John Archer (footballer)

John Archer (born 18 June 1941) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for five professional teams, before becoming manager of Sandbach Ramblers.

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.

Archer graduated through the Port Vale junior squad to sign as a professional in July 1958. 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. 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.

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.

He then moved on to Ernie Tagg's Crewe Alexandra, who were aiming for promotion in the Fourth Division. 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.

Archer remained in the Fourth Division after putting pen to paper with Jimmy McGuigan's Chesterfield. After finishing just one place and two points above the re-election zone in 1968–69, the "Spireites" topped the division in 1969–70. 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.

• Sourced from John Archer profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

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

• Football League Fourth Division champion: 1969–70