Sheffield United goalkeeper Simon Tracey came to Norwich on loan
in January 1995 as cover to Andy Marshall following Bryan Gunn's injury at Nottingham Forest on 27th December
1994. Tracey's spell at Carrow Road was not a happy one. His debut
against Coventry on 25th January saw his concede a soft goal by
Dion Dublin after Tracey had been dispossessed
by Peter Ndlovu. Fortunately City gathered a point in a 2-2 draw.
Four days later, Norwich played Coventry again, this time in the
FA Cup at Highfield Road. Tracey's spell of bad luck resulted
in him being stretchered off injured just before half time. Andy
Marshall reclaimed the Norwich goalkeeper's position until John Deehan opted to give Tracey another opportunity in
the FA Cup match at Everton on 18th February 1995. The result
was a 5-0 thrashing and Simon Tracey did not make another appearance
for the Canaries and returned to Sheffield.
Simon began his career at Wimbledon where he made a solitary appearance
before joining Sheffield United. In addition to his spell on loan
to Norwich, Simon has also spent brief periods at Manchester City
(3 games) and Wimbledon (1 match). As of the end of 2000/01, Simon
had made 291 league appearances for the Blades.
Simon missed the entire 2002/03 season through injury and as
a result, was not offered a new contract at the end of May 2003.
However Blades manager Neil Warnock said "Tracey has been
released from his current contract but we may need to talk to
him about what will happen next season". Simon opted
to retire from the professional game and had a testimonial in
August 2003 against Middlesboro - the Teesiders winning 3-2.
Simon is currently, as of June 2006, working as Rotherham United's
goalkeeping coach.