Pidgeley was born in Twickenham, London. He initially signed up with Chelsea at the opening of the 2002–03 season, and was loaned out to Watford between September 2003 and May 2004, a deal initially intended to last for two months, but which was extended to the end of the season. His made his Watford début on 4 October 2003, coming on as a substitute in Watford's 1–0 win at Crewe Alexandra after the dismissal of Alec Chamberlain.[2]
Due to Carlo Cudicini being suspended,[3] Pidgeley was on the bench as Chelsea won the 2005 Football League Cup final.[4] He then made his debut for Chelsea coming on as a substitute for Cudicini in the final home game of the 2004–05 Premiership season against Charlton Athletic. This meant Pidgeley was on the pitch as Chelsea were presented with the Premier League trophy as English champions.[5] Except for a League Cup game while on loan at Millwall,[6] Pidgeley spent the whole of the 2005–06 season at Chelsea. He spent the season as third choice goalkeeper behind Petr Čech and Cudicini. He was given the number 40 shirt by Chelsea, in reference to his time at Watford when they beat Watford 4–0 in an FA Cup match, with Pidgeley in goal.[7] He made his first starting appearance for the club in the last match of the season against Newcastle United at St James' Park, after Cudicini had suffered an injury in the pre-match warm up.[8]
Pidgeley has previously been selected for the England under-21 squad.
Pidgeley sought first-team football, and signed a three-year contract with Millwall in League One on 10 June 2006.[9] He became their first choice goalkeeper in the 2006–07 season, before injury and the arrival of new manager Kenny Jackett during the following season.
In August 2008, he signed a one-month loan with Woking. On his last home league game for Woking before returning to Millwall he saved a penalty from Steve Morison against Woking's rivals Stevenage Borough. Pidgeley had been tipped to go into talks with League One side Carlisle United during 2009–10 pre-season. He signed a one-year deal with the Cumbrians on 8 July after the departure of Ben Williams to Colchester United.
He spent the first two months of the 2010–11 season with Conference South side Woking, before leaving in September 2010 after making nine appearances for the club.[10] On 26 October 2010, he was given a trial with League Two club Bradford City appearing for Bradford's reserves against Sheffield United. He made his debut on 30 October in a 5–0 win against Oxford United.[11]
In June 2011, Pidgeley signed on a free transfer for League One side Exeter City on a one-year contract. In May 2012, Pidgeley was released by Exeter after the club was relegated from Football League One.
In August 2012, Pidgeley signed a short-term contract with Newport County as cover for the injured Alan Julian. At County, Lenny was also given the number 40 shirt and he was ever-present in the team as County topped the league after 11 matches. Due to his fine form and ongoing injury to Alan Julian his contract was extended in September 2012 until the end of the 2012–13 season.[12] Newport finished 3rd in the league, reaching the Conference playoffs. Newport County won the play-off final against Wrexham at Wembley Stadium 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to League Two.[13] For the first time in Conference history, the winning team had not conceded a single goal in the play-offs.[citation needed]
On 2 February 2015 Pidgeley joined Mansfield Town on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season.[14] He was released by Newport in May 2015 at the end of his contract.[15]
On 17 May 2018, Pidgeley joined Southern Football League side Farnborough.[22] On 12 September, Farnborough announced Pidgeley's decision to retire due to mental health problems,[23] which led to media backlash after the club's poor handling of the subject.[24]
Woking Football Club is a professional association football club, based in Woking, Surrey, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
Carlo Cudicini is a retired Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for Chelsea. He is the son of the former Milan goalkeeper Fabio Cudicini, and the grandson of Ponziana defender Guglielmo Cudicini. Cudicini is currently a club ambassador and loan player technical coach at Chelsea.
Moses Ashikodi is a retired professional footballer.
Southall Football Club is a football club representing Southall in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They are currently members of the Isthmian League South Central Division.
Heurelho da Silva Gomes is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Preston Matthew Edwards is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Dulwich Hamlet.
Marvin Anthony Sordell is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Paris Declan Joseph Cowan-Hall is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward and winger.
Thomas Lloyd King is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He represented England at youth level and is also eligible to represent Wales.
Mark James Halstead is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Torquay United.
Billy Steven Knott is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Isthmian League Premier Division club Concord Rangers.
Jed Fernley Wallace is an English professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
Alan Dowson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently interim manager of Hemel Hempstead Town.
Sidney Raymond Kenneth Nelson is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Isthmian League Premier Division club Chatham Town.
Alfie Martin Kevin Pavey is an English footballer who plays as a forward for National League club Woking.
Reece Beckles-Richards is an Antigua and Barbudan international footballer who plays as a striker for Cheshunt. He has also had spells at Aldershot Town, Woking, Kingstonian, Wingate & Finchley and Wealdstone.
Charlie Martin Grainger is an English professional footballer who joined Hastings United as a goalkeeper in 2023.
Dennon Elliot Lewis is an English footballer who plays for Woking as a wingback.
Nathan Joseph Baxter is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL League One club Bolton Wanderers.
Harvey Lee Bradbury is an English professional footballer who plays for Farnborough as a forward.
References
1 2 3 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN978-1-84596-324-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
