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A cool and cultured central defender, Liverpool born Steve Redmond
played for Manchester City between 1984 and 1992. Having been coveted by
both Merseyside clubs before opting to sign apprentice forms with City,
he captained the youth team to victory over Manchester United in the FA
Youth Cup final in April 1986. He had already made his first team debut
the previous month in a 2-0 home win over QPR and was to make a further
nine appearances that season, including one in a 5-4 Full Members Cup
final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley.
The 1986/87 campaign was when
Redmond really established himself in the side, scoring his first goals
for the club when he got both in a 2-2 draw at Coventry just before
Christmas. But by then City were in the relegation zone, where they
remained for the almost the entire season, and after suffering round
three defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal in the FA and League cups
they were relegated at West Ham on the last day of the season, Steve
having made 30 league starts.
With the club in financial turmoil
the next couple of years would see a struggle for promotion from
Division Two. The 1987/88 season ended with a ninth place finish, the
only highlights being a 10-1 demolition of Huddersfield Town in November
and decent runs in the cups which ended in quarter-final defeats at the
hands of Everton (2-0) and Liverpool (4-0). Redmond's 44 league
appearances had made him an ever-present in the side, even taking over
in goal against Crystal Palace in December after keeper Eric Nixon had
been sent off, and he was named the club's Player of the Year.
At the
start of the following season he was appointed the club's youngest-ever
captain by manager Mel Machin, aged just 20, and by mid-December the
team were top of the table, Steve having notched his third career goal
in a 2-1 win at home to Oxford United. The good run continued through to
March, despite defeats in both cups at Brentford and Luton, but an
alarming dip in form toward the end of the season meant a point was
needed from the last game at Bradford to ensure a return to the top
flight. In a nervy encounter Trevor Morley scored with four minutes
remaining to earn a 1-1 draw and runners-up spot, Redmond's first season
as skipper ending in success as once again he kept an ever-present
record.
One win in the first six games of the 1989/90 season saw
City joint-bottom of the table, but the next game resulted in a 5-1
home massacre of Manchester United in a game which no City fan will ever
forget. The euphoria wasn't to last, however, as a series of defeats,
including an embarrassing 6-0 loss at Derby, had City fans looking over
their shoulder once again at a return to the Second Division, and
manager Machin was dismissed. Nevertheless under new boss Howard Kendall
they managed to stage a recovery in the second half of the season to
climb to a satisfactory fourteenth place finish, Redmond once again
appearing in every City game for the third consecutive season.
Steve's
run of 138 consecutive league games was broken at the start of the
1990/91 season when he missed the second game of the campaign against
Everton. The team had got off to a good start with only one defeat (3-1
at Spurs on the opening day) in the first eleven games, but manager
Kendall decided to return to his old club Everton and was replaced by
Peter Reid. Despite a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup further
progress continued in the league, Redmond chipping in with goals in a
2-2 draw at Luton and a 2-1 home win over Spurs. A shock 1-0 fifth round
defeat at Notts County in February put paid to any FA Cup aspirations
but consistency in the league ensured a fifth place finish, with Steve's
third goal of the season in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest in April
making it his best return in a blue shirt.
The following season
continued in much the same vein as the previous one, with the team
highly placed in the table, but after three consecutive defeats in March
followed by a 0-0 draw at Chelsea manager Reid decided Redmond was no
longer part of his plans, and the Chelsea game proved to be his last for
the club. He was subsequently transferred to Oldham Athletic in July
1992 along with Neil Pointon in a deal which brought Ricky Holden to
Maine Road. During his City career Steve had made a total of 287
appearances (4 as substitute) with 7 goals, and had also captained the
England Under-21 side and been a full England Youth player. He later
went on to play for Bury and eventually clocked up over 700 appearances
for his three professional clubs. (David Redshaw)
League Matches.
1984–1992 Manchester City 235 (7)
1992–1998 Oldham Athletic 205 (4)
1998–2003 Bury 151 (6)
2003 Burscough 1 (0)
2003–2004 Leigh RMI 25 (1)
Total 617 (18)
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