Joseph Edward Gadston (born 13 September 1945) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League, most notably for Exeter City. He later became a director of the club.[3]

Joe Gadston
Personal information
Full name Joseph Edward Gadston[1]
Date of birth (1945-09-13) 13 September 1945 (age 78)
Place of birth Hanwell, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1963 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1966 Brentford 0 (0)
1966 Corby Town 12 (6)
1966–1968 Cheltenham Town
1968–1969 Bristol Rovers 11 (5)
1969–1972 Exeter City 85 (30)
1972–1973 Aldershot 4 (0)
1973Hartlepool (loan) 1 (0)
Cheltenham Town
1973–1974 Wimbledon 16 (3)
1975–1976 Hillingdon Borough
1976–1977 Walton & Hersham
1977–1978 Slough Town
1978–1979 Hayes
1979–1980 Ruislip Manor
1980 Hanwell Town
Managerial career
1979–1980 Ruislip Manor (player-manager)
Swanage Town & Herston
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Gadston began his career as a youth and amateur player for West Ham United, before moving to Third Division club Brentford,[3] for whom he failed to make a first team appearance and instead played for the reserves.[4][5] He had a brief spell with Corby Town before joining Southern League club Cheltenham Town for a fee of £22 and 10 shillings.[3] Gadston is cited as one of the greatest players to play for the Robins.[6][7] Gadston moved back to the Third Division to join Bristol Rovers for a £1,500 fee in 1968 and finally made his professional debut,[3] but he only completed one season with Rovers.[4] His most prolific spell came with Exeter City, whom he joined in November 1969,[1] before moving to Aldershot in July 1972.[8] After a brief loan spell with Hartlepool in February 1973, Gadston dropped back into non-League football with Wimbledon later that year.[3] He played out the remainder of the decade in non-League football.[2]

Management and coaching career edit

Gadston had a spell as player-manager of Ruislip Manor.[2] He subsequently served as general manager of Swanage Town & Herston and later returned to Brentford as Football in the Community Officer.[2]

Personal life edit

Gadston worked as a coach at a sports centre in Southall between 1966 and 1968.[2] He later became a businessman and launched a company to launch and operate Exeter City's St James Park stadium.[2] Gadston runs a holiday apartment business in Dorset and serves the community by running a youth football club and a ping pong tournament for pensioners.[9][10] He taught sport at Sunninghill Preparatory School in Dorchester until July 2014.[2]

Career statistics edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bristol Rovers 1968–69[11] Third Division 11 5 0 0 11 5
Hartlepool (loan) 1972–73[8] Fourth Division 1 0 1 0
Career total 12 5 0 0 12 5

Honours edit

Brentford Reserves

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Joe Gadston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "G and H". The Bristol Rovers History Group. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Gadston, Joseph". The Grecian Archive. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b Joe Gadston at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  5. ^ a b Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 82. ISBN 1-874427-57-7.
  6. ^ "Vote for your greatest player". Cheltenham Town F.C. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ^ Cheltenham Town FC: 50 Great Players (50 Greats). London: The History Press LTD. 2006. ISBN 978-0-7524-4150-4.
  8. ^ a b "Joe Gadston". In The Mad Crowd. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Where Are They Now? Brentford Division Three Champions 1991–92". The League Paper. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  10. ^ "June 2009". Richard Drax. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Rovers results, appearances and goalscorers 1899 to 2022". The Bristol Rovers History Group. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Vote for the Cheltenham Town Player of the Year". www.ctfc.com. Retrieved 22 April 2022.