Hodge: Stephen Brian (Steve)

1991-1994 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Nottingham: 25-10-1962

Debut: Sheffield Wednesday (h) (Substitute): 24-08-1991

5’8” 10st 3lb (1993)

A native of Nottingham, he represented that city and his county at schoolboy level and then played for Notts County Boys before joining Nottingham Forest as an apprentice in May 1978, and turning professional in October 1980. He made his debut for Forest on the final day of the 1981-82 season in a 3-1 win at Portman Road against Ipswich Town on 15th May 1982. A left-footed midfield man with an eye for goal, he scored thirty League goals in one hundred and twenty-three appearances, including one as a substitute, as Brian Clough tried to rebuild his European Cup-Winning team. He was transferred to Aston Villa for £450,000 in a surprise move in August 1985. He had already established himself in the England Under-Twenty-One team, making his debut in a 1-0 win in Greece on 16th November 1982 in a European Championship Qualifier. He made further appearances in the tournament, with a 4-1 win over Denmark at Carrow Road, Norwich, on 20th September 1983, a 6-1 win over France at Hillsborough, Shefield on 28th February 1984, two fine 1-0 away wins, over Italy in Florence in the Semi-Final on 2nd May 1985, and Spain in the first leg of the Final in Seville on 17th May 1985 and then at Bramall Lane Sheffield as England clinched the trophy with a 2-0 victory on 24th May 1985. He had also gain the first of his two England "B" caps, when he scored after twenty minutes at his own, City Ground, Nottingham on 13th November 1984 as England "B" defeated New Zealand "A" 2-0. So he moved to Villa on the crest of a wave and added two more caps to make his total eight, as he became captain of the Under-Twenty-One team. He scored two second half goals as England started their defence of the trophy in the following season with a 3-0 win over Rumania at Portman Road, Ipswich, on 10th September 1985 and scored the opening goal in the first half in a 3-0 win over Turkey at Ashton Gate, Bristol on 15th October 1985. He prospered at Villa Park and his skillful forays down the left earned him a full England debut on 26th March 1986, against Russia, in Tibilisi, when he came on as a substitute for Gordan Cowens in the fifty-second minute. He became a regular member of Bobby Robson's England squad as they targetted the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and the 1988 European Championship in West Germany. He made his run on debut for England against Scotland at Wembley on 23rd April 1986, but was substituted by Gary Stevens after seventy-four minutes in a 2-1 win. His third cap was for a full game, gained in a Friendly against Canada in Burnaby in a 1-0 England win. He picked up five more caps in the World Cup. Three in the Group matches in Monterrey, where he he came on as an eightieth minute substitute for Bryan Robson in a 0-1 defeat to Portugal at Estadio Tecnologico on 3rd June 1986, followed three days later at the same venue, as a forty-first minute substitute for Bryan Robson in a 0-0 draw with Morocco, and at the Estadio Universitario, he played a full game in the 3-0 win over Poland on 11th June 1986. He also played full games in the two knock-out rounds, both at the Aztec Stadium, Mexico City, as England beat Paraguay 3-0 on 18th June 1986 and England succumbed to "The hand of God" 1-2 against Argentina on 22nd June 1986. Hodge famously traded shirts with Maradona at the end of the game. His ninth and tenth cap were again full games as England lost 0-1 to Sweden in Solna, Stockholm, in a Friendly on 10th September 1986 and beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in a European Championship Qualifier on 15th October 1986 at Wembley. His eleventh cap was his last with Aston Villa and came on 12th November 1986 as England beat Yugoslavia 2-0 at Wembley in another European Qualifier as Hodge started but was replaced after eighty-three minutes by Ray Wilkins. He had been captain at Villa Park but after scoring twelve goals in fifty-three League starts he accepted the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur in a £650,000 deal, in December 1986. Despite inconsistent form, he added four more caps to his growing tally, while at White Hart Lane, as he played a full game in a good 4-2 English victory over Spain at the Bernabeu on 18th February 1987 and followed that up with another full game in a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast in the European Qualifiers on 1st April 1987. His fourteen was again in the European Qualifiers, in Izmir against Turkey on 29th April 1987 as England drew 0-0 and Hodge started but was replaced by John Barnes after seventy-three minutes. On 23rd May 1987 he played his fifteenth game for England in a 0-0 drawn Friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park, when he once more played a full game. He played in the Tottenham side that lost to Coventry City in the 1987 FA Cup Final, after scoring twice in their 4-1 Semi-Final win over Watford. He had continued to pick up England caps, but became unsettled when Terry Venables took over from David Pleat at White Hart Lane and it came as no surprise when he returned to Forest, for £575,000, in August 1988, after scoring seven times in forty-five League games, including one as a substitute. Back in familiar surroundings, he rediscovered his best form, helping Brian Clough’s side to win the 1989 Wembley Finals of both the Simod and Littlewoods/League Cup, with Hodge winning his first major honour as Forest beat Luton Town 2-1. A week later he witnessed the horror of Hillsborough and his team lost the rescheduled FA Cup Semi-Final to Liverpool at Old Trafford. The League Cup was won again the following year when Hodge played in the 1-0 Final win over Oldham Athletic. He was selected in the 1989–90 Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year and he regained his place in the England squad and was a member of the 1990 World Cup party, but injuries meant that he was unable to play a game. Injuries and the emergence of Irish star Roy Keane saw Hodge on the sidelines at his club, although he did appear as a substitute for Forest in the 1991 FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur, having played his final League game for Forest the previous week against Leeds United, the team he signed for in a £900,000 deal in July 1991, having scored twenty times in eighty-two League games, three of which were as a substitute, during his second spell at the City Ground. His England career had continued even though punctuated by lost of form or by injury. He regained his place, on 14th September 1988 as he played a full game in a 1-0 win in a Friendly against Denmark at Wembley, but it was over a year before he was next called up as England drew 0-0 with Italy in a Friendly at Wembley on 15th November 1989, when he came on as a sixty-seventh minute substitute for Steve McMahon. He was a substitute again on 13th December 1989 in a 2-1 win at Wembley against Yugoslavia in a Friendly when he came on again in the sixty-seventh minute for David Rocastle. He regained his place in the starting eleven for the 4-2 win over Czechoslovakia in a Wembley Friendly on 25th April 1990. This was followed by a full game in a 1-0 win over Denmark in a Wembley Friendly on 15th May 1990, being substituted for Peter Beardsley in the seventy-seventh minute in a 1-2 defeat by Uraguay at Wembley a week later and, on 2nd June 1990, again being substituted by Peter Beardsley in the sixty-second minute in a 1-1 in Tunis, in a Friendly against Tunisia. His twenty-third cap came on 6th February 1991 when he came on as a sixty-sixth minute substitute for Paul Gascoigne in a 2-0 Wembley Friendly win over Cameroon. This was followed by his second and final "B" cap in a 1-0 win over Iceland "A" at Vicarage Road Watford on 27th April 1991 and his twenty-fourth and final England cap on 1st May 1991 in Izmir in a 1-0 win over Turkey in the European Qualifiers for Sweden 1992 when he came on as an half-time substitute for Geoff Thomas. Nicknamed “Harry”, the former England international midfielder made an instant impact with Leeds, coming on as a substitute on his debut and scoring a point-saving goal against Sheffield Wednesday. Indeed he made only a dozen starts, and eleven off the bench, during the 1991-92 championship winning season, but was well-known for coming off the bench and scoring decisive late goals. He did play enough times to gain a Championship medal, but the famous Leeds midfield of Gordon Strachan, David Batty, Gary McAllister and Gary Speed was in such fine form meant he was used as a late hit-man substitute or filling in in case of injury to the famous four and during his injury-blighted time at Elland Road he did not really command a regular place. He could easily point to many significant contributions to the United cause, probably none more crucial than, after seven substitute League appearances, he made his run on debut against Liverpool on 21st September 1991 as his goal gave Leeds full points against Liverpool, for the first time in eighteen years! Three games later he and Mel Sterland both bagged braces to ensure full points at home to Sheffield United on 5th October 1991. He was on the mark the following game at Meadow Lane, in a 4-2 win over Notts County on 19th October 1991 and another brace, against Southampton at Elland Road on Boxing Day, saw a point gained. Leeds did not lose one game in which Hodge scored! He was unable to add to his tally of twenty-four England caps while at Leeds, and after struggling with injury and loss of form, he was loaned to Derby County in August 1994, where he scored twice in ten games. He left Leeds and signed for Queens Park Rangers for £300,000 in October 1994 but was unable to make an impression as Rangers struggled in the EPL and after failing to score in fifteen appearances, he moved to Watford in December 1995. He did not stay long at Vicarage Road, making only two scoreless appearances and was released in June 1996. After trials with Bristol City and Walsall, he had a spell in Hong Kong but he returned and joined Leyton Orient in August 1997 on a non-contract basis but retired in June 1998 after only one game in which he didn’t score. He obtained his Coaching certificate and joined the coaching staff at Chesterfield, and also coached juniors at Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Notts County.