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English footballer and manager

Christopher Robert Turner (born 15 September 1958) is an English former footballer and former director of football at Wakefield. He made 589 league and cup appearances in a 19 year career as a professional in the English Football League, and then took charge of a further 469 matches as a manager. A goalkeeper, he began his career at hometown club Sheffield Wednesday, winning the club's Player of the Year award in his debut season in 1977–78. He then won a place on the PFA Team of the Year the following season, and also played on loan at Lincoln City, before being sold to Sunderland for £80,000 in July 1979. He helped Sunderland to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1979–80, and in 1985 played on the losing side in the League Cup final, before he was named as the club's Player of the Year. He was signed by Manchester United for a £275,000 fee in July 1985. He was sold back to Sheffield Wednesday for £175,000 in September 1988. He briefly played on loan at Leeds United the following year. He helped Wednesday to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1990–91, and kept a clean sheet against former club Manchester United as Wednesday won the League Cup in 1991. He was moved on to Leyton Orient for £75,000 in 1991, and again named on the PFA Team of the Year in 1991–92. He began his managerial career at Leyton Orient in August 1994, working alongside John Sitton. The pair were sacked in April 1995, and he coached at Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, before being appointed manager at Hartlepool United in February 1999. He turned the club from relegation candidates to consistent play off challengers, and was lured to Sheffield Wednesday in November 2002. He lasted 22 months in the job, before he was sacked in September 2004. He took charge at Stockport County three months later, but was again unsuccessful, and left the club by mutual consent in December 2005. He returned to Hartlepool United as Director of Sport in February 2006, before being named as first team manager in December 2008. He resigned in August 2010, and went on to work behind the scenes at Chesterfield, Port Vale and Wakefield.

Born in Sheffield, Turner began his goalkeeping career at Sheffield Wednesday, turning professional in August 1976. He enjoyed a highly successful debut season, winning the club's Player of the Year award for his performances across his 52 appearances as Len Ashurst's Owls posted an eighth place finish in the Third Division in the 1976–77 campaign. Wednesday slipped to 14th place in the 1977–78 season, and Turner was limited to 31 appearances as new manager Jack Charlton looked for a larger sized goalkeeper in Bob Bolder. Despite this award, Charlton sold Turner on to Sunderland for £80,000 in July 1979.

Ken Knighton led the Rokerites to promotion out of the Second Division in 1979–80 – they finished runners up, just a point behind champions Leicester City – with Turner playing 30 of the club's 42 league games as he fended off competition from Barry Siddall. The campaign did end on a positive note on a personal level for Turner, as supporters voted him the club's Player of the Year. He was on the bench as United lost the 1985 FA Charity Shield to Everton. Bailey was injured for most of the 1986–87 season, but Turner could only make it to 29 appearances as youth team goalkeeper Gary Walsh established himself in the first team at Old Trafford. Turner was placed on the transfer list by new manager Alex Ferguson, but still went on to make 30 appearances in the 1987–88 season, before his place was taken by incoming Aberdeen goalkeeper Jim Leighton.

Turner returned to Sheffield Wednesday, who were struggling in the First Division under Peter Eustace, for a £175,000 fee in September 1988.

Turner did not return to the top flight however, and instead dropped down to the Third Division to sign for Leyton Orient to be reunited with former Wednesday manager Eustace, who paid a fee of £75,000. He was limited to 20 appearances in the 1992–93 season, as Orient missed out on the play offs on goal difference. He played just eight games of the 1993–94 season, and featured once in the 1994–95 campaign, by which time he had been elevated to joint manager.

Turner was an agile goalkeeper with good reflex shot stopping ability and good handling, though he lacked physical presence. He proved to be an instant success at Victoria Park, keeping the Monkey Hangers two places and three points ahead of Scarborough, who were relegated into non League football and never to return at the end of the 1998–99 season following a real upturn in form. He then led Pools to a seventh place finish in 1999–2000, though a 3–0 aggregate defeat to Darlington in the play off semi finals saw them remain in the Third Division. He was named as Third Division Manager of the Month for January 2001.

Turner took charge at Sheffield Wednesday 26 years after first making his debut for the club. He was unable to save the club from relegation to the third tier at the end of the 2002–03 season, and later said it was "virtually a no win situation" and that it was "like trying to build a shed without the tools. We had a lot of blunt tools, but no sharp ones". They also struggled to adapt in the Second Division, and ended the 2003–04 campaign in 16th place and were the division's lowest scorers with 48 goals. He released 13 players in May 2004. Turner was sacked on 18 September 2004 after a slow start to the League One campaign left Wednesday languishing in 14th place. He stated that "I've given it everything I had – we just needed more time". His successor, Paul Sturrock, steered the club to promotion at the end of the 2004–05 season, ironically beating Turner's former club Hartlepool in the play off final.

Turner returned to management with Stockport County on 19 December 2004, who were bottom of League One at the time. He was unable to turn the "Hatters" around, and County ended the 2004–05 season relegated in last place. They went on to struggle in League Two, and Turner left the club by mutual consent on 27 December 2005, with Stockport now five points adrift at the bottom of the Football League. His replacement at Edgeley Park, Jim Gannon, managed to keep Stockport out of the relegation zone at the end of the 2005–06 season.

In February 2006, Turner returned to Hartlepool United in the newly created position of Director of Sport, with Paul Stephenson working as caretaker manager; Turner's role left him to administer "the club's overseas participation in football tournaments, pre season planning, conferences and Football League issues". On 15 December 2008, Turner took over as caretaker manager at Hartlepool following the departure of Danny Wilson, in addition to his Director of Sport role at the club. He then led Hartlepool to a 19th place finish in League One at the end of the 2008–09 season, two places and one point above the relegation zone. Speaking in January 2010, Turner responded to criticism from supporters by saying that "people have to realise to get into the top six is very difficult for the majority of clubs in this division". Pools ended the 2009–10 campaign above the relegation zone on goal difference after being deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player as Gary Liddle played against Brighton & Hove Albion when he should have served a suspension. On 19 August 2010, Turner resigned from his position at Hartlepool. He had previously stated his frustration at what he said was a lack of funds to sign players. Over the summer he had released eight players, but was only able to make four new signings. His successor, Mick Wadsworth, took the club to a 16th place finish at the end of the 2010–11 season.

In October 2010, Turner fronted an ultimately unsuccessful bid to purchase Sheffield Wednesday. He went on to become chief executive of Chesterfield in December 2011, replacing Carol Wilby. He switched roles to director of football in January 2017, before he was made redundant two months later. He applied to take charge at Hartlepool for a third time in May 2017, citing 'unfinished business', but was unsuccessful. He was appointed as the new sales and marketing manager at Port Vale in November 2017. He left the role in June 2018 after being informed of the club's decision to make a change. Turner helped to found new club Wakefield A. F. C. in 2019 and was appointed as director of football.