Mike Sheron

Michael Nigel Sheron (born 11 January 1972) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is under-23s head coach at Blackburn Rovers.

Mike Sheron

Personal information
Full name	Michael Nigel Sheron
Date of birth	(1972-01-11) 11 January 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers (Under 23s head coach)
Youth career
–	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1994	Manchester City	100	(24)
1991	→ Bury (loan)	5	(1)
1994–1995	Norwich City	28	(2)
1995–1997	Stoke City	69	(34)
1997–1999	Queens Park Rangers	63	(19)
1999–2003	Barnsley	152	(33)
2003–2004	Blackpool	38	(8)
2004–2005	Macclesfield Town	26	(3)
2005	Shrewsbury Town	7	(2)
2005	Warrington Town	2	(0)
Total		490	(126)
International career
1992–1993	England U21	16	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Manchester City and Norwich City. He also played in the Football League for Bury, Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers, Barnsley, Blackpool, Macclesfield Town and Shrewsbury Town.^[1] Sheron was capped by England at under-21 level.^[2]

Career

Sheron started his career with Manchester City, whom he joined as a schoolboy. His first league appearance came in March 1991 on loan at Bury, for whom he played five times. His Manchester City debut came in the 1991–92 season in a match against Everton. Sheron a total of 29 appearances over the course of the season, scoring seven times. The majority of Sheron's Manchester City appearances were in a striking partnership with Niall Quinn, particularly in the 1992–93 season when Sheron scored 14 goals. Following the arrival of Paul Walsh and Uwe Rösler in March 1994, Sheron's first team opportunities become limited, and in August 1994 he joined Norwich City for a fee of £1,000,000.^[3] His time at Norwich was not a happy one. Struggling with injuries, Sheron scored just two league goals for Norwich, and moved to Stoke City in October 1995 in a player exchange deal that took Keith Scott to Carrow Road.^[4] Sheron performed considerably better for Stoke, scoring 39 goals in 71 starts, including a brace in the last ever Potteries derby match at the Victoria Ground.^[1][5]

His success at Stoke prompted Queens Park Rangers to pay £2.75 million for his services. After 18 months at QPR, the club were facing financial difficulties, and as one of the highest wage earners, Sheron was sold to Barnsley for £1.5 million.^[6][7] Sheron spent four years at Barnsley, making more appearances for them than for any of his other clubs.^[1]

Towards the end of his playing career Sheron had short spells at several lower division clubs, playing for Blackpool, Macclesfield and Shrewsbury.^[1] At Blackpool he started the final as Blackpool won the 2003–04 Football League Trophy.^[8]

After leaving Shrewsbury, Sheron signed for Warrington Town of the Northern Premier League who he briefly played for before hanging up his boots to join the club's coaching staff.^[9][10]

Coaching career

Sheron started his coaching career with Manchester City's Academy before moving to Bury where he served as Youth Team manager for three years.^[11] After a year working with Oldham Athletic, Sheron joined the coaching staff at Liverpool's Academy before making the switch to Rotherham United as academy head coach.^[12] In March 2015 he joined Blackburn Rovers as their Lead Youth Development Coach.^[13] In August 2019 Sheron was appointed head coach for Blackburn Rovers under 18s^[14]

Personal life

Sheron is the uncle of Hartlepool United midfielder Nathan Sheron.^[15]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[16]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	1990–91	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1991–92	First Division	29	7	1	0	3	1	1	0	34	8
	1992–93	Premier League	38	11	5	3	2	0	0	0	46	14
	1993–94	Premier League	33	6	2	0	5	0	0	0	40	6
	Total		100	24	8	3	10	1	1	0	119	28
Bury (loan)	1990–91	Third Division	5	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	7	1
Norwich City	1994–95	Premier League	21	1	4	2	4	1	0	0	29	4
	1995–96	First Division	7	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	9	3
	Total		28	2	4	2	6	3	0	0	38	7
Stoke City	1995–96	First Division	28	15	0	0	0	0	2	0	30	15
	1996–97	First Division	41	19	1	0	4	5	0	0	46	24
	Total		69	34	1	0	4	5	2	0	76	39
Queens Park Rangers	1997–98	First Division	40	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	42	11
	1998–99	First Division	23	8	0	0	4	1	0	0	27	9
	Total		63	19	2	0	4	1	0	0	69	20
Barnsley	1998–99	First Division	15	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	17	2
	1999–2000	First Division	36	9	1	0	4	2	0	0	41	12
	2000–01	First Division	34	1	1	0	5	5	0	0	40	6
	2001–02	First Division	33	12	2	0	2	0	0	0	37	12
	2002–03	Second Division	34	9	1	0	1	0	1	0	37	9
	Total		152	33	7	0	12	7	1	0	172	34
Blackpool	2003–04	Second Division	38	8	2	0	3	0	7	3	50	11
Macclesfield Town	2004–05	League Two	26	3	3	1	1	0	3	0	33	4
Shrewsbury Town	2004–05	League Two	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	2
Career total			488	126	27	6	40	17	16	3	570	152

1. Appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs, Full Members Cup

Honours

Blackpool

• Football League Trophy: 2003–04^[17]

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 1996–97 First Division

References

1. "Mike Sheron". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
2. Courtney, Barrie (10 January 2004). "England – U-21 International Results 1986–1995 – Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
3. Clayton, David (2002). Everything Under the Blue Moon. Mainstream Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 1-84018-687-9.
4. "Mike Sheron". Flown From The Nest. Steve Whitlam. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
5. Shaw, Phil (21 April 1997). "Sheron casts veil over Rudge's hopes". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
6. Gerard, Jasper (15 February 2007). "The crazy world of QPR: Loftus Road heads for meltdown". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
7. "Why Sheron just had to go". Evening Standard. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2009.^{[dead link]}
8. "Blackpool 2-0 Southend". BBC. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
9. "Sheron on the move". Manchester Evening News. 26 October 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
10. "Final Whistle Blows on Sheron's Playing Career". Warrington Guardian. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
11. "Sheron is new Shakers youth boss". BBC Sport. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
12. "Mike Sheron appointed Rotherham academy head coach". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
13. "Where is Mike Sheron now?". 17 June 2015.
14. "Billy Barr named under 23s boss". Blackburn Rovers Official Site. 19 August 2019.
15. https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stoke-graham-kavanagh-arsenal-chelsea-3970661, Better prospect than me at that age' - Ex-Stoke City star on son's link with Arsenal and Chelsea, Stoke Sentinel, 21 March 2020
16. Mike Sheron at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
17. "Blackpool 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

External links

• Mike Sheron at Soccerbase