Marcus Kelly

Not to be confused with Kelly Markus.

Marcus Kelly

Kelly in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Marcus Philip Kelly
Date of birth	(1986-03-16) 16 March 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Kettering, England
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
0000–2004	Rushden & Diamonds
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2009	Rushden & Diamonds	157	(12)
2009–2010	Oxford United	3	(0)
2009	→ Kettering Town (loan)	2	(0)
2010–2012	Kettering Town	84	(4)
2011–2012	→ Mansfield Town (loan)	1	(0)
2012–2013	Tamworth	35	(1)
2013–2017	Forest Green Rovers	124	(11)
2017–2018	Wrexham	43	(2)
2018–2020	Kettering Town
2020–2021	Nuneaton Borough
2021	Peterborough Sports
International career
2007	England C	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:07, 1 May 2018 (UTC)

Marcus Philip Kelly (born 16 March 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Career

Rushden & Diamonds

Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, Kelly began his career playing for Second Division side Rushden & Diamonds. After impressing in the reserve team, he made his debut in a 3–0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth on 27 March 2004. ^[1]

Kettering Town

Kelly completed his permanent transfer to his hometown club Kettering Town on 7 January 2010. ^[2]

Tamworth

On 5 July 2012, Kelly signed for Tamworth, along with former Kettering teammate Adam Cunnington and Tommy Wright, with Kelly and Cunnington teaming up with their former manager at Kettering, Marcus Law. Kelly scored his first goal for Tamworth away at Hyde in a 2–1 defeat. He scored a hat-trick in the FA Trophy first round against Lincoln City to ensure Tamworth progressed to the second round. ^[3]

Forest Green Rovers

Kelly signed a one-year deal at Forest Green Rovers on 17 July 2013, after impressing management while on trial during pre-season – including a 2–0 win over League One side Swindon Town having been recommended to the club by Marcus Law. ^[4] He made his debut for the club on 10 August 2013 where he scored a hat-trick in an 8–0 win over Hyde. ^[5] In February 2014, he signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until the summer of 2015. ^[6]

At the end of his first season at the club, he was voted Supporters Player of the Year, Players Player of the Year and won the club's Goal of the Season award. In February 2015, he agreed a new one-year contract with Forest Green, keeping him at The New Lawn until the end of the 2015–16 season. ^[7] He made his hundredth league appearance for the club on 9 April 2016 in a 1–1 away draw against Braintree Town. ^[8]

Wrexham

On 23 June 2017, Kelly joined Wrexham on a one-year deal. ^[9]

Kelly was released by Wrexham in May 2018. ^[10]

Return to Kettering Town

Following his release from Wrexham, Kelly would drop two levels down the football pyramid to rejoin Kettering Town on 13 July 2018, the team now playing in the Southern Football League Premier Central. At the end of the 2018–19 season he helped Kettering to achieve promotion to the National League North as champions. ^[11]

Nuneaton Borough

At the end of the curtailed 2019–20 season Kelly was released by Kettering and signed for Nuneaton Borough ^[12]

Peterborough Sports

After leaving Nuneaton Borough in September 2021, Kelly signed for league rivals Peterborough Sports in October 2021. ^[13]

Career statistics

As of 28 April 2018

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rushden & Diamonds	2003–04 [14]	Second Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	2004–05 [15]	League Two	11	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
	2005–06 [16]	League Two	41	3	3	0	1	0	2	0	47	3
	2006–07 [17]	Conference National	34	5	2	0	–		1	0	37	5
	2007–08 [18]	Conference National	24	0	2	1	–		0	0	26	1
	2008–09 [19]	Conference National	39	3	0	0	–		0	0	39	3
	Total		157	11	8	1	2	0	3	0	170	12
Oxford United	2009–10 [20]	Conference National	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Kettering Town (loan)	2009–10 [20]	Conference National	4	0	0	–		0	0	0	4	0
Kettering Town	2009–10 [20]	Conference National	13	2	0	0	–		0	0	13	2
	2010–11 [20]	Conference National	40	2	1	0	–		2	0	43	2
	2011–12 [20]	Conference National	27	0	4	0	–		0	0	31	0
	Total		84	4	5	0	–		2	0	91	4
Mansfield Town (loan)	2011–12 [20]	Conference National	3	0	0	0	–		1	0	4	0
Tamworth	2012–13 [20]	Conference National	35	1	1	0	–		4	3	40	5
Forest Green Rovers	2013–14 [20]	Conference National	33	9	1	0	–		2	0	36	9
	2014–15 [20]	Conference National	41	2	2	0	–		3	1	46	3
	2015–16 [20]	National League	30	0	2	0	–		1	0	34	0
	2016–17 [20]	National League	20	0	0	0	–		3	2	23	2
	Total		124	11	5	0	–		9	3	139	14
Wrexham	2017–18 [20]	National League	43	2	1	0	–		0	0	44	2
Career total			449	29	20	1	2	0	19	6	490	36

References

1. "Rushden 0–3 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 27 March 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
2. "Kettering Town sign Oxford United winger Marcus Kelly". BBC Sport. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
3. "Lambs boss Marcus Law believes Tom Marshall and Tony Breeden will ensure season to remember". Tamworth Herald. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
4. "Marcus Kelly joins Forest Green Rovers after Tamworth exit". BBC Sport. 17 July 2013.
5. "Forest Green 8–0 Hyde". BBC Sport. 10 August 2013.
6. "Marcus Kelly signs new Forest Green Rovers contract". BBC Sport. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
7. "Marcus Kelly extends Forest Green Rovers contract". BBC Sport. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
8. "Braintree Town 1–1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
9. @wrexham_afc. "SIGNING | Kelly on His Way" . Retrieved 23 June 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
10. Carl Hogan (14 May 2018). "Wrexham AFC Announce 2018 Retained List". Wrexham A.F.C. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
11. "Halesowen Town 0 Kettering Town 1 - Five Things We Learned". Northants Telegraph. 15 April 2019.
12. Jon Dunham (13 July 2018). "Law's delight at double swoop as Kelly returns to Poppies". Northants Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
13. "Experienced Kelly joins Sports". Southern Football League. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
14. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
15. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
16. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
17. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
18. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
19. "Games played by Marcus Kelly in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
20. "M. Kelly". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2017.

External links

• Marcus Kelly at Soccerbase
• Marcus Kelly at Soccerway