View source for Nigel Spackman

{{short description|English footballer and manager}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Nigel Spackman
| image          = 
| fullname       = Nigel James Spackman
| height         = 6 ft 1 in<ref>{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=222 |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5}}</ref>
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1960|12|2|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Romsey]], England
| position       = [[Midfielder]]
| years1 = 
| years2 = 1980–1983 
| years3 = 1983–1987 
| years4 = 1987–1989 
| years5 = 1989 
| years6 = 1989–1992 
| years7 = 1992–1996  
| years8 = 1996–1998
| clubs1 = [[Andover F.C.|Andover]] 
| clubs2 = [[AFC Bournemouth]]  
| clubs3 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] 
| clubs4 = [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] 
| clubs5 = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] 
| clubs6 = [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] 
| clubs7 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] 
| clubs8 = [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] 
| caps1 = 
| caps2 = 119  
| caps3 = 141  
| caps4 = 51   
| caps5 = 29   
| caps6 = 100   
| caps7 = 67   
| caps8 = 24   
|  totalcaps = 521 
| goals1 = 
| goals2 = 10  
| goals3 = 12  
| goals4 = 0  
| goals5 = 1  
| goals6 = 1  
| goals7 = 0  
| goals8 = 0  
|  totalgoals = 24
| manageryears1 = 1997–1998 
| manageryears2 = 2001 
| manageryears3 = 2006
| managerclubs1 = [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] (player-manager) 
| managerclubs2 = [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] 
| managerclubs3 = [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]
}}
'''Nigel James Spackman''' (born 2 December 1960) is a former professional footballer and English [[Manager (association football)|football manager]], and is a sports television pundit.

As a player he was as a [[midfielder]] from 1980 to 1998, notably for [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] and [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]. He also played for [[AFC Bournemouth]], [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] and [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]. He initially started out with Non-league [[Andover F.C.|Andover]]. He took over as player-manager of [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] in 1997, but lasted less than a year. 

He became a full time manager from 1997 and had brief spells in charge of [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] in 2001 and [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] in 2006. He now works for the [[Glenn Hoddle Academy]] as well as working as a pundit and co-commentator.

==Playing career==
Born in [[Romsey]], [[Hampshire]], Spackman started at [[Andover F.C.|Andover]] and spent his first three years as a professional with [[AFC Bournemouth]] before joining [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] for £35,000 in the summer of 1983. He signed for Chelsea as part of manager [[John Neal (footballer, born 1932)|John Neal]]'s re-building of the side alongside the likes of [[Kerry Dixon]], [[Pat Nevin]] and [[David Speedie]]. Spackman scored on his debut for the club in a 5–0 opening day win over [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]], though he was not a regular goalscorer. Chelsea were promoted at the end of that season as [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] champions and finished 6th in the following two seasons back in the top tier, with Spackman a near ever-present. During the [[1986–87 in English football|1986–87]] season, several key players, including Spackman, fell out with manager [[John Hollins]] and he was sporadically left out of the starting line-up or played out of position. He was sold to Liverpool in 1987 for £400,000.

Initially he was a frequently used substitute at Liverpool, and he was in the team which lost the 1987 [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] final to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]. Spackman only had a regular role in the Liverpool team during this season, but played an essential role.

When regular midfield general [[Ronnie Whelan]] was injured early in the campaign, Spackman was handed the No.5 shirt and he never missed a game for the whole campaign, gaining plaudits for his unselfish running and industry around the park in a team which featured the likes of [[John Barnes (football player)|John Barnes]], [[Peter Beardsley]] and [[John Aldridge]].

Liverpool lost just twice in the [[Football League First Division|league]] all season, claiming the title with ease and Spackman was in the side which beat [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] [[Liverpool 5–0 Nottingham Forest (1988)|5–0]]. Spackman's stamina and unselfishness set up the last goal for Aldridge. Whelan was fit again with a month of the season left, but wasn't selected. Spackman was selected for the rest of the campaign, including the [[1988 FA Cup Final|FA Cup Final]], which Liverpool surprisingly lost to [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]].<ref name=LMA /> Spackman and teammate [[Gary Gillespie]] both played that game with [[bandage]]s around their heads after the two had suffered cuts in a clash during a game against [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]] the previous week.

He left Liverpool for [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] in February 1989 but stayed there for less than a year, joining Scottish side [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] in November 1989, winning honours there including three [[Scottish Premier Division]] titles, the [[Scottish Cup]] and the [[Scottish League Cup]].<ref name=LMA /> He went back to Chelsea in 1992  before moving to [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]] in 1996 as player-coach and assistant-manager to [[Howard Kendall]].

==Managerial career==
When Kendall left the Blades in 1997 Spackman became caretaker manager before being appointed as manager on 5 August. United had a good start to the season but huge losses and high wages from the previous season's promotion failure led to enforced sales of key personnel. The final straw being the sale of both of the club's top scoring strikers ([[Brian Deane]] – 11 league goals – went to [[S.L. Benfica]] & [[Jan Åge Fjørtoft]] – 9 league goals – to [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]]) on the same day. Even though leaving midseason, Deane would go on to become the team's top scorer that year, such was the lack of replacements. Spackman was unhappy over this and resigned in March 1998.

He later managed Barnsley between January and October 2001 but was sacked with the club near the bottom of the table. They were relegated at the end of that season. He re-entered management with [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] in May 2006 but left only a few months later in September, with the club in the relegation zone of [[Football League One|League One]]. As of 2022, he has failed to manage any club for a full season.

==Media career==
After Spackman left Barnsley, he began a new career in the media, becoming a [[Pundit (expert)|pundit]] with [[Sky Sports]] before re-entering management with Millwall in 2006. Spackman currently appears as a regular pundit on [[Singapore]]'s [https://web.archive.org/web/20080319105939/http://www.footballchannel.com.sg/ Football Channel], alongside other former players such as [[John Burridge]] and [[Rob Lee]]. Spackman regularly appears on Setanta Sport Saturday afternoon as an expert pundit. Spackman currently appears as a pundit on Britain's sports TV station ''[[Sports Tonight Live]]''. He also works for [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] on La Liga Coverage as well as LFC TV.
Spackman has also featured for a number of seasons on LFCTV, the home TV channel for Liverpool FC, alongside former colleagues Gary Gillespie and Mark Wright. He recently provided pitch side commentary on Liverpool's victory in the 2022 Community Shield over Manchester City.

==Personal life==
Spackman is of Scottish descent through a grandfather.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11977893.bruce-wants-to-join-the-foreign-legion/|title=Bruce wants to join the foreign legion|website=HeraldScotland}}</ref>

==Honours==
'''Chelsea'''
* [[Full Members' Cup]]: [[1986 Full Members' Cup Final|1985–86]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/29/chelsea-manchester-city-cup-final-league|title=When Chelsea won a league game and a Wembley cup final in the same weekend|website=The Guardian|date=29 September 2017|accessdate=16 November 2021}}</ref>

'''Liverpool'''
* [[Football League First Division]]: [[1987–88 Football League|1987–88]]<ref name=LMA>{{cite web|url=https://leaguemanagers.com/managers/nigel-spackman/|title=Nigel Spackman|website=League Managers Association|accessdate=16 November 2021}}</ref>
* [[FA Cup]] runner-up: [[1988 FA Cup Final|1987–88]]<ref name=LMA />

'''Rangers'''
* [[Scottish Football League Premier Division|Scottish Premier Division]]: [[1989–90 Scottish Premier Division|1989–90]], [[1990–91 Scottish Premier Division|1990–91]], [[1991–92 Scottish Premier Division|1991–92]]<ref name=LMA />
* [[Scottish Cup]]: [[1991–92 Scottish Cup|1991–92]]<ref name=LMA />
* [[Scottish League Cup]]: [[1990–91 Scottish League Cup|1990–91]]<ref name=LMA />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Soccerbase}}
*{{soccerbase (manager)|id=1339}}

{{Sheffield United F.C. managers}}
{{Barnsley F.C. managers}}
{{Millwall F.C. managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spackman, Nigel}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Romsey]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Andover F.C. players]]
[[Category:AFC Bournemouth players]]
[[Category:Chelsea F.C. players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. players]]
[[Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Sheffield United F.C. players]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Barnsley F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Sheffield United F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:Scottish Football League players]]
[[Category:Footballers from Hampshire]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]