Mark Yates (footballer)

Mark Yates

Personal information
Full name	Mark Jason Yates
Date of birth	24 January 1970 (1970-01-24) (age 41)
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Cheltenham Town (manager)
Youth career
1986–1988	Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988–1991	Birmingham City	54	(6)
1991–1993	Burnley	18	(1)
1993	→ Lincoln City (loan)	14	(0)
1993–1994	Doncaster Rovers	34	(4)
1994–1999	Kidderminster Harriers	237	(40)
1999–2004	Cheltenham Town	227	(21)
2004	Kidderminster Harriers	12	(2)
–	Career	593	(74 )
National team
1999	England semi-professional	2	(0)
Teams managed
2006–2009	Kidderminster Harriers
2009–	Cheltenham Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Mark Jason Yates (born 24 January 1970) is an English football manager and former player, currently managing Cheltenham Town. As a player he played primarily in a central midfield role.

Playing career

Born in Birmingham, Yates began his footballing career as a trainee at hometown club Birmingham City, before going on to sign professional terms with the club in 1988. He spent a total of three seasons at St Andrew's, making 66 first team appearances, including one in the side that won the 1991 Football League Trophy.

In 1991 Yates was sold to Burnley for £40,000 but struggled to hold down a regular position. Spells at Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers followed, before Yates dropped out of the Football League to sign for Conference side Kidderminster Harriers in 1994, going on to become club captain. In his first season at the club Kidderminster reached the final of the FA Trophy, losing 2-1 to Woking. In 1997 Yates seemed set for a return to League football as Kidderminster led the Conference by a significant margin going into the final months of the season. However, the Harriers let the lead slip, allowing Macclesfield Town to overtake them and claim the championship.

In January 1999 Yates left Kidderminster to join local rivals Cheltenham Town for a fee of £25,000, helping the Robins to secure the league title and a place in the Football League. Yates remained with the Gloucestershire outfit until February 2004, enjoying reasonable success, the highlight being a victory in the 2002 Third Division play-off final. After falling out of favour at Whaddon Road, in 2004 Yates returned to Kidderminster, by this time a Football League club themselves, playing his part in the club's successful fight against relegation.

Coaching and management

At the end of this season Yates called time on his playing career, becoming first team coach at Burnley alongside the manager who had signed him at Cheltenham, Steve Cotterill. Following a year and a half in that role, Yates was offered the chance to take up his first managerial position by former club Kidderminster, now back in the Conference, a position which he took up in January 2006. In his first season in charge he steered the club to safety from relegation, and in the second secured a top-half finish as well as an FA Trophy Final place at the new Wembley Stadium. He was twice voted Manager of the Month in this second season, for the months of December 2006 and January 2007.

He was appointed manager of League Two team Cheltenham on 22 December 2009, with Neil Howarth joining him as first team coach.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Kidderminster's Mark Yates appointed Cheltenham manager". BBC Sport. 22 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cheltenham_town/8426480.stm. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 

External links

• Mark Yates career stats at Soccerbase
• Cheltenham Town Profile

Persondata
Name	Yates, Mark Jason
Alternative names
Short description	Professional footballer, football manager
Date of birth	24 January 1970
Place of birth	Birmingham, England
Date of death
Place of death