Scott Minto

Infobox Football biography
playername = Scott Minto


fullname = Scott Christopher Minto
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|8|6|df=yes
cityofbirth = Heswall
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
position = Left back
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1989–1994
1994–1997
1997–1999
1999–2003
2003–2006
clubs = Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Benfica
West Ham United
Rotherham United
caps(goals) = 180 0(7)
054 0(4)
031 0(0)
051 0(0)
052 0(0)
nationalyears = 1990–1993
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 006 0(0)

Scott Christopher Minto (born 6 August 1971 in Heswall) is a retired English footballer who played as a left back for numerous clubs. He now works for Sky Sports as a football pundit on Soccer Saturday and also makes appearances on Chelsea TV hosting programmes if needed.

Career

Minto started his career with Charlton Athletic and made his debut as a 17-year-old in 1988. After over 200 appearances for the Addicks, he moved across London to sign for Chelsea in July 1994 for £775,000.

Chelsea

Minto made his debut for Chelsea in a 4-2 Cup Winners' Cup win against Czech side FK Viktoria Žižkov, and played in every round of the side's run to the semi-finals. His time at Chelsea was plagued by injuries, but he was nevertheless a regular member of the Chelsea defence when fit. In 1996–97, he was an important part of the side's run to the 1997 FA Cup Final, which they won, defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 in what proved to be his last game for the club. He scored five goals in 72 appearances for Chelsea, all of which came in his final season.

West Ham and Rotherham

That June, shortly after Chelsea's FA Cup win, Minto joined Benfica of Portugal on a free transfer. He remained in Lisbon for 18 months, making 31 appearances, before returning to England with West Ham United for £1,000,000 in January 1999.

His West Ham career got off to a poor start, losing 4-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but he quickly established himself in the side, as the club secured 5th place in the league - their highest ever Premier League finish. However, his time there was again plagued by injury problems and he was released by the club upon the expiry of his contract in June 2003. He played in 51 league games for West Ham, without scoring.

Minto then joined League One side Rotherham United, but once again injuries hindered his progress and he made just six league appearances during the 2005–06 season. He announced his retirement from the game in July 2006.

Post retirement

Minto is now giving something back to his local community, spending one day a week ferrying passengers to and from Rotherham hospice as a voluntary unpaid driver. Minto also regularly reports from live football games for Sky Sports, and occasionally makes appearances commenting on games from the studio for Soccer Saturday. He also appears on talkSPORT's Evening Kick-Off show from time to time as co-presenter, and has also worked as a pundit for BBC London 94.9's live football commentaries.

External links

*soccerbase|5491|Scott Minto

Persondata
NAME=Minto, Scott Christopher
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Minto, Scott
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Footbaler
DATE OF BIRTH=1971-08-06
PLACE OF BIRTH=Heswall, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=