Garry Paul Nelson (born 16 January 1961) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker or left winger in the Football League for Southend United, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle, Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic and Torquay United (as player/assistant manager) between 1979 and 1997.[3] He was voted into Plymouth Argyle's Team of the Century.[4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Garry Paul Nelson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Braintree, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker, left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1983 | Southend United | 129 | (17) |
| 1983–1985 | Swindon Town | 79 | (7) |
| 1985–1987 | Plymouth Argyle | 74 | (20) |
| 1987–1991 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 144 | (47) |
| 1990 | → Notts County (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1991–1996 | Charlton Athletic | 185 | (37) |
| 1996–1997 | Torquay United | 34 | (8) |
| Total | 647 | (136) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Background and writing
editNelson passed eight 'O' Levels and 3 'A' Levels (French, Geography and Geology) and had the chance to attend Loughborough University but accepted the offer of a professional contract at Southend instead.[5] Nelson also wrote two memoirs about his professional career, Left Foot Forward and Left Foot in the Grave. The books are written in diary form, chronicling a season with Charlton (1994–95) and Torquay (1996–97) respectively. The books have been generally well received, and noted as showing the real life of "ordinary" professional footballers, became best-sellers, and each was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.[6][7]
Career after retirement
editAfter retiring from the game in 1997, Nelson became commercial executive of the Professional Footballers' Association. In 2018, he was still playing football, regularly turning out for Chapel United in the Southend Borough Combination Veterans League and Charlton Athletic veterans.[8]
Honours
editIndividual
References
edit- ^ "Player profile: Garry Nelson". Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk. Richard Banyard. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ "Garry Nelson". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Hall Of Fame". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ Southend United v Rochdale programme, 1 October 1983
- ^ O'Hagan, Simon (19 November 1995). "Nelson plays by the book". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ Baker, Andrew (14 December 1997). "The Year of the Sports Book". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ "Where Are They Now: Garry Nelson". The Football League. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 147.
External links
edit- Garry Nelson at Soccerbase
- Garry Nelson at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Interview with Garry Nelson at The Ball is Round