Guppy: Stephen Andrew (Steve)

2004-2004 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Winchester: 29-03-1969

Debut v Gillingham (a): 10-08-2004

5’11” 12st. (2001)

Guppy, a left midfielder, had a long career in England, Scotland and fleetingly in the USA. Starting with Colden Common, he had trials with Southampton and played some Reserve team football but was not taken on as a professional by the Saints. This disillusioned him but he persevered, working on building sites and his patience was rewarded when Jim Kelman signed him for Wycombe Wanderers in August 1989. He made his debut for Wycombe in an away game with Welling, in the Conference League on 6th September 1989, his first goal for the club soon followed in an away F.A. Cup tie at Gravesend on 17th October 1989. The left-sided midfielder, who could play either as a wing-back or as fast-raiding winger became a left wing hero at Wycombe during the 'Martin O'Neill Years' and was selected for the England Semi-Professional representative team. He helped Wycombe gain entry into the Football League as Conference champions in 1992–93 as well as completing the Non-League double by winning the FA Trophy. He was a virtual ever-present in Wycombe's debut 1993–94 season in the Football League at the end of which they secured promotion to the Second Division via the play-offs and Guppy was selected as a member of the Third Division "Team of the Year". His final Wycombe game was at Wembley in the play-off Final against Preston North End on 28th May 1994. He went on to score eight goals in forty-one League starts and two more in eight F.A. Cup starts as well as starting four League Cup games and ten other games without scoring, in his five year stay at Wycombe before being 'stolen' by Newcastle United in August 1994 for a paltry £150,000. He made just one League Cup substitute appearance for the Magpies before Kevin Keegan picked up a tidy profit for the club when he was sold to Port Vale in November 1994 for £225,000. First Division Port Vale was where he came to notice due to the tutelage of John Rudge and after playing for them in the 1996 Anglo-Italian Cup Final, which they lost 5-2 to Genoa, and having given outstanding service for over two seasons his former boss Martin O'Neill paid £850,000 to take him to Leicester City on 28th February 1997. He had scored twelve League goals in one hundred and five games, of which three had been from the bench. He had started eight F.A. Cup and seven League Cup games without scoring and had scored once more in seven starts and one game as a substitute in other games while at Vale Park. He went on to make one England Under-Twenty-One appearance on 24th March 1998 in a 2-0 away defeat by Switzerland and one "B" international appearance as a fifty-sixth minute substitute for Kieran Dyer against Chile at the Hawthorns on 10th February 1998. On 10th October 1999 he made his full England debut against Belgium at the Sunderland Stadium of Light. He gained a League Cup winner's medal when Leicester City beat Tranmere Rovers at Wembley in 2000, and scored nine League goals in one hundred and forty-six games, of which thirteen were as a substitute and also scored once in nine F.A. Cup starts but did not find the net in fifteen League Cup and four other games, before he followed Martin O'Neill to Celtic on 2nd August 2001 for £350,000. He spent two and half years as a bit part player at Celtic Park and won the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup while there. He started twenty-two Scottish League games and came off the bench in another eleven, he also started four Scottish Cup ties and two Scottish League Cup ties together with one tie from the bench and also started four and came on as a substitute in five other games, but did not score in any competition. He returned to Leicester on 15th January 2004 but after nine starts and six games as a substitute in the League was released on 30th June 2004. He spent a brief spell on trial at Leeds United from 7th August 2004, scoring on his run-on debut at home to Nottingham Forest on 21st August 2004, before leaving on 8th September 2004. He gained a short term deal at Stoke City from 13th September 2004, but only featured in four League games, all as a substitute before leaving on 26th November2004, to rejoin Wycombe Wanderers on a free transfer. He scored once in twelve starts and two games from the bench in the League and made one start in the F.A. Cup and one in an other game before leaving on 29th March 2005 to join USA club DC United. He only managed five games before injury cut short his stay with the club and he returned to England and, on 19th August 2006, he signed for Conference Premier side Stevenage Borough. He scored one goal, in the 1-1 draw at Exeter City on 23rd September 2006, and started twenty-five League games and made two substitute appearances. He also made three other appearances, one of which was on 12th May 2007 at the new Wembley Stadium, when he was in the Stevenage FC side that came from 2-0 down to beat Kidderminster Harriers by 3-2 to lift the trophy. He became one of the first players, Jeff Kenna was the other, to have played at the Old Wembley and the New Wembley and became the first player to win winners' medals at both venues. He went back to U.S.A. once more in the spring of 2008, signing with Rochester Rhinos, and scored once in twenty-three League games. On 5th November 2008 he left Rochester with still one year of his contract left to run and accepted the assistantcoach appointment with MajorLeague Colorado Rapids. Rochester released Guppy from his contract on 11th November 2008 and allowed him to progress to a higher level of coaching. He is presently assistant coach at the Colorado Rapids, Major League Soccer team, and the Rapids won the Major League Soccer Cup in 2010.