From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dale Andrew Gordon (born 9 January 1967 in Caister, Great Yarmouth) is a former professional association football player who played for Norwich City, Rangers, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Millwall and AFC Bournemouth. He was a midfielder - predominantly right-sided - who excited supporters by running at defenders and setting up numerous goals for his team mates.

Gordon is currently Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town.^[1]

Early life

Gordon grew up as an Ipswich Town supporter and has said that he cried when watching the 1978 FA Cup Final on television in which Ipswich beat Arsenal 1-0.

Norwich City

However, he signed for Town's rivals Norwich City and made his league debut for them on 25 August 1984 in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool.

His first goal for Norwich came on 10 November 1984 in a 3-0 win against Luton Town. Gordon made 27 appearances during that 1984-85 season. He found first-team opportunities limited during the following 1985-86 season but did score the goal that secured the Division 2 championship for Norwich in a 1-1 draw against Stoke City on 19 April 1986.

1986-87 was Gordon's breakthrough season. He established himself as a first-team regular and played 41 league games as a vital part of the team that recorded what was then their best ever league finish of fifth position. Gordon was capped by England under 21s towards the end of the campaign, but hampered his chances of future selection when he and his Norwich City team mate Robert Rosario broke curfew while away with the under 21s and went to a nightclub. Gordon was later capped twice for the England B team.

In December 1988, Gordon achieved "a unique place in Norwich City history - a record nobody can ever take away. He was the first player to score in a live televised Football League match involving the Canaries", a 2–1 win over West Ham.^[2]

The 1988-89 season ended with Gordon being voted Norwich City player of the year as the team finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. In total, Gordon played 261 games for Norwich (the majority of which were as a right-sided midfielder) between his 1984 debut and his final appearance on 2 November 1991. After the match against Nottingham Forest on 2 November 1991, he signed for Scottish club Rangers for a fee of £1,200,000.

Rangers

Gordon scored twice on his debut for Rangers against Dunfermline Athletic and went on to win two Scottish Championships, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

West Ham United

He joined West Ham United for £750,000 on 8 July 1993, but his career at Upton Park was disrupted by injuries. He did, however, score West Ham's first ever goal in the Premier League in a 1-1 draw against Coventry City on 21 August 1993 at Highfield Road. In 1996, Gordon expressed a desire to return to Norwich City, but his injuries got the better of him and he retired as a professional player in February 1997.

After football

Coaching

Since his retirement, Gordon has spent a great deal of time running his own football schools for young players. He was also manager of Great Yarmouth Town for a short time and played for Kings Lynn. He briefly ran a football academy in Lowestoft on behalf of Ipswich Town which is now discontinued. he now coaches at schools aroynd the area, including caister high school, he brings up academy players and is a very good coach.

Gordon was appointed Director of Football at Great Yarmouth Town in October 2007.

Family

In 2007, Gordon mentioned in a newspaper interview that his young son Remy is training with Norwich and on 29 July 2009 it was confirmed that Remy Gordon signed a scholarship with Norwich City Football Club, following in his father's footsteps. City.^[3]

Business

In 2008, Gordon was reported to be running his own "Legends" lounge bar in Yarmouth and his own soccer academy.^[2]

Honours

In 2002, Norwich supporters voted Gordon into the Norwich City Hall of Fame.

Notes

References

External links

• Career information at Flown from the Nest