Roger Preece (born 9 June 1968) was an English professional footballer who mainly played as a midfielder but could also play as a full back. He played in The Football League for three clubs and has also played and managed in non–league football.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roger Preece | ||
| Date of birth | 9 June 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Much Wenlock, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gap Queens Park (club coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1986 | Coventry City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1990 | Wrexham | 111 | (12) |
| 1990–1996 | Chester City | 170 | (4) |
| 1996–1997 | Southport | 9 | (0) |
| 1997 | Telford United | 8 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | Shrewsbury Town | 52 | (3) |
| 2000–2003 | Telford United | 32 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Newtown | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003–2006 | Newtown | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing and coaching career
editPreece began his playing career as an apprentice with Coventry City, but in August 1986 he moved to Wrexham. He made more than 100 Football League appearances over the next four years gaining a Welsh Cup runners-up medal against Cardiff City at Swansea's Vetch in 1988 and helping the Robins to the 1988/89 play off final against Leyton Orient. However, he had a poor disciplinary record, being sent off five times.[2] In summer 1990, he was released by Wrexham and moved to local rivals Chester City, which was a division higher in the Football League Third Division. He began at Chester as a full back but went on to make his greatest mark as a midfielder.[2]
He helped Chester win promotion from Division Three in 1993–94, scoring in the promotion decider against Hereford United on 23 April 1994.[3] He was named player of the season the following year.[4] Unfortunately, Preece played just one more game for the club as a tackle from Hartlepool United's Mick Tait[5] on the opening day of the 1995–96 season ruled him out of action for the remainder of the season. He left the club in October 1996 after failing to recover,[6] spending the remainder of the season with GM Vauxhall Conference sides Southport and Telford United.
In June 1997, Preece returned to The Football League as player–coach with Shrewsbury Town.[7] In 2000, he teamed up again with manager Jake King at Telford United, where they worked together until Preece became Newtown manager in June 2003.[8] He remained in charge until October 2006, leaving after a 6–0 loss to Rhyl.[9]
Preece then coached with the Wrexham-based side Gap Queens Park,[10] as well as with Wrexham's centre of excellence.[11]
Honours
editChester City
- Football League Division Three runners-up: 1993–94.
- Player of the Season: 1994–95
Bibliography
edit- Sumner, Chas (1997). On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City F.C. 1885–1997. Yore Publications. ISBN 1-874427-52-6.
References
edit- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ a b Sumner (1997), p. 108
- ^ Sumner (1997), p. 117
- ^ "Club Records: Player of the Season". chester-city.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ Sumner (1997), p. 121
- ^ Sumner (1997), p. 122
- ^ "Jolly Roger". chester-city.co.uk (see 27 June). Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "Newtown appoint Preece". BBC Sport. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "Welsh Premier Roundup". BBC Wales. 23 October 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
- ^ "First team coaching staff". gapqueensparkfc.com. Retrieved 22 January 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Centre of excellence – the story to date". Wrexham AFC. Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
External links
edit- Roger Preece at Soccerbase
- Chester City 'What Happened To…?' article (2002)
- Welsh Premier career statistics
