24 Facts About Mark Stimson

Mark Nicholas Stimson was born on 27 December 1967 and is an English former footballer and manager.

Mark Stimson signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team.

Mark Stimson later played for Portsmouth, Southend United and Leyton Orient before dropping into non-League football.

Mark Stimson was appointed manager of Grays Athletic in 2002 and remained in charge until 2006 when he took over as manager of Stevenage Borough.

Mark Stimson led Grays to victory in the Final of the FA Trophy in 2005 and 2006, and repeated the feat with Stevenage in 2007.

Mark Stimson led Gillingham back into League One the following season via the League Two play-off final, but his contract was terminated after the team was relegated back to League Two the following season.

On 1 June 2010, Stimson was appointed as the new manager of League Two club Barnet, but he was sacked on New Year's Day 2011 with the club near the bottom of the table.

Mark Stimson later had a spell as manager with Conference club Kettering Town.

Mark Stimson made his Football League debut against Everton in May 1987, but struggled to gain a place in the first team, and was sent to Leyton Orient on loan in March 1988, where he played ten times.

Mark Stimson made 18 appearances for the Kent-based club and, although he was unable to help the team avoid relegation from the Third Division, his contribution impressed the fans, who voted him into second place in the club's Player of the Year ballot.

Mark Stimson spent four years with the club and finally gained a regular first team place, making over 80 appearances.

Mark Stimson played for the club in the semi-finals of the play-offs, but was restricted to an appearance as an unused substitute in the final, which Orient lost.

Mark Stimson was selected to play for the England National Game XI, the national team for semi-professional players, earning one cap against an equivalent team from the United States.

Mark Stimson left Canvey in May 2002 to join Grays Athletic as player-coach.

In September 2002, Mark Stimson took over as manager of Grays after the sacking of Craig Edwards, initially as caretaker manager, but after leading the team to its first victory of the season, he was quickly given the job on an ongoing basis.

Mark Stimson stated that at the time he had received no firm job offers from other clubs, and acknowledged that he was taking a gamble with his career, but said that if he was unable to find a new job as a manager he would move into youth coaching or open his own football school.

Mark Stimson was offered a new contract by Stevenage on 16 October 2007, but resigned the following day.

Mark Stimson was criticised by departing player Aaron Brown, who acknowledged that Stimson had strong coaching skills but described his man-management as "shocking".

On 1 June, Mark Stimson was appointed as the new manager of League Two club Barnet, but was sacked seven months later on 1 January 2011 due to a bad string of results which left the club near the bottom of the table.

On 4 January 2012, Mark Stimson left Kettering with the team placed in the Conference relegation places.

On 10 May 2018, after leaving Thurrock as a result of the club folding, Mark Stimson was appointed manager of Waltham Abbey.

Mark Stimson is married, and when he returned to former club Grays Athletic as manager of Stevenage Borough in 2007, he and his wife were praised for visiting the clubhouse after the game to chat to home supporters.

Mark Stimson has three children, including a son, Charlie, who in 2008 joined Gillingham's youth team, but turned down the offer of a professional contract in 2010 after his father's dismissal from the manager's job.

In July 2024, Mark Stimson was found guilty of assault following a trial at Stevenage Magistrates' Court.