Kevin Pressman
Encyclopedia
Kevin Paul Pressman is an English
former football goalkeeper, currently coaching at Bradford City. Pressman made 588 appearances in English and Northern Irish league football for 5 different clubs over 3 decades.
, where he spent 19 seasons, playing 478 matches in all competitions including the UEFA Cup
. Pressman made over 200 starts in the Premier League alone and is currently second in Wednesdays post-war appearance list.
Pressman signed his first professional contract for the Owls on his 18th birthday in 1985 and made his debut versus Southampton on 5 September 1987. He had supported Wednesday since childhood. Pressman's career was nearly wrecked on New Year's Day
1990 when he suffered cruciate knee-ligament damage which sidelined him for over eight months. He was unlucky not to play in the 1991 League Cup Final
victory against Manchester United
, as he had played in every round of the competition that year—as well as a significant amount of league matches—up until the Quarter-Final stage where he was replaced by more senior goalkeeper and future Wednesday manager Chris Turner. Pressman was on the substitutes bench at three further Wembley finals, all in 1993. The League Cup
Final, FA Cup
Final and FA Cup Final Replay, all against Arsenal
and resulting in defeats in both competitions for Wednesday.
In his prime, Pressman was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. He had a tendency to play particularly well in Steel City Derby
games. He also became known for both saving and scoring penalties, most notably the winner in a shoot-out against Watford
in the FA Cup
in 1998. Pressman entered the record books on 13 August 2000 when he was sent off after just 13 seconds in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers
. The dismissal, given for handling outside the area, was the fastest ever in English football history. It was bettered in late 2008 by David Pratt of Chippenham Town`
who was sent off after a mere three seconds into the game.
Pressman showed great resilience to fend off many fellow goalkeepers for the number 1 shirt at Hillsborough
, outlasting Chris Turner, Chris Woods
and Pavel Srníček
to name just a few. His last game for the Owls came on the final day of the 2003–04 season at Hillsborough against QPR
.
, at the time managed by his former Sheffield Wednesday team-mate Carlton Palmer
, and was first-choice goalkeeper for the majority of the following season. In addition to Sheffield Wednesday and Mansfield, Pressman has also played for Stoke City
(on loan) and Leicester City
. After being released by Leicester, he was signed by Leeds United as cover for Neil Sullivan
, however he never made an appearance.
Pressman announced his retirement from the game in July 2006 after being released by Mansfield Town although there were some rumours that he would return to Wednesday in a coaching role. He is now a member of Sheffield Wednesday's Masters team and is rightly considered to be a legend at Hillsborough where he was affectionately known as 'Big Kev'. He came out top in a poll to find Sheffield Wednesday's greatest ever keeper on the website Vital Football
.
At the end of September 2006 Pressman signed a short-term deal with Northern-Irish side Portadown FC, who had a goalkeeping crisis. He impressed Ports fans with his displays between the sticks, despite his age of 39, and helped the club in their rise up the league table.
Despite training in Doncaster during the week and flying to Northern Ireland for matches, Pressman signed a contract extension with Portadown FC in late December 2006 that kept him at the club until the end of the 2006–07 season. At the end of that season Kevin decided to call time on his impressive career after winning Portadown's 'Player of the Season' award.
Pressman's most high profile role as a coach was as Assistant Manager to Ian Baraclough
at Scunthorpe United, Both men however lost their jobs in March 2011 after a string of poor results left The Iron deep in relegation trouble in the Football League Championship
. Pressman had originally joined United as Goalkeeping coach under former boss Nigel Adkins
and had even featured on the substitutes bench during a goalkeeping crisis at the club.
On 20 August 2011 Bradford City announced that Pressman would be the new Goalkeeping Coach, replacing Tim Dittmer, who - with the club's blessing - left to take up a position at Premier League side Manchester City.
In May 2008 he also became joint manager of Belper Town
Reserves.
at Under-21 level as well as winning three "B" caps between 1994–1998.
. Pressman is a big fan of Sheffield Wednesday football club from his youth days and spent 19 years there as a professional. He is the brother of BBC Radio Sheffield
presenter Howard Pressman
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former football goalkeeper, currently coaching at Bradford City. Pressman made 588 appearances in English and Northern Irish league football for 5 different clubs over 3 decades.
Sheffield Wednesday
Pressman is best remembered as the long-time goalkeeper of Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
, where he spent 19 seasons, playing 478 matches in all competitions including the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. Pressman made over 200 starts in the Premier League alone and is currently second in Wednesdays post-war appearance list.
Pressman signed his first professional contract for the Owls on his 18th birthday in 1985 and made his debut versus Southampton on 5 September 1987. He had supported Wednesday since childhood. Pressman's career was nearly wrecked on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1990 when he suffered cruciate knee-ligament damage which sidelined him for over eight months. He was unlucky not to play in the 1991 League Cup Final
1991 Football League Cup Final
The 1991 Rumbelows Cup Final was a football match played on 21 April 1991 between Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday. It was the first of two years that the competition was sponsored by Rumbelows....
victory against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, as he had played in every round of the competition that year—as well as a significant amount of league matches—up until the Quarter-Final stage where he was replaced by more senior goalkeeper and future Wednesday manager Chris Turner. Pressman was on the substitutes bench at three further Wembley finals, all in 1993. The League Cup
1993 Football League Cup Final
The 1993 Coca Cola Cup Final took place on 18 April 1993 at Wembley Stadium, and was played between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal won 2–1 in normal time, in what was the first of three Wembley finals between the two sides that season; Arsenal and Wednesday also met in the FA Cup...
Final, FA Cup
1993 FA Cup Final
The 1993 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The original match, played on 15 May 1993 finished 1–1, with Arsenal winning the replay on 20 May; 2–1 after extra-time....
Final and FA Cup Final Replay, all against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and resulting in defeats in both competitions for Wednesday.
In his prime, Pressman was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. He had a tendency to play particularly well in Steel City Derby
Steel City derby
The Steel City Derby is a local derby that takes place between Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, the two professional football league teams based in the city of Sheffield, England...
games. He also became known for both saving and scoring penalties, most notably the winner in a shoot-out against Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
in 1998. Pressman entered the record books on 13 August 2000 when he was sent off after just 13 seconds in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
. The dismissal, given for handling outside the area, was the fastest ever in English football history. It was bettered in late 2008 by David Pratt of Chippenham Town`
Chippenham Town F.C.
Chippenham Town are an English football club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division. They are nicknamed the Bluebirds and they play their home matches at Hardenhuish Park. Their home kit consists of a blue shirt, blue shorts and blue socks...
who was sent off after a mere three seconds into the game.
Pressman showed great resilience to fend off many fellow goalkeepers for the number 1 shirt at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
, outlasting Chris Turner, Chris Woods
Chris Woods
Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major...
and Pavel Srníček
Pavel Srnícek
Pavel Srníček is a Czech former football goalkeeper.-Career:Srníček was originally signed by Newcastle in December 1990 on loan from Banik Ostrava by manager Jim Smith, who left within months to be succeeded by Ossie Ardiles - by this time his transfer had been made permanent, and he was soon...
to name just a few. His last game for the Owls came on the final day of the 2003–04 season at Hillsborough against QPR
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
.
Post Sheffield Wednesday
In the summer of 2005, Pressman was signed by Mansfield TownMansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
, at the time managed by his former Sheffield Wednesday team-mate Carlton Palmer
Carlton Palmer
Carlton Lloyd Palmer is a former English professional football player who played as a midfielder, most notably for Sheffield Wednesday.-Playing career:...
, and was first-choice goalkeeper for the majority of the following season. In addition to Sheffield Wednesday and Mansfield, Pressman has also played for Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
(on loan) and Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. After being released by Leicester, he was signed by Leeds United as cover for Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan is an English-born Scottish ex-international professional Association footballer. A goalkeeper, Sullivan currently plays for Doncaster Rovers after signing on a permanent basis from Leeds United at the end of the 2006–07 season, following two loan moves to Doncaster...
, however he never made an appearance.
Pressman announced his retirement from the game in July 2006 after being released by Mansfield Town although there were some rumours that he would return to Wednesday in a coaching role. He is now a member of Sheffield Wednesday's Masters team and is rightly considered to be a legend at Hillsborough where he was affectionately known as 'Big Kev'. He came out top in a poll to find Sheffield Wednesday's greatest ever keeper on the website Vital Football
Vital Football
Vital Football is an internet sports network website, based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in October 2005 and has individual sites for every football club from the Premier League and the Football League in England and the Scottish Premier League in Scotland...
.
At the end of September 2006 Pressman signed a short-term deal with Northern-Irish side Portadown FC, who had a goalkeeping crisis. He impressed Ports fans with his displays between the sticks, despite his age of 39, and helped the club in their rise up the league table.
Despite training in Doncaster during the week and flying to Northern Ireland for matches, Pressman signed a contract extension with Portadown FC in late December 2006 that kept him at the club until the end of the 2006–07 season. At the end of that season Kevin decided to call time on his impressive career after winning Portadown's 'Player of the Season' award.
Pressman's most high profile role as a coach was as Assistant Manager to Ian Baraclough
Ian Baraclough
Ian Robert Baraclough is a former English professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Scunthorpe United, where he notably appeared as a player between 2004 and 2008...
at Scunthorpe United, Both men however lost their jobs in March 2011 after a string of poor results left The Iron deep in relegation trouble in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
. Pressman had originally joined United as Goalkeeping coach under former boss Nigel Adkins
Nigel Adkins
Nigel Howard Adkins is a former footballer and is the current manager of Championship Club Southampton.-Playing career:As a player, Adkins was goalkeeper for Tranmere Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Bangor City...
and had even featured on the substitutes bench during a goalkeeping crisis at the club.
On 20 August 2011 Bradford City announced that Pressman would be the new Goalkeeping Coach, replacing Tim Dittmer, who - with the club's blessing - left to take up a position at Premier League side Manchester City.
In May 2008 he also became joint manager of Belper Town
Belper Town F.C.
-History:They were established in 1883 and joined the Midland League in 1961. After the 1981–82 season, Belper Town joined the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, winning the title in 1984–85...
Reserves.
International career
Pressman was never capped at senior level even though he was called up to the senior squad on numerous occasions, but did play for EnglandEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
at Under-21 level as well as winning three "B" caps between 1994–1998.
Other information
Pressman holds an FA A coaching licence. In May 2007 he was appointed as goalkeeping coach at Championship side Scunthorpe UnitedScunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
. Pressman is a big fan of Sheffield Wednesday football club from his youth days and spent 19 years there as a professional. He is the brother of BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC Local Radio service for English metropolitan county of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. This includes the city of Sheffield, plus Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Chesterfield and surrounding areas. It was the BBC local radio station, beginning on 15 November 1967...
presenter Howard Pressman
Howard Pressman
Howard Pressman is a Radio presenter based in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.Pressman presented Drivetime on Hallam FM for many years before moving to AM sister station Magic AM. He now presents on three BBC stations in Yorkshire, BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio Humberside & BBC Radio...
.