Les Chapman

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Les Chapman
Personal information
Full name	Leslie Chapman
Date of birth	September 27, 1948
Place of birth	Royton, Oldham, England
Height	5ft 8"
Playing position	Midfield
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1986-87 1985 1983-84 1979-82 1979 1978 1974-78 1969-74 1966-69 1965 Unknown	Preston NE Stockport Rochdale Bradford Stockport San Jose Earthquakes Oldham Athletic Huddersfield Town Oldham Athletic Huddersfield Town High Barn	53 (1) 38 (3) 88 (0) 139 (3) 32 (1) Unknown 187 (11) 134 (8) 76 (9) 0 (0) Unknown
Teams managed
1985-86 1990-92	Stockport Preston NE
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Les Chapman (born in Royton, Oldham, Lancashire on September 27, 1948) is a former football player and manager who played in the English football league. Midfield player Chapman made 747 league appearances in a career that spanned 22 seasons.

From an early stage, it was not clear how Chapman would go on to have such a long career in football as he himself admits: "I never had a great desire to be a professional footballer, it simply landed at my feet."

Contents 1 Early years 2 Back at Oldham 3 Later years 4 Management 5 Trivia

[edit] Early years

Chapman was raised in Royton, Oldham, and as a youngster played for Chadderton Boys before going on to play for Huddersfield's youth team during his schooldays.

Les didn't turn professional straight away and actually spent the first months of his working life as a trainee accountant with Middleton Council before being recommended to Latics.

He began his 1st spell with Oldham Athletic making his 1st team debut as an 18 year old against Bristol Rovers in February 1967 but went back to Huddersfield (where he had played as a junior) in September 1969.

[edit] Back at Oldham

In December 1974, he returned to Oldham Athletic, now in Division 4. He stayed at the club for the next four and a half years, during which it climbed back up to the 2nd division, the equivalent of today's Championship. Chapman missed only five games during that time and his came as a surprise to many when he left at the end of the 1978-79 season.

In total, he made 263 league appearances for Oldham Athletic and scored 20 times.

[edit] Later years

Upon leaving Oldham, Chapman spent the summer of 1979 playing in the NAFL for San Jose Earthquakes before returning to England and to Stockport County. After one season at Edgeley Park though Chapman left and signed for Bradford City. He spent four seasons at Valley Parade making 139 league appearances before leaving on a free transfer for Rochdale where he spent two seasons, playing nearly 100 games for the Spotland side.

[edit] Management

In July 1985 he became player-manager of Stockport County but moved on a year later to become player-assistant manager along side John McGrath at Preston. This despite similar interest from Frank Worthington at Tranmere Rovers. In April February 1990 he took over the managership of the club himself but was later sacked in October 1992. He became reserve team coach and then kit manager at Manchester City in January 1993 but was replaced by Kevin Bond in July 1996.

[edit] Trivia

Les' daughter, Tiffany Chapman is an actress, most famous for her role as Rachel Jordache in the soap opera Brookside, which she played from 1993 until the show ended in 2003. Tiffany Chapman has also released a fitness video and appeared in Celebrity Wrestling.

Les scored the goal that officially clinched promotion out of the bottom flight for Preston North End (1-0 at Leyton Orient in 1987). After the match he told local newspaper The Lancashire Evening Post he felt 53 miles west of Venus. Reference to an obscure B-52's track from their album Wild Planet. A wonderfully original way of saying he was Over The Moon.