Chris Price (footballer)

Christopher James Price (born 30 March 1960) is an English former footballer who made 561 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, playing for Hereford United, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth. He played as a right-back.[3]

Chris Price
Personal information
Full name Christopher James Price[1]
Date of birth (1960-03-30) 30 March 1960 (age 64)
Place of birth Hereford, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Full back
Youth career
Hereford United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1986 Hereford United 330 (27)
1986–1988 Blackburn Rovers 83 (11)
1988–1992 Aston Villa 111 (2)
1992–1993 Blackburn Rovers 19 (3)
1993–1994 Portsmouth 18 (0)
1994 Dallas Sidekicks (indoor) 11 (1)
199x–1996 Cinderford Town
Managerial career
1996–1997 Newport
1997–xxxx Cinderford Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Price began his career at home town club Hereford United where he quickly became the first choice right back. In ten seasons at Hereford he amassed over 330 appearances, at the time a club record. Notably he scored the equalising goal against Arsenal in the 1984–85 FA Cup Third Round.[4] At the end of the 1985–86 season, he was chosen Hereford's Player of the Year,[5] and was then sold to Blackburn Rovers for £25,000, stepping up two divisions.[4]

His first spell at Ewood Park lasted two seasons and he was a regular in the side.

Price was sold on to Aston Villa for £150,000 and played First Division football for the first time in his career. After four seasons as a regular at Villa Park he was sold back to Blackburn for £100,000. His second spell – although short – was very successful as he netted crucial goals which helped Rovers win promotion to the newly formed Premier League.[4][6] He moved on to Portsmouth where injury ended his professional career.[4]

Price then played for Southern League Southern Division club Cinderford Town, scoring against Conference club Bromsgrove Rovers to help Cinderford through to the Second Round proper of the 1995–96 FA Cup.[7] After a spell on the staff of Cheltenham Town, Price was appointed manager of Newport in late 1996, a post he left at the end of the season with Newport relegated from the Southern League Premier Division.[8] In September 1997 he returned to Cinderford as manager.[9]

Price moved to Spain in 2003 where he was involved with Charlton Athletic's European Soccer School in Torrevieja.[citation needed] He then emigrated to Australia.[4]

Price was swept out to sea by a rip current off a beach near his home in Queensland in January 2011. Local lifeguards found him a short time later face down in the water and not breathing. While he was being resuscitated, he suffered a cardiac arrest and he was taken to the Acute Care Unit at Gold Coast Hospital in Southport. After he was released home, he contracted pneumonia due to the amount of sea water that had infiltrated his lungs, for which he was placed on medication.[10][11]

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Price, Christopher James (Chris)". Aston Villa Player Database. Jörn Mårtensson. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  2. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). Queen Anne Press. p. 72. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
  3. ^ "Chris Price". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Local hero" (PDF). County Football News (6). Herefordshire County FA: 7. October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Player of the Year History". Hereford United F.C. Archived from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  6. ^ "Chris Price Blackburn Rovers FC". Football Heroes. Sporting Heroes Collections. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  7. ^ Moore, Glenn (13 November 1995). "Price is right for small-town giants". The Independent. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  8. ^ "Football". The Independent. 8 November 1996. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  9. ^ "Broomes Signs New Contract". 4thegame. Sportech. 3 September 1997. Retrieved 7 November 2009.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Ex-Villa player Chris Price swept to sea in Brisbane". BBC News. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Chris Price recovering after freak accident". Aston Villa Former Players Association. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  12. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 147.
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