Simon Stainrod

{{Short description|English football player and manager (born 1959)}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Simon Stainrod

| image =

| fullname = Simon Allan Stainrod

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|2|1|df=y}}

| birth_place = Sheffield, England

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/50 50] |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00lond/page/50}}

| position = Striker

| years1 = 1975–1979 |clubs1 = Sheffield United |caps1 = 67 |goals1 = 14

| years2 = 1979–1980 |clubs2 = Oldham Athletic |caps2 = 69 |goals2 = 21

| years3 = 1980–1985 |clubs3 = Queens Park Rangers |caps3 = 145 |goals3 = 48

| years4 = 1985 |clubs4 = Sheffield Wednesday |caps4 = 15 |goals4 = 2

| years5 = 1985–1987 |clubs5 = Aston Villa |caps5 = 63 |goals5 = 16

| years6 = 1987–1988 |clubs6 = Stoke City |caps6 = 28 |goals6 = 6

| years7 = 1988–1989 |clubs7 = Strasbourg |caps7 = 8 |goals7 = 2

| years8 = 1989–1990 |clubs8 = Rouen |caps8 = 22 |goals8 = 1

| years9 = 1990–1992 |clubs9 = Falkirk |caps9 = 60 |goals9 = 21

| years10 = 1992–1993 |clubs10 = Dundee |caps10 = 33 |goals10 = 9

| years11 = 1993–1995 |clubs11 = Ayr United |caps11 = 31 |goals11 = 4

| totalcaps = 541 | totalgoals = 144

| nationalyears1 = 1977 | nationalteam1 = England Youth | nationalcaps1 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 1

| manageryears1 = 1992–1993 | managerclubs1 = Dundee

| manageryears2 = 1993–1995 | managerclubs2 = Ayr United

}}

Simon Allan Stainrod (born 1 February 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker 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.{{cite book|last=Matthews|first=Tony|title=The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City|year=1994|publisher=Lion Press|isbn=0-9524151-0-0}}

Career

Stainrod was born in Sheffield and began his career with Sheffield United, making his debut towards the end of the 1975–76 season, scoring twice in seven matches as the Blades suffered relegation to the Second Division. He spent four seasons at Bramall Lane, making 75 appearances and scoring 14 goals before he moved to Oldham Athletic in March 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. He decided to join Terry Venables' QPR in November 1980 for a fee of £270,000.Queens Park Rangers Official Matchday Magazine 2 March 2008 v Stoke City

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. In 1982–83 he helped the team win the 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.

Stainrod signed for Sheffield Wednesday for a then club-record fee of £250,000 in February 1985,{{Cite news |last=Barclay |first=Patrick |date=20 February 1985 |title=Stainrod goes to Wednesday |url=https://archive.org/details/TheGuardian1985UKEnglish/Feb%2020%201985%2C%20The%20Guardian%2C%20%2382%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n25/mode/2up |access-date=26 January 2025 |work=The Guardian |pages=26}} though his spell at the club was unsuccessful and he 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. 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. In January 1988 he joined Mick Mills' Stoke City where he scored twice in 16 appearances in 1987–88. In 1988–89 Stainrod score five goals in 18 appearances before moving to France.

He spent the 1988–89 season in France with RC Strasbourg (eight appearances, two 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.{{cite web|title=Romance of the cup lost on easy come, easy go Stainrod|url=http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/romance-of-the-cup-lost-on-easy-come-easy-go-stainrod-1-600670|work=Scotsman|accessdate=28 March 2013}} Stainrod was working with Hatem Ben Arfa following his move to Newcastle United as his adviser.{{cite web|title=Blow for Hatem Ben Arfa's advisor Simon Stainrod|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/blow-hatem-ben-arfas-advisor-1364322|work=Chronicle Live|date=9 May 2012 |accessdate=28 March 2013}}

Career statistics

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|FA Cup !colspan="2"\|League Cup !colspan="2"\|Other{{efn\|Includes Anglo-Scottish Cup, Football League Trophy, Full Members Cup, and UEFA Cup.}} !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{ENFA}}
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
rowspan="5"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !67	14	2	0	2	0	5	0	75	14
rowspan="4"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !69	21	1	0	3	1	6	4	79	26
rowspan="6"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !145	48	12	6	17	8	3	3	177	65
rowspan="3"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !15	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	2
rowspan="4"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !63	16	6	2	12	9	1	0	82	27
rowspan="3"\|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
colspan="2"\|Total !28	6	2	0	2	1	2	0	34	7
colspan="3"\|Career total !387	107	23	8	36	19	17	7	463	141