Playing career
Born in Birmingham, West Midlands, [1] Perry joined the Centre of Excellence at Walsall as an eleven-year-old and developed through the club's youth team structure to be one of seven players, including Matty Fryatt, to sign a three-year scholarship for the club in March 2002; the scholarship commencing at the start to the 2002–03 season. [3] He later said he did not enjoy his time at the Bescot Stadium as he was picked on by the older youth-team players. [4] In the third and final year of his scholarship, Perry joined up with then Northern Premier League First Division side AFC Telford United on a temporary basis, scoring twice on his debut: a 2–0 victory at Gresley Rovers on 14 September 2004 [5] the goals being scored against his cousin Dale Belford. [6] He continued with Telford for the remainder of the season, whilst continuing to play for Walsall's reserve team, an issue that concerned Telford's then manager Bernard McNally. [7] Having scored 23 goals for the Bucks as they secured promotion, Perry agreed to join the club permanently in July 2005. [8]
In October 2005, he joined Sutton Coldfield Town on loan, [9] debuting in the club's Southern League Western Division 2–0 home victory over Taunton Town on 22 October 2005. [10] A week later his scored his first goal for the club in their 2–2 draw with Ashford Town. [11] His final game for the club saw his score the consolation goal in a 2–1 defeat at Thame United on 5 November 2011 [12] before he returned to AFC Telford United. [13] He later had a brief spell on loan at Moor Green. [4] Despite his tally of 32 goals in 68 games he was released in July 2006. [14] This was despite the fact that the 20-year-old's goal tally had actually made him the top scorer in the young club's history, his record standing until 1 December 2008 when Lee Moore bagged his 33rd. [15]
He joined Northern Premier League newcomers Hednesford Town in the summer of 2006, but only played one game for the "Pitmen" – the opening day defeat against Marine before being released by manager Phil Starbuck. [4] He then moved to Southern League Division One Midlands side Willenhall Town on £70-a-week, where he formed a potent partnership with Matthew Barnes-Homer. [4] Perry went on to score 26 goals for the "Reds" and was selected in the Southern Football Division One Midlands Team of the year, but was not selected to play in the play-off final defeat to Bromsgrove Rovers. [4] After a prolific season at Noose Lane, he joined Chasetown in the summer of 2007. Another excellent return in front of goal saw him play in Chasetown's 1–0 FA Cup victory over Port Vale in December 2007. In doing this he helped Chasetown become the lowest ever ranked club to reach as far as the third round proper of the FA Cup. [16]
He signed for Port Vale along with Chasetown teammate Chris Slater on 11 January 2008 for a nominal fee and gave up his day job as a graphic designer. [17] He made his debut for Port Vale as a 57th-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Swansea City in January 2008. [18] Perry later thanked Vale boss Lee Sinnott for saving his career. [19]
In December 2008, after not making an appearance for Vale in three months, Perry made it clear his intentions were to earn a spot in the first-team and brushed off rumours that he would follow Chris Slater back into non-League football. [20] However, by February 2009, he was informed that he would not be offered a new contract in the summer. [21]
On 6 March 2009, he joined Northwich Victoria on a one-month loan. [22] [23] This move was extended to a two-month loan as Perry hit two goals in four games for the club. [24] After three further games the popular striker was recalled by Vale manager Dean Glover after the club's strike force were hit with injuries. [25] [26] After speaking to several clubs, Perry signed for Mansfield Town on 24 June 2009 on a two-year contract. [27] [28]
In his first three appearances for Mansfield he scored twice against Crawley Town and once against Salisbury City, [29] [30] though also scored an own goal in the 4–1 defeat to Luton Town. [31] By the end of the campaign he had netted ten goals in all competitions.
In July 2010, whilst in a middle of a two-year deal with the "Stags", Perry left the club by mutual consent to join Conference National rivals Tamworth. [32] There he bagged seventeen goals in forty games in his first and only season at the club. In July 2011, he rejected deals with Tamworth, [33] to sign a two-year contract at fellow Conference club Lincoln City, who had lost their Football League status earlier in the year. [34] On 5 January 2012, Perry re-joined his former team AFC Telford on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season. [35] He scored just once in 19 appearances, ironically against Lincoln at Sincil Bank. [36] In the fixture at New Bucks Head, before his loan spell, he scored twice in a 2–1 win for Lincoln. [37] He was told he was free to leave Lincoln, [38] and did so at the end of the season.
He signed with Nuneaton Town in July 2012, having been impressed by manager Kevin Wilkin. [39] He joined Martin Foyle's Hereford United on a one-month loan in October 2012. [40] Despite not starting a game for the "Bulls", his loan spell was extended into a second month. [41] He failed to find the net in nine league and cup games at Edgar Street, though seven of his appearances were as a substitute. He returned to former club Tamworth on loan until the end of the 2012–13 season in February 2013; "Lambs" manager Dale Belford signed him due to injuries to Peter Till and Scott Barrow. [42] He played 12 games each for both Nuneaton and Tamworth without scoring a goal in the 2012–13 season, as both clubs attained mid-table finishes.
Perry signed with Altrincham in May 2013, re-joining his former Vale manager Lee Sinnott. He scored 12 goals in 38 league games in the 2013–14 season, helping "Alty" to secure a place in the play-offs, and Perry played in the final as the club secured promotion with a 2–1 extra time victory over Guiseley. [43] He scored eight goals in 47 appearances in the 2014–15 campaign, before being released in the summer.
Perry joined Hednesford Town of the Conference North in May 2015. [44] In March 2016, he switched to league rivals Worcester City after what he described as an "ugly experience" at relegated Hednesford, and scored one goal and provided two assists during his eight games to keep Worcester out of the relegation zone at the end of the 2015–16 season. [45]
He joined Stafford Rangers in August 2016, having been released by Worcester earlier in the summer. [46] Perry was the club's top-scorer as Rangers finished 13th in the Northern Premier League Premier Division at the end of the 2016–17 season. However, he found first-team football at Marston Road hard to come by early in the 2017–18 season, and switched to divisional rivals Barwell in August 2017. [47] He moved on to Stourbridge, also of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the following month. [48] He returned to Stafford Rangers in February 2018. [49] The club posted a 14th-place finish at the end of the 2017–18 season.
On 15 November 2018, Perry signed for Southern League Premier Division Central side Coalville Town. [50] He left the club on 18 March 2019. [51] On 25 June 2019, Perry joined Bromsgrove Sporting. [52] He switched to Alvechurch in September 2019 as part of manager Darren Byfield's revamp of the "Church". [53] He switched to league rivals Stratford Town in February 2020. [54] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2019–20 season was formally abandoned on 26 March, with all results from the season being expunged. [55]
On 17 June 2020, Perry signed with Redditch United. [56] However, he left the club in September 2020 without ever playing a first-team game for the "Reds". [57] He joined National League North club Kettering Town two months later. [58] Speaking in December, AFC Telford United manager Gavin Cowan warned Perry's detractors to mock the striker "at their peril" as "he's unorthodox, he has an effect, people like to ridicule unorthodox but he’s continuing to play and affect games". [59] Perry ended the 2020–21 campaign with one goal in eleven games after the season was ended early due to the ongoing pandemic. [60] [61] He scored one goal in eleven games in the first half of the 2020–21 campaign, and then joined Nuneaton Borough on dual registration terms on 5 January 2022. [60] [62] He signed with former club Chasetown on 15 March 2022. [63] The "Chase" qualified for the play-offs in fourth-place, but were beaten 1–0 by Belper Town in the final, during which Perry made an appearance as a 75th-minute substitute. [64] He joined Midland League Premier Division newcomers Atherstone Town in August 2022. [65] On 13 January 2023, he signed with West Didsbury & Chorlton of the North West Counties League Premier Division. [66] He played two games later in the month. [67]
