Chris Hope (footballer)

Chris Hope
Personal information
Full nameChristopher Jonathan Hope
Date of birth14 November 1972
Place of birthSheffield, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
AFC Rushden & Diamonds
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1989–1990Darlington0(0)
1990–1993Nottingham Forest0(0)
1993–2000Scunthorpe United288(19)
2000–2006Gillingham236(13)
2006–2009Rushden & Diamonds128(10)
2009–2011Corby Town?(?)
2011–2012St Neots Town?(?)
2012–AFC Rushden & Diamonds30(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:40, 23 January 2009 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Christopher Jonathan Hope (born 14 November 1972) is an English footballer who plays for AFC Rushden & Diamonds. Hope made over 500 appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United and Gillingham between 1993 and 2006.

Career

Born in Sheffield, Hope began his career as a trainee with Darlington in 1989 and then joined Nottingham Forest at the beginning of the 1990–91 season.[1] He did not make a first team appearance for either club and joined Scunthorpe United for £50,000 at the beginning of the 1993–94 season.[1] Hope was an integral part of the side at Glanford Park and made 333 appearances (288 in the league) for Scunthorpe in seven seasons.[1] A steady influence at the back, Hope made 177 successive appearances without missing a game.

In July 2000, Hope joined Gillingham for a transfer fee of £250,000, signing a four-year contract.[2] Hope made his debut in the club's first ever game in the First Division, a 3–1 home defeat to Stockport County, in August 2000,[3] made 145 consecutive appearances and was rewarded with a new three-year contract in March 2003.[4][5] He went on to play in 176 successive games before finally missing a game through suspension. Following the departure of ex-club captain Paul Smith, Hope was appointed the club captain for the Gills for their first season back in League One in the 2005–06 season.[6] He missed much of the 2005–06 season due to injury,[7][8] and was released by manager Ronnie Jepson at the end of the season having made over 250 league and cup appearances for Gillingham since joining from Scunthorpe.[1][9][10]

Hope signed a two-year deal with Conference National club Rushden & Diamonds in July 2006.[11][12] Rushden manager Paul Hart described him as "... a gutsy battler who shows great leadership, his integrity and honesty is a terrific example, and he is the perfect role model for our younger players. His experience will be of great benefit",[12] and named him team captain for the 2006–07 season.[13] He was released by Rushden & Diamonds at the end of the 2007–08 season owing to financial constraints,[14] and turned down a move to Dover Athletic, managed by former Gillingham team-mate Andy Hessenthaler, as he was unable to relocate to Kent.[15] He joined Conference North club Corby Town in June 2009 for the 2009–10 season.[16]

Hope joined Southern Football League Division One Central side St Neots Town in Summer 2011.

AFC Rushden & Diamonds

On 21 July 2012, Hope joined AFC Rushden & Diamonds.[17] During the 2012-2013 league campaign, he made 30 appearances for the club, scoring four goals.[18]

Playing statistics

(to end of 2008–09 season[19])

ClubSeasonsLeague
Apps (goals)		FA Cup
Apps (goals)		League Cup
Apps (goals)		Other
Apps (goals)		Total
Apps (goals)
Darlington 1989–90 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0)0 (0)
Nottingham Forest 1990–930 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0)0 (0)
Scunthorpe United 1993–00 288 (19) 18 (1) 14 (0) 13 (0)333 (20)
Gillingham 2000–06 236 (13)12 (2) 16 (0) 0 (0)264 (15)
Rushden & Diamonds2006–09128 (10)4 (1) 0 (0) 3 (0)135 (11)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Chris Hope". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  2. ↑ "Gills splash out again". BBC Sport. 5 July 2000. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  3. ↑ "Gillingham 1–3 Stockport". BBC Sport. 12 August 2000. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  4. ↑ "Hope welcomes Gills deal". BBC Sport. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  5. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (12 March 2003). "Gills pair pen new deals". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  6. ↑ "Hope dumbfounded by Gills defeat". BBC Sport. 14 September 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  7. ↑ "Injured Hope has contract concern". BBC Sport. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  8. ↑ "Chris hopes for a new deal". Your Shepway News (KOS Media Ltd). 28 April 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-14. Gillingham captain Chris Hope says he hopes to snare a new contract for next season – despite finding himself out of action for much of it with injuries.
  9. ↑ "Hope among five Gills departures". BBC Sport. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  10. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (9 May 2006). "No Hope for Gills". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  11. ↑ Bailey, Graeme (11 July 2006). "Hope for Rushden". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Diamonds swoop for ex-Gills star". BBC Sport. 8 July 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  13. ↑ "Hope awarded Diamonds captaincy". BBC Sport. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  14. ↑ "Burgess set to leave Nene Park". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-14. Rushden and Diamonds have revealed that club captain Andy Burgess, player-coach Chris Hope and midfielder Marcus Kelly are all set to leave Nene Park.
  15. ↑ Howard, Tom (1 June 2009). "Former Gills star turns down Dover move". Your Dover News. KOS Media. Retrieved 2 June 2009. Dover Athletic have missed out on signing former Gillingham defender Chris Hope. ... Hessenthaler had been in talks with the Rushden & Diamonds defender for a number of weeks, but it appears the move is off, with Hope unable to move from his Northampton home to Kent.
  16. ↑ White, Andy (2 June 2009). "Drury Brings Hope To Corby". The Non-League Paper. Retrieved 2009-06-14. CORBY TOWN have signed centre-back Chris Hope following his departure from Rushden & Diamonds. The 36-year-old's contract at Nene Park expired at the end of the 2008/09 season and he rejected the offer of a new deal on reduced terms.
  17. ↑ http://www.afcdiamonds.com/afc-rushden-diamonds-capture-chris-hope
  18. ↑ http://www.afcdiamonds.com/player_profiles?pid=52&team=senior
  19. ↑ "Chris Hope playing statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2009-06-14.

External links