Steve Cherry

Steve Cherry
Personal information
Full name Steve Reginald Cherry[1]
Date of birth (1960-08-05) 5 August 1960 (age 64)[2]
Place of birth Nottingham, England[2]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Position(s) Goalkeeper[4]
Youth career
1976–1978 Derby County
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1984 Derby County 77 (0)
1980–1981Port Vale (loan) 4 (0)
1984–1986 Walsall 71 (0)
1986–1989 Plymouth Argyle 73 (0)
1989Chesterfield (loan) 10 (0)
1988–1995 Notts County 266 (0)
1995–1996 Watford 4 (0)
1996Plymouth Argyle (loan) 16 (0)
1996–1997 Rotherham United 20 (0)
1997 Kettering Town
1997–1998 Rushden & Diamonds 18 (0)
1998 Rothwell Corinthians
1998 Gainsborough Trinity
1998 Stalybridge Celtic 10 (0)
1998 Mansfield Town 1 (0)
1999 Oldham Athletic 0 (0)
2003 Lincoln City 0 (0)
2003–2004 Kidsgrove Athletic
2004 Belper Town
Total 570 (0)
International career
1978 England Youth 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Steve Reginald Cherry (born 5 August 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made over 690 league and cup appearances in a 20-year career in the Football League and Conference, playing in the top five divisions of the English game.

Cherry was spotted playing for Calverton Youth Wing by Derby County and joined the club on a two-year apprenticeship in 1976, becoming professional two years later. He won three caps for the England Youth Team in 1978. He started his first competitive senior game in February 1980 and played eight games on loan at Port Vale during the 1980–81 season. He established himself in the first team at Derby during the 1982–83 season and was voted the club's Player of the Year in May 1983. The club were relegated out of the Second Division at the end of the 1983–84 season. He was transferred to Walsall in August 1984. He was voted as Walsall's Player of the Season at the end of the 1984–85 campaign but lost his first-team place at the end of the following campaign and was sold on to Plymouth Argyle for a £19,000 fee in November 1986. After a poor start to his Plymouth career, he improved and was named the club's Player of the Year in 1988. He then asked for a transfer and joined Chesterfield on loan during the 1988–89 season before being sold to Notts County for a £70,000 fee in February 1989.

Cherry was Neil Warnock's first signing as Notts County manager, and the club found instant success under Warnock's stewardship, winning promotions from the Third Division to the First Division via the play-offs in 1990 and 1991. Though County were relegated back to the second tier, he was named the club's Player of the Year in 1992. He played in two Anglo-Italian Cup finals, as County finished as runners-up in 1994 and champions in 1995. He moved on to Watford in July 1995 before rejoining Plymouth Argyle on loan in February 1996. He helped Plymouth to win the Third Division play-offs in 1996, his third such success with Neil Warnock and fifth appearance at Wembley. He then saw out his career with brief stays at Rotherham United, Kettering Town, Rushden & Diamonds, Rothwell Corinthians, Gainsborough Trinity, Stalybridge Celtic, Mansfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Lincoln City, Kidsgrove Athletic and Belper Town. He won the Staffordshire Senior Cup with Kidsgrove in 2004. He later coached at Notts County and Macclesfield Town.

  1. ^ Cherry & Nicholas 2018, pp. 2–10
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference kent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 158. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. ^ Steve Chery at Soccerbase