Spencer Prior
Prior playing for Manly United in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Spencer Justin Prior | ||
| Date of birth | 22 April 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Southend, England | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1993 | Southend United | 135 | (3) |
| 1993–1996 | Norwich City | 74 | (1) |
| 1996–1998 | Leicester City | 64 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Derby County | 54 | (1) |
| 2000–2001 | Manchester City | 30 | (4) |
| 2001–2004 | Cardiff City | 81 | (2) |
| 2004–2007 | Southend United | 75 | (2) |
| 2008–2009 | Newcastle Jets | 0 | (0) |
| 2009 | Manly United | ||
| Total | 513 | (13) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011–2013 | Australia women (asst. manager) | ||
| 2012–2013 | Australia U20 women | ||
| 2016– | Thailand women | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Spencer Justin Prior (born 22 April 1971 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex) is an English former footballer. He was a central defender who retired at the end of the 2006–07 season, finishing his career with hometown club Southend United, where he began his career. He is the current manager of the Thailand women's football team.
Prior made 135 league appearances in his first spell with Southend. His solid performances in the centre of the Shrimpers defence attracted the attention of other clubs and in the summer of 1993 both Norwich and Wolverhampton Wanderers made moves to sign him. He opted for Norwich because they had qualified to play in Europe for the 1993–94 season and they paid Southend a fee of £300,000 for his services. In his first season at Carrow Road he played in the historic 2–1 win at Bayern Munich and the 1–0 defeat at Inter Milan that saw City eliminated from the UEFA Cup.
During his first two seasons with Norwich, Prior found it difficult to establish himself as a first team regular. After the club had been relegated from the Premiership in 1995, however, Prior became a regular selection under the management firstly of Martin O'Neill and then Gary Megson. It was a difficult season for Norwich which was played out against weekly demonstrations at chairman Robert Chase. Prior ended the season by being voted Norwich City player of the year. In August 1996, Leicester paid £600,000 for him. He had played 89 games for Norwich.
In his first season at Leicester, Prior got a League Cup winner's medal as the Foxes beat Middlesbrough in a replayed final. Prior moved to Derby in 1998 but did not settle there, though did manage to score the winner in a game against Sheffield Wednesday. A number of clubs showed an interest in him before Manchester City signed him shortly before the transfer deadline in the 1999–00 season. City had signed him to replace the injured Andy Morrison as they had only been able to field two central defenders (Gerard Wiekens and Richard Jobson) for most of the season. His impact on the team was immediate, his goals earning City numerous victories and ultimately promotion. As City arrived in the Premiership Prior found his first team opportunities limited as the then City manager, Joe Royle, bought Steve Howey, Richard Dunne and Paul Ritchie, while Andy Morrison also returned from his lengthy injury.
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