Sheridan: John

1982-1989 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Manchester: 01-10-1964

Debut v Middlesbrough (h): 20-11-1982

5’9” 10st 8lb (1986)

#26 in 100 Greatest LUFC Players Ever

After being discarded by Manchester City, Sheridan went on to become a major influence in the Leeds midfield as they strove to recapture their Division One status in the 1980s. He attended St Mary’s School in Manchester and joined City on schoolboy forms but when he was released Leeds signed him in March 1982. Within six months he had made his League debut, his vision and skill hall-marking him as a player for the future. He recovered well from a broken leg sustained at Barnsley in October 1983, to become United’s most valuable playing asset, being particularly lethal from free-kicks and penalties. He played for the Republic of Ireland, through parental qualification, at Youth, Under-Twenty-one and Under-Twenty-three levels, before winning his first full cap in March 1988 and was a member of Jack Charlton’s Irish squad later that year. After falling out with new manager Howard Wilkinson, Leeds banked £650,000 when Sheridan was sold to Nottingham Forest in August 1989. Despite the big fee, Brian Clough did not give Sheridan his League debut and four months later, after only one League Cup game for Forest, sold him to Sheffield Wednesday for £500,000. Sheridan was a member of the Republic of Ireland squads for the 1990 and 1994 World Cup. He scored the only goal of the 1991 League Cup Final when the Owls caused a major upset by beating Manchester United at Wembley. He also led Wednesday to third position in the League and to both Wembley Finals of the FA Cup and the League Cup in 1992-93, but they were beaten in both Finals by Arsenal. In February 1996 he went to Birmingham City on loan, playing against Leeds in both Legs of a League Cup Semi-Final but he returned to Hillsborough after just one start and one game off the bench in the League. It was with Sheffield Wednesday that Sheridan played arguably the best football of his career, scoring thirty-three goals in two hundred and forty-three appearances and was the unsung hero of Sheffield Wednesday's revival, before joining Bolton Wanderers for £180,000, where he spent two seasons, helping them win promotion to the EPL in 1997. He initially went on loan in November 1996, scoring three goals in seven appearances before signing permanently on 19th December 1996 and carried on to play a further thirty-six times for the Trotters between 1996 and 1998. Sheridan looked to be on the verge of calling time on his career when he joined then Non-League Doncaster Rovers in August 1998, for whom he made eight appearances. However, Sheridan was given another shot at League football, when in October 1998 the Irishman joined Oldham Athletic, where he played a further one hundred and forty-four League games, twelve of which were from the bench, scoring fourteen goals, mostly from set-pieces or the penalty spot. He also scored twice in the F.A. Cup from fifteen appearances, one as a substitute, and also made two starts and two games from the bench in the League Cup and one start in the Football League Trophy. He played his last game for Oldham on 21st February 2004 in a 1-1 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers when he was almost forty. There had been an emotional return to Hillsborough in August 2003, where he scored to secure a draw, and at games’ end Sheridan was applauded off the field by both sets of fans. Following the departure of Ian Dowie to Crystal Palace in late 2003, Sheridan took over the coaching of the Oldham first team, along with fellow-veteran David Eyres, before they were both replaced by Brian Talbot. On 1st June 2006, Talbot's successor, Ronnie Moore, was himself shown the door, and Sheridan stepped in to fill in the manager's position on a permanent basis. On 7th December 2006, Sheridan was named League One Manager of the Month. He guided Oldham to sixth place in League One in 2006-07, and their promotion challenge was ended in the Play-off Semi-Finals by eventual winners Blackpool. After finishing eighth in 2007-08 Oldham made a concerted bid for promotion during the 2008-09 season. On 9th March 2009, incidents were reported of fights including Sheridan at Belle Vue racetrack. Sheridan was still with the club when they were beaten 6-2 by rivals MK Dons in the the next game. The following day, after talks between Sheridan and the Oldham Managing Director Simon Corney, Sheridan agreed to leave the club. He was immediately replaced by former Oldham Manager Joe Royle. On 9th June 2009, Sheridan was named as Manager of Chesterfield in League Two. He signed a three-year contract with the club, and brought Tommy Wright as Assistant Manager and Mark Crossley as Coach with him. Sheridan’s brother, Darren, had a brief spell on United’s books as a junior in 1984 and eventually became a Barnsley player after starring with Non-League Winsford United and also became Manager at Barrow in November 2007, a position which he still holds.