Simon Stainrod

Simon Stainrod was a professional footballer who was a forward for home town clubs Sheffield Wednesday and United as well as Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City and featured in an FA Cup Final.

Dob: 1 February 1959 PoB: Sheffield Position: Forward
Career: Player: Sheffield United (1976-79), Oldham Athletic (1979-80), Queens Park Rangers (1980-85), Sheffield Wednesday (1985, 8 (7) + 2), Aston Villa (1985-87), Stoke City (1987-88), Strasbourg (1988-89), FC Rouen (1989-90), Falkirk (1990-91) Manager: Dundee (1991-93), Ayr United (1993-95).



1985 - simon stainrod with muck on his shirt!Simon Stainrod made his football league debut at White Hart Lane in a 5-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur for Sheffield United in March 1976 which confirmed the Blades relegation to Division Two, and scored his first goal a week later against Norwich City.

Within three seasons at Bramall Lane he threatened to be a major player, his partnership with Keith Edwards also looked promising. Like Bobby Campbell, Stainrod was sold when Harry Haslam took charge. He made 67 league appearances and scoring 14 goals and winning a few England Youth Caps while at the Lane.

For £60,000 Stainrod became then Oldham Athletic's record signing in March 1979, his debut coming in a 2-0 victory against Blackburn Rovers where he scored the second goal for the Latics. The following season he was the clubs top goal scorer with just 11 goals.

In November 1980 London club Queens Park Rangers snapped him up for £275,000 after scoring 21 goals in 69 games for the Latics. In 1981-82 the Loftus Road club made the FA Cup final, Tottenham Hotspur won the replay 4-0 after a 1-1 draw, that season he was Rangers top scorer in the league.

The season after that roller coaster of the FA Cup journey the Loftus Road club won Second Division Championship. Stainrod's next move didn't come until February 1985 when he was brought back to Sheffield, Blades rivals Wednesday (his boyhood club) took him for £250,000 where his stay is was short and unsuccessful.

For the same fee of £250,000 he moved to Aston Villa in September 1985 and finished joint top scorer in the league for his new club. Also that season he made an appearance in the Milk Cup (League Cup) semi-final against the eventual winners Oxford United.

He had made his Villa debut in a 4-0 victory over Exeter City in the second round of the League Cup; he memorably netted all four of those goals.

Yet again Stainrod finished joint top scorer (6 goals) the following season but his tally of goals proved worthless as the Villa Park club were relegated. He joined Stoke City in January 1988 but his stay was short, from the Potteries club he went to France and played for Strasbourg and then Rouen in second division.

In the 1990-91 campaign he was playing for Falkirk after a £100,000 fee in Scotland and aided them in winning the First Division Championship, at that time it was the highest Division before Premier League (SPL) was formed.

Whist at Falkirk Stainrod set two goals up in a memorable 7-1 victory against Raith Rovers on 3rd November 1990. The season after he joined Dundee the following season where he gained his first managerial experience. He also famously netted from the half-way line against St Johnstone for the Bairns.

Having left the beautiful game as player and manager he moved to Cannes, France and is now a FIFA-licensed agent.

Edited: 12 March 2010