Simon Rodger

Simon Lee Rodger (born 3 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder from 1989 until 2004.

Simon Rodger

Personal information
Full name	Simon Lee Rodger
Date of birth	(1971-10-03) 3 October 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	Shoreham-by-Sea, England
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Bognor Regis Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Bognor Regis Town
1990–2002	Crystal Palace	276	(11)
1996	→ Manchester City (loan)	8	(1)
1997	→ Stoke City (loan)	5	(0)
2002	Woking	1	(0)
2002–2004	Brighton & Hove Albion	36	(2)
Total		326	(14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played the majority of his career with Crystal Palace, including a number of seasons in the Premier League. He also played in the Football League for Manchester City, Stoke City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and in non-League football for Bognor Regis Town and Woking.

Club career

Rodger was born in Shoreham-by-Sea and played non-league football with Bognor Regis Town before he was signed by Palace in 1990 for £1,000. He made his debut for the club, away at Sheffield Wednesday, at the age of 20 and soon established himself as a vital member of the first team at Selhurst Park.^[1] He spent 11 seasons with Palace in what was a decade of instability at the club. They were founding members of the Premier League but were relegated back to Division One in 1992–93. They gained an instant return in 1993–94 which was followed again by relegation in 1994–95.

Promotion was again achieved in 1996–97 through the play-offs, but Rodger spent time out on loan that season at Manchester City (making eight appearances) and Stoke City (making five appearances). Palace then suffered a third relegation from the top-tier in 1997–98. Palace remained in Division One and with Rodger having spent ten years at the club he was given a testimonial against Tottenham Hotspur.^[2] In 2002, after his testimonial, Rodger was released by the club and after a short time with Woking, was signed by Brighton and Hove Albion, where he was reunited with former Palace manager Steve Coppell. He finished his League career with Brighton.^[3]

Personal life

Rodger is currently not married, but has been married twice

Career statistics

Source:^[4]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other[A]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crystal Palace	1991–92	First Division	22	0	1	0	6	0	1	0	30	0
	1992–93	Premier League	23	2	1	0	4	0	0	0	28	2
	1993–94	First Division	42	3	1	0	4	0	2	0	49	3
	1994–95	Premier League	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	1995–96	First Division	24	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	28	0
	1996–97	First Division	11	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	14	0
	1997–98	Premier League	29	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	33	2
	1998–99	First Division	18	1	1	0	2	0	1	0	22	1
	1999–2000	First Division	34	2	1	0	4	1	0	0	39	3
	2000–01	First Division	33	0	2	0	6	0	0	0	41	0
	2001–02	First Division	36	1	1	0	3	1	0	0	40	2
	Total		276	11	13	0	31	2	8	0	328	13
Manchester City (loan)	1996–97	First Division	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	1
Stoke City (loan)	1996–97	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Woking	2002–03	Football Conference	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Brighton & Hove Albion	2002–03	First Division	29	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	29	2
	2003–04	Second Division	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	9	0
	total		36	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	38	2
Career Total			326	14	13	0	33	2	8	0	379	16

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Football League play-offs, Full Members' Cup, Football League Trophy and UEFA Intertoto Cup.

References

1. "Jolly Tribute – Simon Says". holmesdale.net. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
2. "Rodger testimonal confirmed". holmesdale.net. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
3. "Rodger not Jolly at leaving". holmesdale.net. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
4. Simon Rodger at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Simon Rodger at Soccerbase