Errington Kelly

Errington Kelly

Personal information
Full name	Errington Edison Kelly
Date of birth	(1958-04-08) 8 April 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [1]
Position(s)	Winger, striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Ledbury Town
1981–1983	Bristol Rovers	18	(3)
1983	Lincoln City	2	(0)
1983	Bristol City	5	(1)
1983	Coventry City	0	(0)
1984–1986,1987–1988	Peterborough United	118	(28)
1986,1988	Grebbestads IF	20	(8)
1989	Gimonäs CK
Total		143	(32)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Errington Edison Kelly (born 8 April 1958) is a former footballer who played in the Football League for Bristol Rovers, Bristol City, Lincoln City, and Peterborough United in England. He had more than 100 appearances during his five seasons at Peterborough United, and later played in Sweden for Grebbestads IF and Gimonäs CK.

Early life and career

Kelly was born on the island of Saint Vincent, ^[2] and moved to Coventry as a young boy. ^[3] His younger brother Tony also became a football player. ^[4]

Early in his career, he joined AP Leamington and played for VS Rugby for one season. ^{[3] [4]} He briefly joined Ledbury Town in the summer of 1981, but transferred a month later to Bristol Rovers for £1,000. ^[4]

Career

In September 1981, Kelly was signed by manager Terry Cooper at Bristol Rovers, ^{[4] [5]} shortly before Bobby Gould took over as manager. ^[2] His first League appearance was in February 1982, during the Rovers' 3–2 win against Exeter City. ^[4]

He briefly moved to Lincoln City in January 1983, and joined Terry Cooper and his brother Tony Kelly at Bristol City two months later. ^{[6] [4] [5]}

In July 1983, he linked up with Gould again at First Division Coventry City. ^[4] Initially joining Coventry with a three-month contract, ^[2] the deal was extended for two months after Kelly scored four goals in six games for the reserve team. ^[7] Although Kelly appeared in a couple of pre-season friendlies, he did not break through to the first team. ^[2]

Kelly moved to Peterborough United on loan in March 1984. ^{[4] [8]} After netting seven goals in 11 appearances, Kelly was made permanent. ^[8] Over five seasons with Peterborough, Kelly made more than 100 appearances. ^[2] He was once considered "Peterborough's only skilful player", ^[9] the team's "leading marksman in 1984–1985", ^[4] and "on his day, the division's most dangerous striker". ^[10]

Although he was popular with Peterborough fans, over time he developed a public love-hate relationship with manager John Wile, and was disciplined on multiple occasions. ^[8] By 1986, the Peterborough Standard referred to Kelly as "the exciting but controversial striker", ^[8] and lamented that he was "unfortunately, very inconsistent". ^[10] In May 1986, Kelly was released on a free transfer, along with five other players. ^[8]

During the 1986 Swedish football season, Kelly played for Grebbestads IF in the Third Division, and won the team award for top goalscorer, with six goals. ^[11] By January 1987, he had returned to England to play for Peterborough United, ^[12] signing a one-year contract in June of that year, ^[13] but struggled with injuries. ^{[14] [15]}

Kelly left for Sweden once again in April 1988 to play for Grebbestads IF, ^[16] and moved to Gimonas the following season. ^[4] He later returned to England and became a football coach and English teacher. ^{[4] [5]}

References

1. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 314. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
2. Brown, Jim (16 March 2013). "Inconsistency has become predictable". Coventry Telegraph . ProQuest   1317135321 . Retrieved 23 September 2022– via ProQuest.
3. "Swindon Town FC v. Bristol Rovers" (PDF). Swindon Town FC. 6 March 1982. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
4. Edwards, Leigh (9 September 2017). "Leamington: The Unlikely Lads" (PDF). Darlington Football Club . Retrieved 23 September 2022.
5. 6TownsRadio (1 July 2014). "Errington Kelly talks about his time with Bristol Rovers Peterborough United player". YouTube. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
6. "Case gives Brighton a lifeline" . The Times . 2 March 1983. p. 22. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via The Times Digital Archive.
7. Swain, Martin (29 October 1983). "Kelly's chance". Sports Argus . p. 18, 19 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Plummer, Russell (15 May 1986). "Posh Drop Six Players in Clear Out". Peterborough Standard . p. 61. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. Pugh, Rob (1992). "And Smith Must Be Forgiven". In Bull, David (ed.). We'll Support You Evermore. London: G. Duckworth. p. 85. ISBN   0715624474.
10. "News behind the names". Peterborough Standard . 13 February 1986. p. 57. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Errington Kelly". Grebbestads IF. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
12. "Cooper gives a hint of end to Villa Park groans". The Guardian . London. 5 January 1987. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Arsenal play at London Road". Peterborough Standard . 4 June 1987. p. 66. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Cantwell pleased with Kelly's knee". Peterborough Standard . 24 September 1987. p. 74. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Another Setback on Road to Glory". Peterborough Standard . 29 October 1987. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Posh still in with a chance". Peterborough Standard . 21 April 1988. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Errington Kelly stats at Neil Brown stat site
• Errington Kelly stats at Grebbestads IF
• Errington Kelly interview with 6TownsRadio on YouTube