Kenny Hibbitt

Kenny Hibbitt
Personal information
Date of birth3 January 1951
Place of birthBradford, England
Playing positionMidfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1967–1968Bradford Park Avenue15(0)
1968–1984Wolverhampton Wanderers466(89)
1982→ Seattle Sounders (loan)14(4)
1984–1986Coventry City47(4)
1986–1988Bristol Rovers53(5)
Total581(98)
National team
1970England Under-231(0)
Teams managed
1990–1994Walsall
1995–1996Cardiff City
1996Cardiff City
1998Cardiff City
2001–2002Hednesford Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Kenny Hibbitt (born 3 January 1951 in Bradford) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Bradford Park Avenue, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City and Bristol Rovers,[1] and in the North American Soccer League for the Seattle Sounders.[2] He was capped once for England at under-23 level.[3] As a manager, he took charge of Walsall, Cardiff City and Hednesford Town.[4] He is most known for his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he played from 1968 to 1984.

Career

Hibbitt joined Wolves from his home town club Bradford Park Avenue for £5,000 in November 1968. He finally made his club debut as a substitute in a 0-1 defeat to rivals West Bromwich Albion on 12 April 1969, aged just 18. He did not feature again though until 12 September 1970, when he scored his first of many goals in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

During his time at Molineux, Hibbitt won 2 League Cups (1974 and 1980, scoring in the 1974 final) and played in the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, where the club lost narrowly to countrymen Tottenham Hotspur. He also helped the club win two promotions back to the top flight.

He finally left Wolves in 1984, moving to Coventry City on a free transfer. In total, he played 544 games for Wolves, scoring 114 goals; the second most appearances a player has made in Wolves history.

His playing career came to an abrupt halt in February 1988, when he broke his leg playing for Bristol Rovers against Sunderland. He remained with the club after this, as assistant to manager Gerry Francis and helped the team win the (old) Division 3 title in 1990.

After this success, he was appointed manager of Walsall, who he took to the Division 3 play-offs in 1993/94. He took over as manager of Cardiff City from Eddie May in the summer of 1995, but moved upstairs to a director of football role with the arrival of Phil Neal the following year. However, Neal's time in charge was brief, departing after only a couple of months to become assistant to Steve Coppell at Manchester City. Hibbitt took over the team once again before handing the reins over to Russell Osman. In February 1998, Osman was sacked and Hibbitt took over team affairs for the third time, before being replaced by Frank Burrows. The arrival of Burrows saw Hibbitt's influence greatly diminished, and at the end of the 1997/98 season he left the club altogether.

He returned to management with non-league Hednesford Town in September 2001, but despite rescuing the club from a poor start and preserving their place in their division, he was dismissed at the end of the season. He now works for the Premier League, reviewing the performances of the referees. Kenny also assists in training local football team Kingswood who play in the Gloucestershire County League

His older brother Terry was also a professional footballer.

Honours

With Wolverhampton Wanderers FC :-

As Assistant Manager with Bristol Rovers FC :-

References

  1. ↑ "Kenny Hibbitt". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "North American Soccer League Players Kenny Hibbitt". NASL Jerseys. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (27 March 2004). "England - U-23 International Results- Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  4. ↑ "Kenny Hibbitt's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2010.