Steve Bould

Football player infobox2
playername = Steve Bould


fullname = Stephen Andrew Bould
height = height|ft=6|in=4
nickname = Bouldy
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1962|11|16|df=y
cityofbirth = Stoke-on-Trent
countryofbirth = England
position = Centre-back
youthyears = 1978–1980
youthclubs = Stoke City
years = 1980–1988
1982
1988–1999
1999–2000
clubs = Stoke City
→ Torquay United (loan)
Arsenal
Sunderland Total
caps(goals) = 183 0(6)
009 0(0)
288 0(5)
021 0(0) 501 (11)
nationalyears = 1994
1994
nationalteam = England B
England
nationalcaps(goals) = 001 0(1)
002 0(0)

Stephen Andrew Bould (born 16 November 1962) is an English former football player.

Playing career

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Bould signed for his hometown club Stoke City as a schoolboy in 1978, turning professional in November 1980. He made his debut at right back in a 3-2 defeat away to Middlesbrough in September 1981. However, he was unable to command a regular place in the team, and was loaned out to Torquay United in October 1982, playing nine league games for Bruce Rioch's side.

Bould slowly became a regular in the Stoke side, switching to centre half, although a major back injury in 1987 threatened his career, but after several operations he recovered. He moved to Arsenal in 1988, and became part of Arsenal's "famous four" defensive lineup, with Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and his former Stoke team-mate Lee Dixon. Bould won the First Division title twice in 1988-89 and 1990-91; injury however ruled him out of the FA Cup and League Cup finals that Arsenal won in 1992-93.

After winning the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1993-94, success eluded Arsenal and Bould for several years, and the arrival of French manager Arsène Wenger led some to speculate the ageing Bould would leave the club (especially as he was now often second-choice behind Martin Keown); instead it spurred a brief revival, and Bould was a member of the squad that won the double in 1997-98 - Bould famously set up Tony Adams with a chipped throughball, for the final goal in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Everton, the match that won them the Premier League title. Two weeks later they won the FA Cup to complete the double.

By now age was not on Bould's side and after a final season at Highbury he moved to newly-promoted Sunderland in July 1999 for a fee of £500,000. Following the departure of skipper Kevin Ball in December 1999, manager Peter Reid made him club captain and he helped them finish seventh - just short of a UEFA Cup place. Bould stayed at the Stadium of Light until arthritis contributed to his retirement in September 2000 having played only 21 Premier League games for Sunderland.

Despite forming part of one of the most secure top-flight defences of the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s, Bould won only two caps for England, far fewer than fellow centre half Tony Adams, with his debut coming at the age of 31.

Coaching career

After retiring, he began working towards his UEFA coaching badges and in June 2001 moved back to Arsenal and became a coach for the youth teams. He is currently head coach of Arsenal's U18 Academy side.

External links

* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/searchresults.asp?FootballHeroName=Steve+Bould Photos and stats] at sporting-heroes.net
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=849 Statistics] at soccerbase.com