John Pemberton

John Matthew Pemberton (born 18 November 1964) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, Pemberton played as a defender and made more than 300 appearances in The Football League and the Premier League playing as a defender for Rochdale, Crewe Alexandra, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Leeds United. He is also a former manager of Nottingham Forest's reserve team, and spent a brief period as interim manager of the club's first team. He was most recently the manager of Chesterfield, where he was also the manager of the club's academy during the 2018–19 season, as well as standing in as first-team manager after the dismissal of Martin Allen. He left Chesterfield due to mutual consent in November 2020. He has also managed Kidderminster Harriers, served as caretaker manager at Nottingham Forest and Bristol City, and was Academy Manager at Sheffield United from 2010 to 2012. Playing career Born in Oldham, Lancashire, Pemberton started his career as a junior at Manchester United but was released in June 1983. He signed for Chadderton, then Rochdale before moving to Crewe Alexandra in 1985. He initially came to prominence when he joined Crystal Palace in 1988, helping them win promotion to the First Division in 1989. He appeared for Palace in the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. The initial tie was drawn 3–3 after extra time, with United winning the replay 1–0 after extra time.