Gary Plumley

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Gary Plumley
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-03-24) 24 March 1956 (age 68)
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Leicester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1976 Leicester City 0 (0)
1976–1981 Newport County 182 (0)
1981–1982 Happy Valley
1982 Hereford United 13 (0)
1982 → Newport County 2 (0)
1982–1983 Happy Valley
1983–1985 Cardiff City 25 (0)
1984–1985 → Newport County (loan) 2 (0)
1985–1987 Ebbw Vale 1 (0)
1987 Newport County 1 (0)
1987 Watford 1 (0)
Ebbw Vale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gary Plumley (born 24 March 1956) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Newport County, Hereford United and Cardiff City, and in the Hong Kong First Division League for Happy Valley.[2]

A goalkeeper, Plumley made 187 appearances for Newport County in four spells with the club between 1976 and 1987. He was part of the team that won the Welsh Cup[3] and were promoted to the Third Division in the 1979–80 season, and in the subsequent season reached the quarter-final of the 1981 European Cup Winners Cup, holding eventual runners-up Carl Zeiss Jena to a draw in the away leg before losing 1–0 at home.[4]

Plumley also played for Hereford United, Cardiff City, Happy Valley and Ebbw Vale.[2]

Plumley's father Eddie was chief executive of Watford, a family connection which led to him making a one-off appearance in the 1987 FA Cup semi-final. Watford goalkeeper Tony Coton broke a finger two weeks before the game leaving manager Graham Taylor needing to find cover for Steve Sherwood after the transfer deadline. In desperation, Taylor suggested to Eddie Plumley that they sign his son, who had by then retired from football. Plumley signed, Sherwood dislocated a finger, so Plumley played; Tottenham Hotspur won the match 4–1.[5] No fee had been agreed at the time but Graham Taylor wanted to pay Plumley. A few weeks later he received a cheque and went straight out and bought a fridge with it. They called it the Watford fridge.

Plumley became an estate agent in Newport.[5] He is married to Debbie Johnsey, who represented Great Britain at show jumping at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.[6] Their daughter Gemma Plumley is also an accomplished show jumper.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ^ a b "Gary Plumley". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Welsh Cup Final 1979/80". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  4. ^ Jones, Stuart (19 March 1981). "The bricklayer's wall too strong to be breached". The Times.
  5. ^ a b Burnton, Simon (10 April 2003). "One-hit wonder presses rewind". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Debbie Johnsey Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  7. ^ Baker, Gary (29 August 2008). "Gemma's Keeping Up the Family Sporting Tradition". The Welsh Sports Association. Retrieved 9 December 2009.

External links[edit]

  • Gary Plumley at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
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