John David Schofield (born 16 May 1965) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is head coach of the Northern Ireland U21 team. As a player he was a midfielder and notably played in the Football League for Lincoln City, Doncaster Rovers, Mansfield Town and Hull City making a total of 471 appearances. He also had spells in Non-league with Woolley Miners Welfare, Shepshed Charterhouse, Matlock Town and Gainsborough Trinity. Following on from his retirement, Schofield held various coaching roles back with Lincoln City where he eventually became manager and lead the club to the League Two play-offs during the 2006–07 season. He has since held a variety of different positions on the coaching staff at Scunthorpe United, Walsall, Cheltenham Town, Cambridge United, Notts County, Gillingham, York City and Doncaster Rovers. Playing career Schofield was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire. A hard-working and combative midfielder, he began his career in non-League football, combining this with his job as an apprentice-trained motor mechanic. As a teenager, he had spent a season with Huddersfield Town's reserve team before joining Northern Counties East League side Woolley Miners Welfare. He moved up the non-League pyramid, joining first Shepshed Charterhouse and then Matlock Town. In March 1988 he joined Gainsborough Trinity. Lincoln City manager Colin Murphy signed him for a £10,000 fee on 10 November 1988. Schofield made his debut in a 4–1 win over Fourth Division leaders Burnley at Turf Moor. Schofield quickly established himself in the Lincoln team, and was later voted as number 47 in Lincoln's list of 100 league legends. Despite a successful 1993–94 season with Lincoln when he was both club captain and supporters' Player of the Season, Schofield left on 18 November 1994 when he joined Doncaster Rovers. He spent three seasons with Doncaster before departing to Mansfield Town for a £10,000 fee on 8 August 1997. Schofield joined Hull City on a free transfer on 28 July 1999. Schofield returned to Lincoln on 6 June 2000 to take up the post of Head of Youth Development. With Lincoln beginning to struggle financially, Schofield was also called upon as a player, making a further 19 league appearances before he finally wound his playing career down. Coaching and managerial career Lincoln City Schofield, a UEFA 'A' Licence holder, made impressive progress with Lincoln's youth set-up. A number of promising players, such as Lee Frecklington, either