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Stephen Hunt (footballer, born 1956)
English footballer

Stephen Hunt (footballer, born 1956)

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The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Stephen Kenneth Hunt (born 4 August 1956) is a former England international footballer who played as a winger.
He began his career in 1975 as he ended it in 1988, winning promotion out of the Second Division with Aston Villa. In between these spells with Villa he spent most of his career in the First Division, attempting to keep Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion in the top-flight. He spent six years with Coventry, playing 185 league games as they successfully evaded the drop. He also spent three summers in the United States with the New York Cosmos, winning three Soccer Bowl titles (1977, 1978 and 1982), and was the MVP in Pelé's last game as a professional. In total, he scored 78 goals in 392 games in the Football League and North American Soccer League.

Playing career

Club career

Born in the Witton area of Birmingham, Hunt began his professional career with hometown club Aston Villa in 1973. Vic Crowe's "Villans" finished 14th in the Second Division in 1973–74, before securing promotion with a second-place finish in 1974–75 under the stewardship of Ron Saunders. Villa finished 16th in the First Division in 1975–76 and then fourth in 1976–77. Hunt scored one goal in seven league games at Villa Park.

Hunt enjoyed a spell in the North American Soccer League with the New York Cosmos in 1977 and 1978. The Cosmos won Soccer Bowl '77 with a 2–1 win over the Seattle Sounders at the Civic Stadium. Hunt scored the opener and also provided an assist to Giorgio Chinaglia, and was named the game's MVP in what was Pelé's last game as a professional. Hunt also played for the Cosmos in their 3–1 Soccer Bowl '78 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies at the Giants Stadium, providing an assist for Dennis Tueart for the opening goal.

He then returned to the Football League with Gordon Milne's Coventry City, who finished tenth in the First Division in 1978–79. The "Sky Blues" then posted 15th and 16th-place finishes in 1979–80 and 1980–81. New boss Dave Sexton then took them to 14th place in 1981–82. Hunt returned to the New York Cosmos in 1982, and went on to win a third Soccer Bowl title with a 1–0 win over the Seattle Sounders in Soccer Bowl '82 at the San Diego Stadium. Back with Coventry, he helped the club to finish one place and one point above the relegation zone in 1982–83. Bobby Gould then took the club to one place and two points above the drop zone in 1983–84. Hunt scored 27 goals in 185 league games in his six years at Highfield Road.

Hunt moved on to league rivals West Bromwich Albion, who finished 12th in 1984–85 under Johnny Giles's stewardship, before suffering relegation with a last place finish in 1985–86 after Ron Saunders failed to turn around the bad start made by new boss Nobby Stiles. He scored 15 goals in 68 league games during his spell at The Hawthorns, and was voted the club's Player of the Year in 1986. He then returned to the Villa, who were themselves relegated in 1986–87 under the stewardship of first Graham Turner and then Billy McNeill. New manager Graham Taylor led Villa to bounce back with promotion in second place in 1987–88.

International career

Hunt made two international appearances for England: playing in a 1–1 draw with Scotland at Hampden Park on 26 May 1984 and then playing in a 2–0 defeat to the Soviet Union at Wembley seven days later.

Coaching career

After retirement he became player-manager of Southern League side Willenhall Town, and in July 1989 became the youth team coach at Port Vale. He later took up the same post at Leicester City in June 1991.

Statistics

  • Sourced from Stephen Hunt profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupOther[A]Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa1974–75Second Division20000020
1975–76First Division41001051
1976–77First Division10001010
Total61002081
Coventry City1978–79First Division2460000246
1979–80First Division3510030381
1980–81First Division4063092528
1981–82First Division36943104112
1982–83First Division3543031415
1983–84First Division1514110202
Total1852714417321634
West Bromwich Albion1983–84First Division1220000122
1984–85First Division37910514410
1985–86First Division1941193298
Total6815211448420
Aston Villa1985–86First Division1220000122
1986–87First Division3922260474
1987–88Second Division1120020132
Total6360080716
Career Total3224918741738163
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Cup, Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Full Members Cup.

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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