Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau mai i Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, i tiimata a Redfearn i tana mahi i Bolton Wanderers i te 23 o Pipiri 1982, i mua i te pukapuka o te kapa taiohi o Nottingham Forest. I muri mai ka whai ingoa ia hei kaitakawaenga whaainga i nga taha o raro o Lincoln City me Doncaster Rovers. I te marama o Mei 1985, i kite ia i tētahi moemoea kino i te wa i mate ai ngā kaitākaro 56 i tētahi wharekai i te taha o te huarahi o te whare tapere.
he patu whakamataku i a ia e tākaro ana mō Lincoln ki a Bradford City. I te 1987, i hainatia ia e Crystal Palace mo te £ 100,000, a ka takaro ia mo Watford, i mua i te neke ano i te 1989 ki Oldham Athletic.