Steve Cherry

Steve Reginald Cherry (born 5 August 1960) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He made over 690 league and cup appearances in a 20-year career in the Football League and Conference, playing in the top five divisions of the English game.

Steve Reginald Cherry was born at Nottingham General Hospital on 5 August 1960 and grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire.

He was born into a mining family: his parents were Harold and Lonorah Cherry, a colliery electrician and housewife respectively.

As a teenager he attended a brief goalkeeping course at Nottingham Forest and had an unsuccessful trial with Notts County, though turned down the opportunity to play for Clifton All Whites after feeling dejected from his failed trial with Notts County.

In 1975, at the age of 15, he played in goal for local village teams Calverton Colliery and Calverton United, as well as for Calverton Youth Wing.

He had the opportunity to follow his father into the mines should his fledging football career not work out.

Cherry started his career with a five-day trial at Derby County, having been scouted by Ernie Roberts playing for Calverton Youth Wing in a 7–1 defeat to Ilkeston U16s.

Cherry was spotted playing for Calverton Youth Wing by Derby County and joined the club on a two-year apprenticeship in 1976, turning professional two-years later.

Having impressed during the trial he was placed in the club's youth team on wages of £12.50-a-week and in 1976 he signed a two-year apprenticeship contract.

He was on the bench for the first round of the UEFA Cup against Irish club Finn Harps in the 1976–77 season due to Colin Boulton being out on loan and Steve Bowtell being illegible.

He represented the Midland Intermediate League, though had his reserve team opportunities limited until Boulton left the club.

He won three caps for the England Youth Team in 1978.

He was given his first professional contract in 1978, still with six months left to run of his apprenticeship contract.

He was called up to the England Youth Team later in the year and won four caps: two playing against Las Palmas Select' team, one against the USSR and one against Italy.

He was dropped in favour of John Lukic after a 2–1 defeat to Italy.

Derby were relegated at the end of the 1979–80 season and the club signed two new goalkeepers: 34-year-old Roger Jones and 24-year-old Yakka Banovic.

He started his first competitive senior game in February 1980 and played eight games on loan at Port Vale during the 1980–81 season.

Cherry started his first competitive game for Derby as John Middleton was ruled unfit due to a shoulder injury for a First Division fixture against Southampton at the Baseball Ground on 16 February 1980.

The match finished 2–2, with David Watson and Graham Baker scoring for the visitors.

He kept his first-team place for the following game at home to Tottenham Hotspur, which Derby won 2–1, however, he was then sidelined after injuring his ankle slipping on the pavement outside his home whilst trying to prevent his kitten from running away.

He returned to the starting eleven in a 3–1 win against Manchester City on 24 April and was named as man of the match.

Cherry was not selected by Derby manager Colin Addison throughout the 1980–81 season and also picked up an ankle injury in October.

Upon his return to fitness he joined Port Vale on loan in November.

Manager John McGrath had sold regular custodian Trevor Dance, and was forced to enter the loan market after Mark Harrison was struck down with injury.

Cherry was in goal for eight matches, four each in the Fourth Division and FA Cup.

He conceded three goals in his final game for the "Valiants" in a 3–0 defeat at Enfield in a Third Round FA Cup Replay that was played on live television on 6 January 1981, the club's first defeat to non-League opposition in over 50 years.

He established himself in the first team at Derby during the 1982–83 season and was voted the club's Player of the Year in May 1983.

The club were relegated out of the Second Division at the end of the 1983–84 season and he was transferred to Walsall in August 1984.

He was voted as Walsall's Player of the Season at the end of the 1984–85 campaign but lost his first-team place at the end of the following campaign and was sold on to Plymouth Argyle for a £19,000 fee in November 1986.

After an initial poor start to his Plymouth career, he improved and was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1988.

He then asked for a transfer and joined Chesterfield on loan during the 1988–89 season, before being sold to Notts County for a £70,000 fee in February 1989.

Cherry was Neil Warnock's first signing as Notts County manager and the club found instant success under Warnock's stewardship, winning promotions from the Third Division to the First Division via the play-offs in 1990 and 1991.

Though County were relegated back into the second tier, he was named as the club's Player of the Year in 1992.

He played in two Anglo-Italian Cup finals, as County finished as runners-up in 1994 and champions in 1995.

He moved on to Watford in July 1995, before rejoining Plymouth Argyle on loan in February 1996.

He helped Plymouth to win the Third Division play-offs in 1996, his third such success with Neil Warnock and fifth appearance at Wembley.

He then saw out his career with brief stays at Rotherham United, Kettering Town, Rushden & Diamonds, Rothwell Corinthians, Gainsborough Trinity, Stalybridge Celtic, Mansfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Lincoln City, Kidsgrove Athletic and Belper Town.

He won the Staffordshire Senior Cup with Kidsgrove in 2004.

He later coached at Notts County and Macclesfield Town.