Ron Futcher

Ron Futcher
Personal information
Full name Ronald Futcher[1]
Date of birth (1956-09-25) 25 September 1956 (age 67)[1]
Place of birth Chester, England[1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1974 Chester 4 (0)
1974–1978 Luton Town 120 (40)
1978–1979 Manchester City 17 (7)
1976–1981 Minnesota Kicks 129 (73)
1982 Portland Timbers 23 (13)
1983 Southampton 0 (0)
1983–1984 Tulsa Roughnecks 75 (58)
1984 NAC Breda
1984–1985 Barnsley 19 (5)
1985–1987 Oldham Athletic 65 (30)
1987–1988 Bradford City 42 (18)
1988–1990 Port Vale 52 (20)
1990–1991 Burnley 57 (25)
1991–1992 Crewe Alexandra 21 (4)
1992 Boston United 2 (0)
Total 624 (253)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronald Futcher (born 25 September 1956) is an English former footballer who played as a centre-forward. He was the fourth-highest career scorer of the North American Soccer League and made over 400 appearances in total for nine different English Football League clubs. He was noted for his aerial ability and solid ball control.[3]

He began his career at Chester before moving on to Luton Town the following year. He signed with Manchester City in August 1978 but left Maine Road the following year to concentrate on his career in the United States with the Minnesota Kicks. After the club disbanded, he moved on to Portland Timbers and then the Tulsa Roughnecks, winning the Soccer Bowl in 1983. The next year, he returned to England with Barnsley, following a brief spell with Dutch side NAC Breda. He signed with Oldham Athletic in 1985, and then transferred to Bradford City in 1987. He was bought by Port Vale in August 1988 for £35,000. He helped the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Third Division via the play-offs in 1989. He was sold on to Burnley for £60,000 in November 1989 before moving on to Crewe Alexandra. He announced his retirement the next year after a brief spell in the Conference with Boston United.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference kent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 298. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.