He is one of five outfield players in English football to have ever passed 1,000 games in competitive matches (including league, cup and for Graham Alexander also national team games), the others being Scott McGleish,[2] Graham Alexander,[3] Jamie Cureton, Stuart Pearce and Neil Redfearn.
Ford began his career at his hometown club Grimsby Town when he made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old on 4th October 1975 in an away game against Walsall.
Ford spent two and a half years at Stoke, before being transferred to West Bromwich Albion midway through the 1988–89 season.
After a short spell at non-league side Barrow, he was asked by Steve Parkin, a former teammate at Stoke and West Bromwich Albion, who had recently been appointed manager at Mansfield, to become his assistant.
Both were sacked by the club eleven months later, but in August 2003 he returned to his former role at Rochdale under new manager Alan Buckley.