| Jeff Eckhardt | ||
| ||
| Fulham info | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jeffrey Edward Eckhardt | |
| Date of birth | 7 Oct 1965 | |
| Place of birth | Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England | |
| Height | 6ft 0in (1.83m) | |
| Playing position | Centre back | |
| Current player? | 
| |
| Debut | Rotherham (a) (21 Nov 1987) | |
| Last Appearance | Swansea (a) (7 May 1994) | |
| First goal | Southend (h) (23 Apr 1988) | |
| Last goal | Burnley (h) (5 Mar 1994) | |
| Joined from | Sheffield United, £50,000 - 20 Nov 1987 | |
| Left for | Stockport County, £50,000 - 21 Jul 1994 | |
| League apps (gls) | 249 (25) | |
| All apps (gls) | 283 (28) | |
| Other clubs | Sheffield United (1981-1987) Stockport County (1994-1996) Cardiff City (1996-2001) Newport County (2001-2004) Merthyr Tydfil (2004-2006) → Newport County (loan) (2005) Gloucester City (2006) Risca United (2007-2009) | |
Jeff Eckhardt played for Fulham as a defender from 1987 until 1994. A brave, hard-working centre back, he was captain of the first team for the 1989-90 season.
Career[]
Before Fulham[]
Born in Sheffield, he joined Sheffield United as a 16-year old in 1981 and progressed through to their first team, making his debut for them at the end of the 1982-83 season.
During 1985-86 Jeff met Ray Lewington who was playing for the team at the same time as him. Ray had promised Jeff that he would sign him when he eventually became a manager; a promise that he fulfilled at Fulham a couple of years later.
Fulham (1987-1994)[]
Jeff signed for Fulham from Sheffield United in November 1987 for a fee of £50,000. He moved straight into the first team under Ray Lewington, and became a mainstay in the heart of the defence for the next seven years.
Playing exclusively in the third tier of English football whilst with the club, Jeff nearly helped achieve promotion back to the Second Division in the 1988-89 season, but Fulham failed in the Play-offs, losing badly to Bristol Rovers at the Semi-final stage.
After the departure of Robert Wilson in the summer of 1989, Jeff was made captain for 1989-90. However, the armband was taken from him by Peter Scott the following season.
After Fulham[]
Jeff left for pastures new in the summer of 1994 when he moved to Stockport County for £50,000. After spending two season with them, he moved to Wales in 1996, signing for Cardiff City. He would then move to Newport County and Merthyr Tydfil before finishing his career in non League football with Gloucester City and Risca United, retiring for good in 2009.
He briefly move into management to the backend of his career, taking charge of Risca United in Wales from 2007 util 2009 as player-manager, having previously gained experience as co-manager of Merthyr Tydfil in his final year of playing there.
On 20 November 2021, he received a Forever Fulham award at Craven Cottage during half-time of the 4-1 win over Barnsley.
Fulham Statistics[]
Appearances[]
| Season | League | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Associate Members Cup |
Play-offs | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1987-88 | Third Division | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 29 | 1 |
| 1988-89 | Third Division | 43 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 2 |
| 1989-90 | Third Division | 40 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 46 | 2 |
| 1990-91 | Third Division | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 34 | 2 |
| 1991-92 | Third Division | 43 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 47 | 7 |
| 1992-93 | Second Division | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 36 | 9 |
| 1993-94 | Second Division | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 41 | 5 |
| Total | 249 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 283 | 28 | |
Fulham Matches[]
| # | Season | Date | Comp | Opposition | Venue | Result | Score | Match Info |
Fulham squads[]
Template:1987-88 squad Template:1988-89 squad Template:1989-90 squad Template:1990-91 squad Template:1991-92 squad Template:1992-93 squad Template:1993-94 squad