John Archer (footballer, born 1941)

John Archer (born 18 June 1941) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and inside forward for five professional teams.

John Archer

Personal information
Full name	John Archer[1]
Date of birth	(1941-06-18) 18 June 1941[1]
Place of birth	Biddulph, England[1]
Playing position(s)	Inside forward; midfielder
Youth career
	Port Vale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1958–1961	Port Vale	10	(3)
1961–1966	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	139	(37)
1966–1968	Crewe Alexandra	59	(16)
1967–1968	→ Huddersfield Town (loan)	9	(0)
1969–1972	Chesterfield	116	(24)
Total		333	(80)
Teams managed
	Sandbach Ramblers
	Nantwich Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He began his career with Port Vale in July 1958, before moving on to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in May 1961. Five years later he signed with Crewe Alexandra. He helped the club to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1967–68, but left the club at the end of the season, following a loan spell with Huddersfield Town. He then signed with Chesterfield, and helped the club to the Fourth Division title in 1969–70, before retiring in 1972. He later managed Sandbach Ramblers and Nantwich Town, and scouted for Chesterfield.

Playing career

Port Vale

Archer graduated through the Port Vale junior squad to sign as a professional in July 1958.[1] He made his Third Division debut in the 1959–60 campaign under manager Norman Low. He scored twice against Wrexham in a 3–1 victory at Vale Park on 16 April 1960, finishing the campaign with three goals in six games.[1] However, he featured just four times on 1960–61, and was moved on to league rivals Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on a free transfer in May 1961, then managed by Bill McGarry.[1]

Bournemouth

Bournemouth were pushing promotion, and finished in third place, three points short of promotion in 1961–62. They finished in fifth place in 1962–63, six points short of their target. A fourth-place finish followed in 1963–64, four points shy of promotion. They then dropped to eleventh place in 1964–65 under Reg Flewin. Archer left the club following a further slip down the table in 1965–66 under Freddie Cox's stewardship. He scored 37 goals in 139 league games during his time on the south coast.

Crewe Alexandra

He then moved on to Ernie Tagg's Crewe Alexandra for a £3,000 fee and was converted from an inside forward into a midfielder.[2] Crewe were aiming for promotion in the Fourth Division, but the "Railwaymen" finished fifth in 1966–67, four points short of promotion. Archer was finally promoted in 1967–68, as Crewe finished in fourth place, ahead of Bradford City by just one point. He was loaned out to Huddersfield Town in the 1967–68 campaign, and played nine Second Division games without scoring under Tom Johnston.

Chesterfield

Archer remained in the Fourth Division after putting pen to paper with Jimmy McGuigan's Chesterfield, where he was also appointed club captain.[2] After finishing just one place and two points above the re-election zone in 1968–69, the "Spireites" topped the division in 1969–70; Archer scored two goals direct from corners during the 1969–70 season.[2] They then finished fifth in 1970–71, nine points short of a second successive promotion. Archer retired after the club finished in mid-table in 1971–72. He played a total of 129 games for Chesterfield, scoring 24 goals.

Style of play

Able to play as an inside forward or midfielder, Archer was a slow, stocky and aggressive player who had good technical qualities, vision and set piece ability.[2]

Later career

After retiring as a player, Archer worked as manager at Sandbach Ramblers and Nantwich Town.[2] He also scouted in Wales and the West Country for former club Chesterfield.[2] He also worked as a greenkeeper at Malkins Bank course, near Sandbach.[2] He also served as the President of the Wrekin Federation of Pigeon Fanciers.[2]

Statistics

Source:[3]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	1959–60	Third Division	6	3	0	0	0	0	6	3
	1960–61	Third Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		10	3	0	0	0	0	10	3
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1961–62	Third Division	42	13	1	0	3	0	46	13
	1962–63	Third Division	21	4	1	0	1	0	23	4
	1963–64	Third Division	11	5	1	0	3	0	15	5
	1964–65	Third Division	40	11	2	0	1	0	43	11
	1965–66	Third Division	25	4	4	2	2	1	31	7
	Total		139	37	9	2	10	1	158	40
Crewe Alexandra	1966–67	Fourth Division	34	6	3	0	0	0	37	6
	1967–68	Fourth Division	25	10	1	1	2	1	28	12
	Total		59	16	4	1	2	1	65	18
Huddersfield Town (loan)	1967–68	Second Division	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Chesterfield	1969–70	Fourth Division	42	12	1	0	3	1	46	13
	1970–71	Third Division	45	6	3	0	1	0	49	6
	1971–72	Third Division	29	6	3	0	3	1	35	7
	Total		116	24	7	0	6	2	129	26
Career total			333	80	20	3	18	4	371	87

Honours

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion winner: 1967–68

Chesterfield

• Football League Fourth Division: 1969–70[2]

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 8. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. "Sky is Blue - The Chesterfield FC history resource". Sky is Blue - The Chesterfield FC history resource. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
3. John Archer at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)