Cherry made impression at clubs all across the country

IT IS A first for Plymouth Argyle this afternoon when they play at the newly-completed New York Stadium against Rotherham United.

Last season, the corresponding fixture was played at the Millers' temporary home at the Don Valley Stadium in nearby Sheffield.

Before that, Rotherham hosted their matches at Millmoor in their home town.

One man to represent both clubs was a goalkeeper who played in Argyle's sole appearance at Wembley Stadium.

Steve Cherry's 24 years between the sticks saw him make well over 500 senior appearances that produced a sprinkling of silverware to show for his efforts.

Beginning his career at Derby County in 1979, a loan spell with Port Vale gave him a taste of League football.

Vale manager John McGrath had sold regular custodian Trevor Dance and was forced to enter the loan market after replacement Mark Harrison was struck down with an injury.

Cherry made four league and four cup appearances at Vale Park.

In November 1980, he broke into the Derby first team in the season following relegation from Division One and made an immediate impact.

Derby finished 16th in his first two seasons in the team under Colin Addison, but when Peter Taylor took over the club, their final position rose to 13th for the 1982-83 season.

Fans at the Baseball Ground voted Cherry as their player of the year in 1983, but there were many off-field problems and the club nearly went bankrupt.

That led to relegation at the conclusion of the following campaign, and Cherry was transferred to Walsall for £25,000 in the midst of another managerial change with Arthur Cox aiming to rebuild the team.

His next move saw him sign for Argyle, managed by Dave Smith, in 1986 for a fee of £17,000. His performances earned him another player of the year award in 1988.

What seemed to be a recurring theme in his career, the departure of a manager, with Smith departing in favour of Ken Brown, Cherry went out on loan.

His temporary destination was Chesterfield and he played 10 games before he was sold to Notts County in February 1989, his value had risen to £70,000 and he helped Neil Warnock's side win promotion into Division One via the play-offs, winning the final with a 2-0 success against Tranmere Rovers.

Warnock's well-documented promotion success via play-offs reaped immediate benefits again as a successive promotion saw County finish fourth to be elevated to Division One, then the top flight.

The 3-1 success against Brighton & Hove Albion led, however, to just one season at the top level.

Cherry's final season at Meadow Lane saw nothing less than a real managerial merry-go-round.

Neil Warnock's successor, Mick Walker, was replaced by Russell Slade with Howard Kendall and Steve Nicol also in charge during a turbulent time.

Hardly surprising, then, that County faced another relegation.

The next move for the goalkeeper took him to Glenn Roeder's Watford, but he made just four appearances behind regular goalkeeper Kevin Miller.

When Roeder was replaced by Graham Taylor in February 1996, Cherry was again on the move – a temporary switch to familiar territory.

Cherry once more linked up with Warnock when he re-joined Argyle, three months before the game that saw the Greens perform under the Twin Towers.

Nicky Hammond, who had endured an unfortunate time in the Argyle goal, was sold to Reading for £40,000.

Australian Andy Petterson was acquired on loan from Charlton Athletic and was an instant hit.

But before he had settled in for a sustained period with Argyle, Petterson was recalled by his parent club.

With sights on promotion, the normally stable position needed another dip into the loan market.

Cherry, at the public admission of Warnock, was overweight, but had the experience he needed.

Argyle made it into the play-offs, and Warnock would again work his magic.

Colchester United were beaten over two legs in the semi-finals and in the final Ronnie Mauge's goal was enough to beat Darlington to the delight of more than 40,000 Argyle fans.

Leaving Argyle after 19 appearances, he signed for Rotherham United, under the managerial duo of Archie Gemmill and John McGovern, after the promise of a first-team contract.

Cherry played in 23 matches, but Rotherham dropped out of Division Two in 1997, just after Cherry had joined Rushden & Diamonds.

Brian Talbot had persuaded him to move to the Conference side, where he featured in 18 games.

Leaving Nene Park, he had brief non-contract spells with Mansfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Lincoln City before a whistle-stop tour saw him play a handful of games in the colours of Stalybridge Celtic, Kidsgrove Athletic and Belper Town.

In officially hanging up his gloves, Cherry undertook goalkeeping coaching at both Lincoln and Macclesfield Town.

But in an unfortunate personal twist, he was forced to leave Macclesfield with health problems that meant he had to undergo heart surgery.

From that, he thankfully recovered, but today limits his immediate sporting interests to regular visits to the golf course.

A journeyman he may have been during his career, but Cherry certainly seemed to make his mark for whichever club he represented.