Derek James Statham (born 24 March 1959) is an English former footballer who played at defensive left-back. He played for West Bromwich Albion, Southampton, Walsall and Stoke City.[1]

Derek Statham
Personal information
Full name Derek James Statham[1]
Date of birth (1959-03-24) 24 March 1959 (age 65)[1]
Place of birth Wolverhampton, England[1]
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[2]
Position(s) Full-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1987 West Bromwich Albion 299 (8)
1987–1989 Southampton 64 (2)
1989–1991 Stoke City 41 (1)
1991–1993 Walsall 50 (0)
1993–1994 Telford United 34 (0)
Total 488 (11)
International career
1977 England Youth 7 (1)
1977–1982 England U21 6 (0)
1980–1981 England B 3 (2)
1983 England 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Statham won three international caps for England in 1983 under the management of Bobby Robson.

Career

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Statham was born in Wolverhampton and began his career with West Bromwich Albion where he earned a reputation as a solid, classy defender with excellent passing ability. He made over 330 league and cup appearances for West Brom, playing for several years alongside Bryan Robson and the 'Three Degrees' of Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson in an impressive side assembled by Ron Atkinson.[3] In total Statham spent 12 years at the Hawthorns making 373 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals in all competitions.

Statham left West Brom for Southampton in 1987, playing alongside a young Alan Shearer (in his first professional season) and Matthew Le Tissier, and was an immediate success winning the club's player of the season award for 1987–88. He stayed at Southampton for the 1988–89 season before joining Stoke City in August 1989.[1] He played 21 times for Stoke in 1989–90 as the team suffered relegation to the Third Division. He played in 28 games in 1990–91 before being released at the end of the season.[1]

He later played for Walsall, where he played his final professional game in the 1992–93 season. His last team were semi-professional side Telford United in the English Football Conference, where he was a mainstay for the 1993–94 season.

In 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest ever players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.[4]

Career statistics

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Club

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Source:[5]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Bromwich Albion 1976–77 First Division 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1
1977–78 First Division 40 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 49 0
1978–79 First Division 39 1 6 0 3 0 8 0 56 1
1979–80 First Division 16 0 2 0 5 0 2 0 25 0
1980–81 First Division 31 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 35 0
1981–82 First Division 35 0 5 1 8 1 2 0 50 2
1982–83 First Division 32 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 35 2
1983–84 First Division 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
1984–85 First Division 30 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 35 4
1985–86 First Division 37 0 2 1 6 0 2 0 47 1
1986–87 Second Division 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
1987–88 Second Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 299 8 26 2 34 1 14 0 373 11
Southampton 1987–88 First Division 38 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 41 1
1988–89 First Division 26 2 2 1 5 0 2 0 35 3
Total 64 2 4 1 7 1 3 0 76 4
Stoke City 1989–90 Second Division 19 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 21 0
1990–91 Third Division 22 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 28 1
Total 41 1 3 0 5 0 0 0 49 1
Walsall 1991–92 Fourth Division 29 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 33 0
1992–93 Third Division 21 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 27 0
Total 50 0 0 0 5 0 5 0 60 0
Telford United 1993–94 Football Conference 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 0
Career Total 488 11 33 3 51 2 22 0 863 16
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup, and UEFA Cup.

International

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Source:[6][7]

National team Year Apps Goals
England 1983 3 0
Total 3 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. 384. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Albion legends – Derek Statham". Birmingham Mail. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  4. ^ "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 4 August 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  5. ^ Derek Statham at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  6. ^ Statham, Derek at National-Football-Teams.com
  7. ^ "England players: Derek Statham". englandfootballonline.com. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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