Stuart Slater

Infobox Football biography
playername = Stuart Slater


fullname = Stuart Ian Slater
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1969|03|27
cityofbirth = Sudbury, Suffolk
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
nickname =
position = Winger, Forward
currentclub = Retired
youthyears = 1981–1986
youthclubs = West Ham United
years = 1986–1992
1992–1993
1993–1996
1996
1996–1999
1999–2000
2000–2001
2001
2003–2004
clubs = West Ham United
Celtic
Ipswich Town
Leicester City
Watford
Carlton
Forest Green Rovers
Aberystwyth Town
Weston-super-Mare
caps(goals) = 141 (11)
043 0(3)
072 0(4)
000 0(0)
030 0(1)
025 0(0)
021 0(1)
007 0(1)
035 0(2)
nationalyears = 1990
1991
nationalteam = England U21
England B
nationalcaps(goals) = 003 0(0)
002 0(0)

Stuart Slater (born 27 March 1969 in Sudbury, Suffolk) is a former professional footballer who played as a winger and forward for West Ham United, Celtic, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Watford. He also represented England at under-21 and B level.

Background

Slater was raised in rural Suffolk and played in the local junior leagues as a boy. He played for Colchester's 'Langham Lions' alongside Jason Dozzell and supported Ipswich Town.

Club career

West Ham United

Slater joined West Ham as an apprentice in 1986 and after a tough first year, he became a star of the youth team. He made his first appearance for West Ham, still an apprentice, when he came on as substitute for Ray Stewart in the Division One home game against Derby County in October 1987.

He was offered a professional contract in April 1988 just after his seventeenth birthday and made a second appearance in the 1987-88 season when he came on as substitute in the home game against Coventry City in the same month.

He made his first start for West Ham against Southampton in August 1988, when a clash of heads with Russell Osman led to him being taken off in the first minute. He recovered to win the Man of the Match award in his next two games, against Charlton and Newcastle United, and scored his first goal for the club in a F.A. Cup 5th round tie against Charlton in February 1989.

Playing in Division Two in 1989-90, he scored nine goals in 50 league and cup appearances as West Ham reached the semi-final of the League Cup, and made three substitute appearances for the England Under 21 team in 1990.

Manager Billy Bonds switched him to the left wing towards the end of the 1989-90 season where he excelled to the extent that after a 5-0 home defeat of Sheffield United in March 1990, the Sheffield United defender, Chris Wilder, shook Slater's hand, saying, "That's the closest I've been to you all evening."

A similar performance came against Everton in the sixth-round of the FA Cup in March 1991, when he also scored West Ham's second goal from 20 yards, as West Ham won 2-1 to reach the semi-finals.

West Ham returned to Division One in 1991-92 but, troubled by an Achilles injury, Slater failed to scored a goal in 51 appearances. He turned down the offer of a new contract and left the club in August 1992 for Celtic.

Career after leaving West Ham United

Former West Ham team-mate, Liam Brady, then manager of Celtic, took Slater to Glasgow in a £1.5 million deal in August 1992.

Slater made his debut in the same month, coming on as a substitute in a 1-1 away draw against Rangers, but did not make an impression at Celtic and thirteen months later he returned south to Ipswich Town, having scored three goals in 43 appearances.

He joined Ipswich Town in a £750,000 deal in September 1993, where he linked up again with his former manager at West Ham, John Lyall, in the Premier League. He stayed at Ipswich for three seasons scoring four goals in 84 appearances before leaving on a free transfer.

After a short spell on trial at Leicester City, Slater joined Watford. Injuries limited him to only 35 league appearances for the Watford in almost three years and he eventually moved to Australia, joining NSL club, Carlton S.C., in August 1999.

Slater returned to England a year later to join Football Conference club Forest Green Rovers in October 2000, for who he made 24 league and cup appearances in the 2000-01 season and played in the FA Trophy final at Villa Park in May 2001, when Rovers were beaten 1-0 by Canvey Island. [cite news |title =Canvey stun Forest to lift Trophy |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2001-05-13 |url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1328114.stm |accessdate = 2007-08-26 ]

He was unable to agree a new contract with Rovers and followed manager Frank Gregan to League of Wales side Aberystwyth Town in July 2001. [cite news |title =Aber sign experienced midfielder |publisher = BBC Sport |date = 2001-07-17 |url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/wales/1443585.stm |accessdate = 2007-08-25 ] Poor results in the first months of the 2001-02 season saw Frank Gregan depart and Slater follow him to Southern League club, Weston-super-Mare, in December 2001, [cite news |title =Gregan begins recruiting |publisher = Non-League Daily |date = 2001-12-10 |url=http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=1674 |accessdate = 2007-08-25 ] where he stayed for the next three years, helping Weston-super-Mare to promotion to the Southern League Premier Division in 2003.

He played his final game for Weston-super-Mare in a 1-1 draw, in which he scored, at Bishop Stortford in October 2004. [cite web | title =Player Details: Season 2004-2005 Stuart Slater | publisher =SoccerFactsUK |url=http://www.soccerfactsuk.co.uk/s2004/player_details.php?playerid=7145 | accessdate = 2007-08-26 ]

ources

cite book |last= Northcutt |first= John |coauthors= Roy Shoesmith |title =West Ham United A Complete Record |publisher =Breedon Books Publishing Company |location= Derby |date =1993 |pages =p. 151 | isbn =1873626444
cite book |last= Blows |first= Kirk |coauthors= Ben Sharratt |title =Claret and Blue Blood |publisher =Mainstream Publishing (Edinburgh) Ltd |date =2002 |pages =pp. 190-194 | isbn =1840184892
cite book |last= Northcutt |first= John |title =The Definitive West Ham United F.C. |publisher =Soccerdata |date =2003 |pages =pp. 103-107 | isbn =1899468196

References

External links

*soccerbase|7345
* [http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/teams/guidetoground.php?mode=playershow&pid=4116&team_id=59&league_id=251 Stuart Slater history] at [http://www.NonLeagueDaily.com NonLeagueDaily.com]