In 1980, Simmonite returned to the Football League with Third Division Blackpool for a £15,000 fee.[6] He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat at Brentford on 20 September, and went on to make a further 17 League appearances that season, under player-manager Alan Ball firstly, then Allan Brown.[8]
The following 1981–82 campaign saw Simmonite make 29 League appearances. He also scored one goal, in a 7–1 victory over Halifax Town at Bloomfield Road on 30 September.[8]
Under new manager Sam Ellis, he started the first sixteen League games of Blackpool's 1982–83 season,[8] before family reasons prompted a move to Lincoln City for a £6,000 fee.[9] He played regularly for the first couple of years, but then made no senior appearances until 1987,[1] after Lincoln suffered two consecutive relegations, becoming the first team to be automatically relegated to the Conference.[10] He acted as assistant manager in the early part of the 1987–88 Football Conference season,[11] and returned as a player in December, making 13 appearances as Lincoln returned to the Football League as champions.[12]
^Figures are for the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons in the Alliance Premier League only.[2] The statistics at Ken Fox's BUFC site for the 1978–79 season in the Northern Premier League are incomplete.[3]
References
^ abcd"Gordon Simmonite". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 1 March 2013. Season details are sourced via the Season Stats dropdown menu at the bottom right of this page. The site is partly subscription-based, but only free-access sections are used for reference. If pop-up login dialogue boxes appear, press the "Cancel" button to proceed.
^Harman, John, ed. (2005). Alliance to Conference 1979–2004: The first 25 years. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 123, 132. ISBN978-1-869833-52-7.