| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephen John Lovell | ||
| Date of birth | 16 July 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977-? | Crystal Palace | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| ?-1983 | Crystal Palace[1] | 74 | (3) |
| 1979 | → Memphis Rogues (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 1979 | → Stockport County (loan)[2] | 12 | (0) |
| 1983-1987 | Millwall[3] | 146 | (43) |
| 1987 | → Swansea City (loan)[4] | 2 | (1) |
| 1987-1992 | Gillingham[5] | 233 | (94) |
| 1992 | → AFC Bournemouth (loan)[6] | 3 | (0) |
| 1992-1993 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1993-1994 | Braintree Town | ||
| 1994 | St Albans City | ||
| 1994-1995 | Hastings Town | ||
| 1995-1996 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1996-1997 | Gravesend & Northfleet | ||
| 1997 | Weymouth | ||
| 1997-1999 | Tonbridge Angels | ||
| 1999-2000 | Deal Town | ||
| 2000-2001 | Ashford Town | ||
| 2001-? | Sittingbourne | ||
| National team | |||
| 1981-1986 | Wales[7] | 6 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1995-1996 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1996-1997 | Gravesend & Northfleet | ||
| 2003-2004 | Hastings United[8] | ||
| 2005-2007[9] | Sittingbourne | ||
| 2007-2010 | Ashford Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:23, 21 June 2007 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Stephen "Steve" Lovell (born Swansea, 16 July 1960) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played professionally for Crystal Palace, Stockport County, Millwall, Swansea City, Gillingham and AFC Bournemouth and made over 450 Football League appearances.
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Although born in Wales, Lovell began his career as an apprentice with Crystal Palace in 1977. Playing at the time as a midfielder, he managed 74 Football League appearances in six years at Selhurst Park, during which he also had a spell on loan at Stockport County. In 1983 he moved to Millwall, where manager George Graham played him as a striker during an injury crisis. He went on to score 13 goals in 11 matches and remained a striker for the remainder of his career.[10]
In 1986 Lovell was injured whilst playing for Wales and was unable to regain a place in the Millwall team and, after a short loan spell with his hometown club Swansea City, was sold to Gillingham for £20,000.[10] During his time with the Kent club he played over 200 matches and scored nearly 100 goals, finishing as the club's leading scorer in four consecutive seasons[11] and equalling a club record by scoring in seven consecutive matches in 1990.[10] He scored four goals in Gillingham's 8–1 defeat of Southend United in 1987 but bizarrely failed to find the net at all when the team won 10–0 against Chesterfield the following Saturday.
After a brief loan spell with AFC Bournemouth in 1992, Lovell dropped into non-league football, where he played for nine different clubs in nine years, including three separate spells with Sittingbourne. In 2000 he played for Deal Town in the FA Vase final at Wembley.[12] He finally hung up his boots in 2001.[10]
Lovell's first managerial job came at Sittingbourne, where he was player-manager from February 1995 until September 1996, during which he led the team to the Southern League Southern Division championship.[13] He then moved on to Gravesend & Northfleet where he was manager for a year.[10]
After a spell as Football in the Community Officer for Gillingham (which overlapped the end of his playing career) Lovell returned to management with Hastings United in 2003 but left the club in 2004 after a drop in form.[8] In 2005 he returned for a second spell managing Sittingbourne,[9] a post he held until October 2007,[14] when he left to take over at Ashford Town, where he remained until the club's demise in August 2010.[15]
Lovell's father Alan was also a footballer, although he only managed a single professional appearance for Stockport County.[2][10] Lovell's son Mark also became a footballer, turning professional with his father's old club Gillingham in 2001. He also made only one professional appearance before dropping into non-league football.[5]
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