Scott James Mean (born 13 December 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. After retiring from football, he turned his hand to acting.

Scott Mean
Personal information
Full name Scott James Mean[1]
Date of birth (1973-12-13) 13 December 1973 (age 50)[2]
Place of birth Crawley, England[2]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Bournemouth 74 (8)
1996West Ham United (loan) 0 (0)
1996West Ham United (loan) 0 (0)
1996–1999 West Ham United 3 (0)
1998Port Vale (loan) 1 (0)
1999–2000 Bournemouth 32 (4)
2000 Kingstonian 2 (0)
Crawley Town
Total 112+ (12+)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Born in Crawley,[1] Mean began his career with Bournemouth, playing 74 Second Division games under the stewardship of Tony Pulis and Mel Machin over the course of the 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons. His form and potential earned him a £100,000 move to Premiership side West Ham United in November 1996. Highly rated at Upton Park, he was seen as having a promising career ahead of him at the top level. To aid in his development, he was loaned out to John Rudge's First Division Port Vale at the start of the 1998–99 season. However, 80 minutes into his Vale debut, he suffered a knee injury that virtually ended his career as a professional footballer.[4] Quickly returning to Upton Park, he recovered to play again, but not to the same level as he once had seemed destined to.

In the summer of 1999, he returned to his previous club, Bournemouth, on a free transfer, back in the Second Division. He played regular football in the 1999–2000 season, scoring on his return to Dean Court on 7 August in a 2–1 win over Cambridge United. Despite playing 40 competitive games, he was released in May 2000. Not in demand the next season in the Football League, he dropped down to the Conference with Kingstonian. He played two games for the "K's" in October 2000, both were away defeats, both saw Mean receiving yellow cards. Before the month was out, he had joined Crawley Town in the Southern Football League. His professional days were long over; by May 2007, he was only competing in pub football.[5]

Style of play

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Mean was described by BBC journalist Tom Fordyce as having "dashing good looks, very ordinary skills",[6]

Acting career

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After his footballing career was cut short, Mean became an actor and appeared in two football-related productions. He played the England footballer "Parksey" alongside Ricky Tomlinson in the Mike Bassett: England Manager film before a stint in Sky1 series Dream Team, playing Robbie Walsh. He has also made appearances on various TV shows, most notably The Bill and EastEnders.

Career statistics

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Source:[7][8]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bournemouth 1992–93 Second Division 15 1 0 0 4 0 19 1
1993–94 Second Division 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
1994–95 Second Division 40 6 2 0 5 0 47 6
1995–96 Second Division 14 1 1 0 3 0 18 1
Total 74 8 3 0 12 0 89 8
West Ham United 1996–97 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
1998–99 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Port Vale (loan) 1998–99 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bournemouth 1999–2000 Second Division 32 4 1 0 7 0 40 4
Career total 110 12 4 0 19 0 133 12

References

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  1. ^ a b "Scott Mean". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Scott Mean". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Scott Mean". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. ^ Fielding, Rob (8 August 2020). "Port Vale one hit wonders: number six Scott Mean". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Flown from the Nest". ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  6. ^ Fordyce, Tom (15 January 2003). "Kournikova slumps to new low". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  7. ^ Scott Mean at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  8. ^ Scott Mean at Soccerbase  
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