher= chester-city.co.uk
date= 2001-06-13
accessdate= 2008-01-09] .

Fisher remained in the Nationwide Conference with Leigh RMI until January 2003 when he joined Hyde United for a short spell [Cite news
title= Leigh RMI appoint Patterson
url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leigh_rmi/2624557.stm
publisher= BBC Sport
date= 2003-01-03
accessdate= 2008-01-09] .

External links

*soccerbase|id=2527
* [http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s474/st82680.htm Bolton career stats]
* [http://www.hydeunited.com/playerstats.php?p=176 Hyde career stats]
* [http://www.welsh-premier.com/player_detail_solo.php?player_id=10701 Welsh Premier career stats]

References