John Pickering

John Pickering (7 November 1944 – 30 May 2001) was an English professional footballer who played as a central defender. He was at Halifax Town from 1965 to 1974 and spent one season with Barnsley. He coached Blackburn Rovers, Carlisle United, Lincoln City, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, and also had short spells as manager at both Blackburn and Lincoln.

Playing career Born in Stockton-on-Tees, John was raised in Thornaby-on-Tees where he attended Arthur Head School. He served his apprenticeship with Newcastle United but failed to make the first team and moved on to join Halifax Town in September 1965 for a fee of £1,250.

Coaching career His coaching career involved the Blackburn Rovers, Carlisle United, Lincoln City, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough. He also was briefly a manager at both Blackburn and Lincoln.

He spent over ten years coaching with Middlesbrough, initially with the first team before moving to Boro's academy in 1998. He was caretaker manager of Middlesbrough for the final game of the 1993–94 season, steering the team to a 5–2 victory at Charlton Athletic and his service to Middlesbrough was recognised when Bryan Robson gave him the honour of leading the team out at Wembley for the League Cup final against Chelsea.

He died in May 2001 after a long illness.