{"id":6946,"date":"2020-11-12T17:03:45","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T17:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nottinghamsport.com\/?p=6946"},"modified":"2020-11-12T17:10:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T17:10:01","slug":"stockton-to-juve-bishop-counts-his-blessings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nottinghamsport.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/12\/stockton-to-juve-bishop-counts-his-blessings\/","title":{"rendered":"Stockton To Juve: Bishop Counts His Blessings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neal Bishop has to pinch himself when he recalls his journey from Billingham Town to Juventus.\u00a0Throw in a goal against the galacticos<\/em> of Manchester City in a televised FA Cup match.\u00a0Not forgetting a League Two championship success with Notts in 2010 and all the drama that came with former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson and the Munto episode.<\/p>\n

Now he has called time on his playing career and started a new coaching journey with Mansfield Town.<\/p>\n

Bishop clocked up more appearances at Notts than with any of his other professional clubs – Barnet, Blackpool, Scunthorpe and Mansfield. And in a new no-holds barred Magpie Circle podcast, Bishop recalls: \u201cIt\u2019s not been a bad journey has it?<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember playing with my dad who was nearly 50 and my brother for Billingham Town in the early days. I didn\u2019t make my Football League debut until I was 25 with Barnet.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I had a fantastic time with Notts. Joining in the Munto year was a surreal experience but great fun.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to think a lad from Stockton ended up meeting Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero and swapping shirts with him when we opened Juventus\u2019 stadium in Turin.”<\/p>\n

\u201cScoring against Manchester City was unbelievable – mind you I wasn\u2019t even stood in the right place where I was supposed to be for the corner. Wrong place, right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop reveals that after five years and playing under a succession of different managers he felt it was the right time to leave the club and join Blackpool.<\/p>\n

And despite many fans wanting his return he did not consider a playing return to Meadow Lane – and instead opted to join another local side in Mansfield Town where he played until last season.<\/p>\n

Bishop retired from pro football in the summer and as well as turning out for Scarborough Athletic is now embarking on a coaching career.<\/p>\n

Eventually he hopes to move into management \u2026 and is not ruling out a managerial return one day!<\/p>\n

You can watch the full interview with Paul Mace below or check out all of our podcasts here<\/a> and remember to tune in every Thursday for more of the Magpie Circle.<\/p>\n

Thursday 12th November 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n