Chris Spendlove

Chris Spendlove (born 18 December 1984) is an English former footballer currently serving as an assistant coach for USL Championship club Miami FC. He is also known for his alleged involvement with two friends in the manslaughter of an off-duty police officer in Liverpool in 2014, for which he was acquitted and his two friends convicted.[1]

Chris Spendlove
Personal information
Full name Christopher Spendlove
Date of birth (1984-12-18) 18 December 1984
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Youth career
Everton
Preston North End
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Oklahoma City Stars 83 (26)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 St. Helens Town
2008–2009 Austin Aztex U23 15 (1)
2010 GPS Portland Phoenix 14 (1)
2011 Wilmington Hammerheads 21 (0)
2013 OKC Energy 1 (0)
Total 51+ (2+)
Teams managed
2011–2013 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (assistant)
2014 OKC Energy (assistant)
2015–2017 OKC Energy U23
2015–2017 OKC Energy (assistant)
2019 Hartford Athletic (assistant)
2020– Miami FC (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Youth, college, and amateur

As a schoolboy Spendlove played football for Everton and Preston North End.[2] He was a five-year captain of district and regional representative squads back in his home town of Liverpool before he began his Undergraduate and master's degrees at Oklahoma City University, playing with their soccer team during his four years there, recording 26 goals and 9 assists.[3]

During his college career, Spendlove also played with USL Premier Development League club GPS Portland Phoenix during their 2010 season.[4]

Professional

Spendlove signed his first professional contract in February 2011, joining USL Pro club Wilmington Hammerheads.[5] He made his professional debut on 17 April 2011, in Wilmington's first game of the 2011 season, a 1–0 win over the Rochester Rhinos.[6]

Prior to the 2020 USL Championship season, Spendlove became the assistant coach at Miami FC.[7]

Personal

In December 2014, Spendlove was arrested and charged with the murder of a police officer and two counts of malicious wounding in Liverpool, England.[2] On 22 December, Oklahoma City Energy dismissed him as a result.[8]

During the subsequent murder trial at Liverpool Crown Court, it was alleged that Spendlove had struck PC Steventon whilst he was on the floor, with the Barrister for the prosecution Mr Johnson QC noting during his closing speech "when Spendlove goes towards PC Steventon this was not a helpful shove but a punch." Going on to describe the punch saying "He draws his fist back and in he goes." CCTV was released by Merseyside Police [9] following the trial which appears to show the alleged punch. Spendlove was accused of watching out for his two friends whilst they attacked the officers and Mr Johnson QC outlined Mr Spendlove's involvement saying to the jury "this is joint enterprise ladies and gentlemen, in action" [10]

In July 2015 he was cleared of all charges, however his friends and co-accused were convicted.[9][11]

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gollark: I mean, yes, this is all not exactly *trivial* and somewhat costly, but it's not the giant issue antinuclear people imply it is.
gollark: I don't *think* those are too common, but just put them in a robust container when you're sending them up.
gollark: Oh yes, add warning signs too, obviously.
gollark: So leave it and ignore it in a specific place. Maybe the Moon or something, if space travel gets cheaper.

References
  1. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/pc-neil-doyle-trial-two-9749470
  2. Bartlett, David (23 December 2014). "PICTURED: PC Neil Doyle murder accused Andy Taylor in football playing days". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. "Oklahoma City University Athletics". Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. http://www.wilmingtonhammerheads.com/news/490794.html Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  7. "Miami FC Technical Staff". Miami FC.
  8. "Oklahoma assistant coach charged with murder of policeman". Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/watch-pc-neil-doyles-killers-10037388
  10. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/re-read-pc-neil-doyle-9711805
  11. "PC Neil Doyle killing: Two men guilty of manslaughter". BBC News. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
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