Brian Abrey
English footballer (born 1939)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Anthony Abrey (born 25 April 1939) is an English former footballer who played as a wing half in the Football League for Colchester United. Having begun his career at Chelsea, Abrey spent one full season at Colchester before having to retire through injury.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Anthony Abrey[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 April 1939[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hendon, London, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1955–1961 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1961–1963 | Colchester United | 38 | (1) |
| Total | 38 | (1) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Born in Hendon, London, Abrey was invited to join Chelsea in 1955 by manager Ted Drake, but never managed to break into the first-team during his five-year stay. After representing a New York team in the inaugural International Soccer League in the summer of 1960, Abrey joined Colchester United,[2] where he would make his Football League debut on 19 August 1961 in a 3–0 win over Stockport County.[3] He scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw with Millwall on 28 October 1961,[4] and scored his second and final goal for the U's in the following match on 4 November 1961 in a 3–3 FA Cup draw with Peterborough United at London Road.[5] He helped Colchester gain promotion to the Third Division as the U's finished the season as Fourth Division runners-up.[6]
Abrey could only manage one appearance in the 1962–63 season, a 2–0 defeat to Northampton Town in the second round of the League Cup on 26 September 1962[7] as he was forced to retire from playing following a recurring knee injury in April 1963,[2] having made 38 league appearances and scoring one goal.[8]
Later life
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Colchester United | 1961–62[2] | Fourth Division | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 1962–63[2] | Third Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||