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Brian Abrey

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Brian Abrey
Personal information
Full name Brian Anthony Abrey[1]
Date of birth (1939-04-25) 25 April 1939 (age 85)[1]
Place of birth Hendon, London, England[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) 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

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.

Career

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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

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Following his retirement from playing, Abrey returned to his native Hendon where he worked at a school, before becoming a drayman and later a postman in the area.[2]

Career statistics

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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

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  3. ^ "Colchester United – Match details – Colchester Utd 3–0 Stockport County". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Colchester United – Match details – Colchester Utd 2–2 Millwall". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Colchester United – Match details – Peterborough United 3–3 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. ^ "League Two (Tier Four) Honours". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Colchester United – Match details – Northampton Town 2–0 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  8. ^ "COLCHESTER UNITED:1950/51–1989/90 & 1992/93–2011/12". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Retrieved 10 July 2013.