Biography
Right sided striker Chris Bettney was signed by Hull City on loan in September 1997, an early signing of Mark Hateley’s ill-fated tenure which saw the big man call on his friendship with Sheffield United boss and former Glasgow Rangers teammate Nigel Spackman to borrow the teenager. The loan was initially until November 1997, then was extended to May 1998, then was later curtailed. Bettney’s pace and trickery were evident, but he offered little end product and scored only one goal in seven months at City, during February 1998 in a horrendous 1-5 defeat to Torquay United. In February 1998 an attempt by Notts County manager Sam Allardyce to lure Bettney to Meadow Lane was rebuffed, then Spackman resigned in March 1998 and within a few weeks Bettney was recalled by Sheffield United.
Christopher John “Chris” Bettney was born in Chesterfield and was part of the Sheffield United youth team setup in the late 1990s. In April 1997 Chris was named on the bench for a League Division 1 match against Tranmere Rovers, he entered the fray at half-time and those 45 minutes were his only involvement in the Blades’ first team. His loan to Hull City for the 1997/98 season was designed to give him more first team football experience.
Bettney returned to Bramall Lane in April 1998 and was offered a new one year contract. He stayed around for the 1998/99 season but failed to make a further first team breakthrough, spending the season in the Reserves before leaving the Blades in June 1999. In July 1999 he signed a short term deal with his hometown club, League Division 2 side Chesterfield, but he made just 16 appearances before moving on to League Division 3 side Rochdale where he added another 30 senior appearances during the remainder of the 1999/2000 season. In the early weeks of the 2000/01 season Bettney made two appearances for League Division 3 side Macclesfield Town while on trial with the Silkmen, but left the club in September 2000 and joined Northern premier League side Worksop Town.
For the next fifteen years Bettney played for a number of non-league sides, while also occasionally attracting the attention of local police in Chesterfield during rowdier nights out. He returned to Worksop Town for the 2010/11 season before eventually hanging up his boots in 2015. In 2016 he made a brief return to play a few games for Rainworth Miners Welfare.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 27 October 1977, Chesterfield
Hull City First Game: 27 September 1997, Scunthorpe United A (League Division Three), 19 years, 335 days old
Hull City Final Game: 21 March 1998, Cardiff City H (League Division Three), 20 years, 145 days old
Clubs
Sheffield United (1996-1999), Hull City (1997-1998, loan), Chesterfield (1999), Rochdale (1999-2000), Macclesfield Town (2000), Worksop Town (2000-2002), Staveley Miners Welfare (2002), South Normanton Athletic (2002), Ilkeston Town (2002), Alfreton Town (2002-2006), Harrogate Town (2006-2008), Bradford Park Avenue (2008), Retford United (2008-2010), Worksop Town (2010-2011), Matlock Town (2011-2012), Stocksbridge Park Steels (2012-2015), Rainworth Miners Welfare (2016)
Hull City Record
Career: 33 apps, 1 goals
Chris Bettney| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/98 | 28 (2) | 1 | – | – | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 |