Dale Gordon

English footballer (born 1967)

Dale Andrew Gordon (born 9 January 1967) is a former professional association footballer who played predominantly as a right sided midfielder for Norwich City, Rangers, West Ham United, Peterborough United, Millwall and AFC Bournemouth.

Born in Caister, Norfolk, 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.

Gordon 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. 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, though again he and his colleagues were deprived of UEFA Cup action as the ban on English clubs in European competitions was still in force. 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.

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.

Gordon 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, his only West Ham goal. In just over three years he made only 11 appearances in all competitions for West Ham and had a six game loan period, in 1996, at Millwall before leaving to join AFC Bournemouth in August 1996 on a free transfer. 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 retiring from playing Gordon set up an academy in the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft area. He was appointed manager of Great Yarmouth Town in May 1997, before becoming Director of Football at Gorleston in November 1998. In 2000, he left Gorleston and set up an Ipswich Town academy in Lowestoft. He later started an independent football school, before returning to Great Yarmouth Town as Director of Football in October 2007.