Simon Stainrod

Simon Allan Stainrod (born 1 February 1959) is an English former footballer who played for Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Stoke City. He also played in France for RC Strasbourg and FC Rouen and in Scotland for Falkirk, Dundee and Ayr United.[1]

Simon Stainrod

Personal information
Full name	Simon Allan Stainrod[1]
Date of birth	(1959-02-01) 1 February 1959[1]
Place of birth	Sheffield, England[1]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Playing position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1975–1979	Sheffield United	67	(14)
1979–1980	Oldham Athletic	69	(21)
1980–1985	Queens Park Rangers	145	(48)
1985	Sheffield Wednesday	15	(2)
1985–1987	Aston Villa	63	(16)
1987–1988	Stoke City	28	(6)
1988–1989	RC Strasbourg	8	(2)
1989–1990	FC Rouen	22	(1)
1990–1992	Falkirk	60	(21)
1992–1993	Dundee	33	(9)
1993–1995	Ayr United	31	(4)
Total		541	(144)
Teams managed
1992–1993	Dundee
1993–1995	Ayr United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Stainrod was born in Sheffield and began his career with Sheffield United making his debut towards the end of the 1975–76, he scored twice in seven matches as the Blades suffered relegation to the Second Division.[3] He spent four season at Bramall Lane making 75 appearances scoring 14 goals before he moved to Oldham Athletic in Match 1979. It was at Boundary Park that Stainrod began to make a name for himself scoring 26 goals in 79 appearances which attracted the attentions of Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers.[3] He decided to join Terry Venables' QPR in November 1980 for a fee of £270,000.[3]

In the 1981–82 season he was a key player of the team that reached the 1982 FA Cup Final, losing 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur after a replay, Stainrod scored a career best of 24 goals that season.[3] In 1982–83 he helped the team win the Football League Second Division title and then finish fifth in the First Division qualifying for Europe. After Venables left Loftus Road in 1984 for Barcelona, the side quickly fell apart under the unsuccessful reign of Alan Mullery and many players including Stainrod left the club.[3]

Stainrod then had an unsuccessful spell at Sheffield Wednesday, and was sold to Aston Villa for £350,000 in September 1985 and he enjoyed a spectacular debut when he scored all four goals against Exeter City in the League Cup.[3] Despite scoring 21 goals for Villa in 1985–86 he struggled to get in the team in 1986–87 and the team were relegated to the Second Division.[1] In January 1988 he joined Mick Mills' Stoke City where he scored twice in 16 appearances in 1987–88.[1] In 1988–89 Stainrod score five goals in 18 appearances before moving to France.[1]

He spent the 1988–89 season in France with RC Strasbourg (8 appearances, 2 goals). He then spent a further spell with FC Rouen (22 appearances, 1 goal) before moving to Scotland to play for Falkirk and Ayr United and then managing Dundee in Scotland. During Stainrod's spell at Falkirk he famously scored from the halfway line against St Johnstone direct from a kick off.

Post playing career

He is also a FIFA-licensed football agent and is now based in Cannes, France. In 2003, he set up his own company with a couple of his friends called Matchday Media.[4] Stainrod was working with Hatem Ben Arfa following his move to Newcastle United as his adviser.[5]

Career statistics

Source:[6]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield United	1975–76	First Division	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2
	1976–77	Second Division	21	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	23	3
	1977–78	Second Division	25	6	1	0	0	0	1	0	26	6
	1978–79	Second Division	14	3	1	0	1	0	3	0	19	3
	Total		67	14	2	0	2	0	5	0	75	14
Oldham Athletic	1978–79	Second Division	14	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	5
	1979–80	Second Division	37	11	1	0	1	0	3	3	42	14
	1980–81	Second Division	18	5	0	0	2	1	3	1	23	7
	Total		69	21	1	0	3	1	6	4	79	26
Queens Park Rangers	1980–81	Second Division	15	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	17	5
	1981–82	Second Division	39	17	9	5	4	2	0	0	52	24
	1982–83	Second Division	31	9	0	0	2	0	0	0	33	9
	1983–84	First Division	41	13	1	0	3	3	0	0	45	16
	1984–85	First Division	19	5	0	0	8	3	3	3	30	11
	Total		145	48	12	6	17	8	3	3	177	65
Sheffield Wednesday	1984–85	First Division	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
	1985–86	First Division	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
	Total		15	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	2
Aston Villa	1985–86	First Division	30	10	4	2	8	9	0	0	42	21
	1986–87	First Division	29	6	2	0	4	0	1	0	36	6
	1987–88	Second Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		63	16	6	2	12	9	1	0	82	27
Stoke City	1987–88	Second Division	12	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	16	2
	1988–89	Second Division	16	4	0	0	2	1	0	0	18	5
	Total		28	6	2	0	2	1	2	0	34	7
Career Total			387	107	23	8	36	19	17	7	463	141

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup, and UEFA Cup.

Honours

Queens Park Rangers

• Football League Second Division champions: 1982–83
• FA Cup runner-up: 1982

Aston Villa

• Football League Second Division runner-up: 1987–88

Falkirk

• Scottish Football League First Division champions: 1990–91

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
3. Queens Park Rangers Official Matchday Magazine 2 March 2008 v Stoke City
4. "Romance of the cup lost on easy come, easy go Stainrod". Scotsman. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
5. "Blow for Hatem Ben Arfa's advisor Simon Stainrod". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
6. Simon Stainrod at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Simon Stainrod at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database