Peter Andrew Shirtliff (born 6 April 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League as a central defender, primarily for Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Barnsley, and Carlisle United. He later managed Mansfield Town and served as a coach at several clubs.
Early life and playing career
Shirtliff was born in Hoyland, near Barnsley, England. He began his career as an apprentice at Sheffield Wednesday in June 1977, turning professional in October 1978. He made his senior debut for the club and went on to play in two spells at Hillsborough (1979–1986 and 1989–1993), amassing more than 350 appearances in all competitions. During his time with Wednesday, he won the League Cup in 1991 and helped the club achieve promotion from the Second Division in 1983–84 and a third-place finish in the First Division in 1991–92. He missed the 1993 League Cup and FA Cup finals due to a broken arm.
In 1986, Shirtliff joined Charlton Athletic for a fee of £125,000. He scored two goals in the final ten minutes of extra time in the 1987 play-off final replay against Leeds United, keeping Charlton in the First Division. He made 103 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals.
He returned to Sheffield Wednesday in 1989 for £500,000, before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1993 for £250,000. He later played for Barnsley (joined 1995, £125,000) and had a loan spell at Carlisle United in 1996. He retired from playing in 1997 shortly after helping Barnsley reach the Premier League.
Managerial and coaching career
Shirtliff served as caretaker manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1994. After retiring as a player, he worked as a youth team coach at Barnsley and Leicester City. He became assistant manager at Mansfield Town in 2005, was appointed manager in September 2005 following the dismissal of Carlton Palmer, and remained in the role until December 2006.
He subsequently held assistant manager positions at Tranmere Rovers (2007–2009), Swindon Town (2009–2011), and Bury (2011–2013), where he also served as caretaker manager in 2012. He later worked as assistant manager at Oldham Athletic (2016) and as a first-team coach at Swindon Town (2019). He has also worked as a scout and match analyst.
Personal life
His younger brother, Paul Shirtliff (1962–2009), was also a professional footballer.
