Ian Bishop (footballer)

Ian William Bishop (born 29 May 1965 in Liverpool) is a former footballer who played as a midfielder.

Ian Bishop
Bishop at the Boleyn Ground, April 2014
Personal information
Full name Ian William Bishop[1]
Date of birth (1965-05-29) 29 May 1965
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
000?–1983 Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1984 Everton 1 (0)
1984 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 4 (0)
1984–1988 Carlisle United 132 (14)
1988–1989 Bournemouth 44 (2)
1989 Manchester City 19 (2)
1989–1998 West Ham United 255 (12)
1998–2001 Manchester City 78 (2)
2001 Miami Fusion 23 (0)
2002 Barry Town 2 (0)
2002–2003 Rochdale 8 (0)
2003–2004 Radcliffe Borough 10 (1)
2004 New Orleans Shell Shockers 16 (3)
Total 592 (36)
National team
England B
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was born in inner city Liverpool but shortly afterwards moved to the new Cantril Farm housing estate, and on leaving school in July 1981 he joined Everton, turning professional for the 1983–84 season under the management of Howard Kendall – who had taken over during the same summer that Bishop had first joined the club.

However, he failed to break into the first team at Goodison Park, played just once in the First Division. He then tried his luck in the Fourth Division as one of Dario Gradi's first signings for her Crewe Alexandra.

Bishop established his reputation at Carlisle United where he made 132 appearances from 1984 to 1988 prior to moving to Bournemouth. He then signed for Manchester City in the summer of 1989 for £465,000 in a deal involving Paul Moulden on City's promotion to the First Division.[3] Bishop was a good passer of the ball and in his 24 appearances for Manchester City in his first spell helped the team demolish their local rivals Manchester United 5–1 scoring City's third goal, on 23 September 1989.[4] Despite being popular with the Manchester City supporters he was sold by then manager Howard Kendall to West Ham United in December 1989.

Bishop joined in the same week as Trevor Morley and Colin Foster, as manager Lou Macari continued to rebuild the West Ham squad. He spent the majority of his career at West Ham, playing 284 times between 1989 and 1998, scoring 16 goals and becoming something of a cult figure. Although Macari resigned before the season ended, he remained in favour under his successor Billy Bonds and then under the management of Harry Redknapp.

In early 1998, having become surplus to requirements at the Boleyn Ground, he returned to Manchester City, who were now battling against relegation to Division Two. His second spell at the club saw the team relegated to what was then Division Two, but then promoted to Division One and in the following season to the Premier League, thus becoming the first team to reach the FA Premier League with back-to-back promotions (although a number of clubs had reached the old First Division in this pattern). Bishop was an integral player in the team which earned promotion to the Premier League but only played ten times for the club in the top flight as they fought an ultimately unsuccessful battle against relegation.

By the time City's relegation battle was lost, Bishop had headed across the Atlantic to sign for Miami Fusion. He played 23 games in the MLS before finishing his playing career with a stint at the New Orleans Shell Shockers in the USL Premier Development League.

Ian currently serves as the Technical Director for Evergreen FC, in Leesburg, Virginia (USA)

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. "Ian William Bishop". Jail.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. "Close relations". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. "Manchester City 5–1 Manchester United". www.mirrorfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
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