Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 27 November 1957 | ||
Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
Playing position | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Winterton Rangers | |||
Sheffield Rangers | |||
Manchester Villa (Chesterfield) | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1977–1985 | Lincoln City | 272 | (73) |
1985–1986 | Grimsby Town | 52 | (18) |
1986–1988 | Southampton | 33 | (8) |
1988–1990 | Lincoln City | 61 | (23) |
1990–1991 | Exeter City | 38 | (7) |
1991 | Walsall | 3 | (0) |
1991–1992 | Farnborough Town | ||
1992–1995 | Salisbury City | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Gordon Hobson (born 27 November 1957) is an English retired footballer who played as a forward, spending most of his career with Lincoln City, with shorter periods at Grimsby Town, Southampton and Exeter City.
Hobson was born in Sheffield attending Firth Park School but played his youth football with Winterton Rangers in Lincolnshire. Trained as a plumber, Hobson continued to play in local football, turning out for Sheffield Rangers on Saturdays and for Manchester Villa, a Chesterfield pub team, on Sundays.
Shortly after his 20th birthday, he was signed by Lincoln City, then in the Football League Third Division. He made his professional debut against Cambridge United in April 1978, producing "a sparkling performance in which he seemed to mesmerise the opposition defenders" with his crosses from the right flank providing two goals for "the Imps" and scoring once himself in a 4–1 victory.
Hobson quickly became established as a first-team regular, generally playing at outside-left with Glenn Cockerill on the right and Mick Harford in the centre. After being relegated in 1979 and a lacklustre 1979–80 season (in which Hobson scored his first hat-trick in a 5–2 victory at Torquay on the final day of the campaign), manager Colin Murphy moved Hobson into the centre where his 21 goals helped the Imps secure promotion to Division Three with a second-place finish behind Southend United. A highlight of the promotion season was an 8–0 demolition of Northampton Town in which Hobson scored four times.