Kevin John Russell (born 6 December 1966) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Brighton & Hove Albion, Portsmouth, Wrexham, Leicester City, Peterborough United, Cardiff City, Hereford United, Stoke City, Burnley, AFC Bournemouth and Notts County.
Playing career Russell was a professional footballer and former England Youth international.Six u-18 caps in the 1984–85 season AFS DataBase During a career spanning twenty years he played for eleven clubs. Due to his quiff hairstyle Russell was nicknamed "Rooster" early on in his career;Portsmouth Sports Mail- "Russell to start against Hull": article by Mike Neasom, 14 February 2007 ironically he would lose all his hair in his youth and was bald for much of his playing days.- "He's got no hair but we don't care, Kevin, Kevin Russell"humorous chant Released by Brighton after an apprenticeship Russell returned to his hometown club Portsmouth but appearances were limited"Portsmouth, from Tindall to Ball" Farmery, C: Southend-on-Sea, Desert Island Books, 1999 He then moved on to Wrexham during the 1987 close season. In the first of his two spells with the club he scored at a rate of just over a goal every two games."The PFA Premier League and Football League Players' Records 1946–98" Hugman, B: Harpenden, Queen Anne Press, 1998 In 1989, he joined Leicester City, but was loaned out four times.Loan details However, he fought his way into the first team at the end of the 1991–92 season and became a cult-hero, scoring several important late goals after coming off the bench as he helped fire Leicester to the play-off final, eventually losing to Blackburn Rovers. Despite this, he went to Stoke City at the end of the season. While at Stoke he became a key member of the first team as Stoke won the Second Division title in 1992–93.
After one season at Stoke City, he moved onto Burnley for a fee of £130,000. Short spells with AFC Bournemouth and Notts County followed before a move back to the Racecourse Ground. Here, at last, Russell found a permanent home – he was to play nearly 200 more league games for The Robins in a deeper role, eventually being rewarded with a testimonial against Manchester United. In his second spell at Wrexham, he was best remembered for his winning goal against West Ham in an FA Cup third round replay in the 1996–97 season. With the tie goalless, Russell scored a 90th-minute goal to dump West Ham out of the cup at Upton Park.
Coaching career He remained at Wrexham as a coach until being sacked in January 2007. On 12 January 2011, he agreed to rejoin Peterborough United, with Darren Ferguson for a second spell.Sacked from Wrexham On 18 August 2014, it was confirmed that he rejoined Stoke City as a coach for the Under 21 and Under 18 sides. He was promoted to Stoke City U23s manager for the 2018–19 season. He left his role with Stoke's under-21s in May 2023.
Russell joined Cheltenham Town as assistant manager to Wade Elliott in July 2023. Elliott was sacked in September 2023 and Russell took temporary charge until superseded by Darrell Clarke with effect from 2 October 2023. Eight days later his departure from the club by mutual consent was announced. He then joined Huddersfield Town in January 2025, leaving in May 2025. He then made a return to Peterborough United from June 2025 to October 2025.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPortsmouth1985–86Second Division10000010201986–87Second Division3010101060Total4010102080Wrexham1987–88Fourth Division382120210042221988–89Fourth Division462220201036025Total8443404110310247Leicester City1989–90Second Division1001000001101990–91Second Division1350000001351991–92Second Division205001052267Total43101010525012Peterborough United (loan)1990–91Fourth Division7300000073Cardiff City (loan)1990–91Fourth Division3000000030Hereford United (loan)1991–92Fourth Division3100001141Stoke City (loan)1991–92Third Division5100000051Stoke City1992–93Second Division405203051506Total456203051557Burnley1993–94Second Division286404111378AFC Bournemouth1993–94Second Division1710000001711994–95Second Division130213100182Total301213100353Notts County1994–95First Division110000000110Wrexham1995–96Second Division4073021204781996–97Second Division4107310105031997–98Second Division1602010001901998–99Second Division3125120604431999–2000Second Division3345010003942000–01Second Division2641000102842001–02Second Division1000011101212002–03Third Division1000000010Total198172348211024023Career total45687375245358552105
A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs and Full Members Cup.
Honours Stoke City Football League Second Division: 1992–93
Burnley Football League Second Division play-offs: 1994
Individual PFA Team of the Year: 1988–89 Fourth Division
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