Billy Manuel

Billy Manuel

Personal information
Full name	William Albert James Manuel [1]
Date of birth	(1969-06-28) 28 June 1969 (age 54) [2]
Place of birth	Hackney, England
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) [3]
Position(s)	Left back, Midfielder
Youth career
	Chelsea
0000–1987	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1989	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
1989–1991	Gillingham	87	(4)
1991–1994	Brentford	94	(1)
1994	Peterborough United	0	(0)
1994	→ Stevenage Borough (loan)	3	(0)
1994–1995	Cambridge United	10	(0)
1995–1996	Peterborough United	27	(2)
1996–1997	Gillingham	20	(0)
1997–1999	Barnet	31	(1)
1999–2000	Folkestone Invicta
2001	Horsham
2001	Grays Athletic
2001–2002	Tonbridge Angels
2002–2003	Bromley
2003	Windsor & Eton
2003–2004	Waltham Forest
2004–2005	Metrogas
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Albert James Manuel (born 28 June 1969) is an English retired professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a left back and midfielder in the Football League with Brentford and Gillingham. His tenacious performances in midfield for Brentford led to the nickname 'Billy the Pit Bull'. ^[1]

Career

Gillingham

Manuel began his career in the youth systems at First Division clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, before dropping down to the Third Division to sign for Gillingham on 10 February 1989. ^[3] His addition to the squad failed to help the struggling club avoid relegation to the Fourth Division at the end of the 1988–89 season and Manuel remained at Priestfield for two more forgettable seasons before leaving in June 1991. ^[3] He made 97 appearances and scored four goals for the Gills. ^[4]

Brentford

Manuel moved back up to the Third Division to sign for Brentford in a £60,000 deal on 14 June 1991, to bring stability to the left back position. ^{[1] [5]} He made 45 appearances during the 1991–92 season and won the first silverware of his career when the Third Division title was clinched at the end of the campaign. ^[6] In the newly renamed First Division, Manuel moved into the midfield and impressed enough to be voted the Brentford supporters' Player of the Year at the end of the season, though it would end in disappointment with relegation straight back to the Second Division. ^[1] New manager David Webb installed Manuel as captain for the 1993–94 season and moved him to left back, ^[1] though he gradually fell out of favour and was released in August 1994. ^[7] Manuel made 115 appearances and scored two goals during three seasons with Brentford. ^[1]

Peterborough United

Manuel signed for Second Division club Peterborough United on a short-term contract on 16 September 1994. ^[3] He failed to make an appearance before joining Conference club Stevenage Borough on loan in late September 1994. ^[8] He made three appearances before leaving Broadhall Way. ^{[3] [8]} Manual departed Stevenage on a permanent basis on 28 October 1994. ^[3]

Cambridge United

Manuel transferred to Second Division strugglers Cambridge United on 28 October 1994 and signed a three-month contract. ^[3] He made 12 appearances before a succession of red cards saw him sacked by the club. ^{[3] [9]}

Return to Peterborough United

Manuel re-signed for Peterborough United on 28 February 1995, four months after leaving the club. ^[3] He made 35 appearances and scored five goals before leaving London Road for the final time on 25 January 1996. ^[3]

Return to Gillingham

Manuel rejoined Gillingham, then flying high in the Third Division, on 26 January 1996. ^[3] He helped the Gills to promotion to the Second Division with a second-place finish at the end of the 1995–96 season and made 11 appearances in 1996–97, before being released at the end of the campaign. ^[10] In both his spells with Gillingham, Manuel made 118 appearances and scored four goals. ^[3]

Barnet

Manuel dropped back down to the Third Division to sign for Barnet prior to the beginning of the 1997–98 season. ^[3] He made 38 appearances and scored one goal before being released at the end of the 1998–99 season. ^[3]

Non-League football

Manuel dropped into non-League football in 1999 and signed for Southern League First Division East club Folkestone Invicta and helped the club to promotion to the Premier Division in his first season. ^[11] He also served as the club's assistant manager. ^[12] Manuel was released as part of a cost-cutting exercise in December 2000. ^[13] He moved on to play for Horsham, Grays Athletic, Tonbridge Angels, Bromley, Windsor & Eton, Waltham Forest and Metrogas before retiring in 2005. ^[12]

Personal life

After his retirement from football, Manuel spent a period living in the USA, before returning to his native Hackney to run a pub. ^[14] He later worked in refurbishments. ^[9]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gillingham	1988–89 [4]	Third Division	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	1
	1989–90 [4]	Fourth Division	32	3	2	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	38	3
	1990–91 [4]	Fourth Division	38	0	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	42	0
	Total		87	4	3	0	2	0	5	0	97	4
Brentford	1991–92 [6]	Third Division	35	0	3	0	5	1	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	45	1
	1992–93 [6]	First Division	41	1	1	0	1	0	6 [lower-alpha 2]	0	49	1
	1993–94 [6]	Second Division	18	0	0	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	21	0
	Total		94	1	4	0	8	1	9	0	115	2
Stevenage Borough (loan)	1994–95 [8]	Conference	2	0	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	3	0
Cambridge United	1994–95 [3]	Second Division	10	0	2	0	—		—		12	0
Peterborough United	1994–95 [15]	Second Division	14	1	—		—		—		14	1
	1995–96 [15]	Second Division	13	1	2	0	4	3	2	0	21	4
	Total		27	2	2	0	4	3	2	0	35	5
Gillingham	1995–96 [4]	Third Division	10	0	—		—		—		10	0
	1996–97 [10]	Second Division	10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
	Total		107	4	4	0	2	0	5	0	118	4
Barnet	1997–98 [16]	Third Division	19	0	1	0	3	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	24	0
	1998–99 [17]	Third Division	12	1	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	14	1
	Total		31	1	1	0	4	0	2	0	38	1
Career total			271	9	13	0	18	4	19	0	321	13

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup
3. Appearance in Conference League Cup

Honours

Brentford

• Football League Third Division: 1991–92 ^[1]

Gillingham

• Football League Third Division second-place promotion: 1995–96 ^[3]

Folkestone Invicta

• Southern League First Division East: 1999–00 ^[11]

Individual

• Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year: 1992–93 ^[1]

References

1. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 100. ISBN   978-0955294914.
2. Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. ptbc. ISBN   0-7524-2243-X.
3. Billy Manuel at Soccerbase
4. "Billy Manuel". Gillingham FC Scrapbook. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
5. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 82-89.
6. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 477–479. ISBN   9781906796723.
7. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 172.
8. "Stevenage Players | Billy Manuel". BoroGuide. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
9. Street, Tim (27 April 2017). "Why former Brentford favourite wants to help players struggling with life after football". getwestlondon. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
10. "Games played by Billy Manuel in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
11. Folkestone Invicta F.C. at the Football Club History Database
12. "Billy Manuel's Career". UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
13. "Fifc latest". archive.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2015.^{[ dead link ]}
14. "Where Are They Now? Brentford Division Three Champions 1991–92". The League Paper. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
15. "Billy Manuel's Matches For Peterborough". UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
16. "Games played by Billy Manuel in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
17. "Games played by Billy Manuel in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

External links

• Billy Manuel at Soccerbase