 = Adam Stansfield = 
 
 Adam Stansfield ( 10 September 1978 – 10 August 2010 ) was an English professional footballer who played as a striker . He competed professionally for Yeovil Town , Hereford United and Exeter City , and won promotion from the Football Conference to The Football League with all three teams . 
 Having played for three counties as a child , Stansfield began his career in non @-@ league with Cullompton Rangers and Elmore , and had unsuccessful trials at league teams . At the age of 23 , he signed his first professional contract with Yeovil Town , after impressing their manager Gary Johnson in a match against them . In his first season , he helped them win the FA Trophy , scoring in the 2002 final . The following season , Yeovil won the Conference and promotion into The Football League , although Stansfield was ruled out with a broken leg in the first game . In 2004 , he transferred to Hereford United , where he won promotion to The Football League via the 2006 play @-@ offs , and repeated the feat with Exeter City a year later . He also helped Exeter earn promotion into League One in 2008 . At international level , Stansfield played five matches and scored one goal for England 's national semi @-@ professional team , winning the 2005 Four Nations Tournament . 
 Stansfield was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2010 . He returned to training after surgery and chemotherapy , but died on 10 August that year . A foundation in his name was posthumously set up by his family to provide sporting opportunities and raise awareness of colorectal cancer . He has posthumously been featured on a Flybe airliner livery and tourist currency in Exeter . 
 
 = = Early and personal life = = 
 
 Stansfield was born in Plymouth , Devon , as the third of four children , and supported Nottingham Forest . On 2 June 2001 he married Marie , with whom he had three sons . Devon journalist Gary Andrews remembered Stansfield as a man who would spend time with his family after matches while speaking to fans and the press . He wrote that " I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam on a regular basis ... I say pleasure , because his answers were thoughtful and intelligent and he came across as a man who was delighted to be back home with his friends and family " . 
 
 = = Career = = 
 
 
 = = = Early career = = = 
 
 Stansfield 's first club was Evesham Colts under @-@ 10s . He played at county level for Worcestershire , Leicestershire and Devon . When his family settled back in Devon he joined Twyford Spartans , scoring 84 goals in 54 matches . He played in Tiverton Town 's youth team as a left back before reverting to being a striker at his first senior club , non @-@ League side Cullompton Rangers . He later moved to Elmore , where he attracted trials from Exeter City , Wolverhampton Wanderers and Torquay United , all of which were unsuccessful . His siblings joined the Royal Air Force and he thought of joining them , but continued searching for a breakthrough in professional football . 
 
 = = = Yeovil Town = = = 
 
 In October 2001 , Stansfield 's performances for Elmore impressed Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson to sign him . He made his debut in the Conference on 9 November , playing the entirety of a 3 – 0 loss away to Southport . His first goal came on 1 December , concluding a 3 – 1 victory at Northwich Victoria . His first season at Huish Park was a success , finishing as the top scorer with 16 goals , 8 of which came in the club 's victorious FA Trophy run . He scored twice in a fourth round replay at Doncaster Rovers , as Yeovil came from 0 – 3 down for an eventual 5 – 4 victory . In the final on 12 May he scored the second goal of a 2 – 0 win over Stevenage Borough at the Millennium Stadium . 
 On the first day of the following season , Stansfield was substituted through injury after 16 minutes of an eventual 2 – 2 home draw with Gravesend & Northfleet to be replaced by Abdoulai Demba . It was later confirmed to be a break of the tibia and fibula . He missed the remainder of the season , in which Yeovil won the Conference to be promoted to The Football League for the first time . 
 He recovered to feature in the next campaign , making his league debut on 16 August 2003 . In that match , Yeovil 's first in The Football League , he came on as an 80th @-@ minute substitute for Kirk Jackson in a 3 – 0 win against Carlisle United . His first of six goals in the Third Division season came on 6 September , opening a 2 – 0 home win over Swansea City . He was given a rare start in that match as first @-@ choice forward Kevin Gall was away with Wales under @-@ 21 . 
 
 = = = Hereford United = = = 
 
 On 14 June 2004 , Stansfield returned to the Conference with Hereford United , signed by Graham Turner to replace their previous season 's top scorer Steve Guinan , who had been sold to Cheltenham Town . He scored 20 goals across the season , including two on 25 March 2005 in a 6 – 0 win at Farnborough Town . In that match , he came on in the 77th minute for Daniel Carey @-@ Bertram , who had also scored two . Hereford reached the promotion play @-@ offs , where they lost in the semi @-@ finals to Stevenage . In the following season they won promotion by the play @-@ offs , with Stansfield starting in the final on 20 May 2006 at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester , a 3 – 2 extra @-@ time victory over Halifax Town . 
 
 = = = Exeter City = = = 
 
 On 12 June 2006 , with his contract expired , Stansfield decided to remain in the Conference , joining Exeter City . He told local radio that his aim was not to achieve promotion or reach a certain tally of goals , but to influence the club 's younger players . 
 He scored nine times in 40 league games in his first season , including two in a 2 – 1 home win over relegated Southport on 28 April 2007 in order to seal a play @-@ off place . Eleven days later , in the second leg of the play @-@ off semi @-@ final away to Oxford United , he scored a goal which took the match to extra time and eventually a penalty shootout which his side won . In the final on 20 May at Wembley Stadium , he came on as a 36th @-@ minute substitute for goalscorer Lee Phillips in a 1 – 2 loss to Morecambe . 
 On 26 April 2008 , Stansfield scored in Exeter 's 4 – 4 draw at Burton Albion which qualified them for that season 's play @-@ offs . He started in the final , whereby the team returned to The Football League for the first time in five years with a 1 – 0 Wembley win over Cambridge United . 
 He scored 10 goals in 37 league games as they won a second consecutive promotion into League One in the 2008 – 09 season . This included consecutive braces on 27 September and 4 October , in wins over Macclesfield Town ( 4 – 1 away ) and Gillingham ( 3 – 0 home ) . The following campaign , despite never having previously played at as high a level , he was a regular starter for Exeter in League One , scoring eight goals in a season curtailed by his cancer diagnosis . 
 
 = = = International career = = = 
 
 Stansfield earned five caps and scored one goal for the England national semi @-@ professional team . He featured in the 2002 edition of the Four Nations Tournament , and made his debut in England 's opening match , a 1 – 1 draw with Wales at York Street in Boston on 14 May . Stansfield was injured in the first half of the last match , a 2 – 0 win against Scotland at Rockingham Road in Kettering on 18 May , while Wales won the title . In 2005 , while back in the Conference with Hereford , he was again called up for the tournament by manager Paul Fairclough . Stansfield played in two matches as England won the tournament with three wins . 
 
 = = Illness and death = = 
 
 Stansfield suffered from persistent abdominal pain in the early part of 2010 , and was admitted to hospital for tests at the end of March . On 8 April 2010 , Exeter City confirmed to the media that he had been diagnosed with a form of colorectal cancer . Manager Paul Tisdale told local news programme BBC Spotlight that " there 's little good on this subject " , but " if there 's someone who can deal with it and meet it head on with real purpose , Adam 's the man . 
 Later that month , Stansfield underwent surgery to remove part of his colon . Club vice @-@ chairman Julian Tagg reported that the operation was successful , and that Stansfield appeared happy and was making jokes . He joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre @-@ season training in July , appearing weak from chemotherapy . His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August , with his death being announced shortly after Exeter 's loss to Ipswich Town in the Football League Cup . 
 As a mark of respect , Dagenham & Redbridge postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them at Victoria Road four days after his death . Exeter retired his shirt number 9 for nine seasons . 
 Stansfield 's body was taken from St James Park to his funeral service at Exeter Cathedral on 25 August , attended by over 1 @,@ 000 mourners . A private family service was held later . 
 
 = = = Posthumous recognition = = = 
 
 Stansfield continues to be remembered by fans of Exeter . On 9 August 2014 , as they started the new season against Portsmouth , a giant flag resembling his club shirt was displayed by the crowd . 
 At his funeral , Stansfield 's widow Marie had an idea to set up the Adam Stansfield Foundation , which by the fourth anniversary of his death had raised over £ 150 @,@ 000 . It works in offering children football in Devon , Somerset and Herefordshire , the three counties in which he played professionally , as well as increasing opportunities for the disabled to take part in the sport . The foundation also aims to increase awareness of bowel cancer . 
 From 2011 to 2015 , an aeroplane belonging to Flybe bore an image of Stansfield , with other aeroplanes belonging to the company featuring such former footballers as George Best and Kevin Keegan . In 2015 , Stansfield was featured on £ 5 Exeter Pound notes in the city . 
 Exeter City and Yeovil Town agreed that on their meeting at St James Park on 8 August 2015 , there would be a minute 's applause in the seventh minute and ninth , for the numbers he wore at each club . Earlier the same day , there was also a match between the two clubs ' supporters in Topsham , Devon , to raise funds for his foundation . 
 
 = = Career statistics = = 
 
 
 = = Honours = = 
 
 Yeovil Town 
 FA Trophy : 2001 – 02 
 Football Conference : 2002 – 03 
 Hereford United 
 Conference National play @-@ offs : 2006 
 Exeter City 
 Conference National play @-@ offs : 2008 
 England semi @-@ professional 
 Four Nations Tournament : 2005 
 
 