Neil Firm

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Neil Firm
Personal information
Full name Neil John Firm [1]
Date of birth (1958-01-23) 23 January 1958 (age 67)
Place of birth Bradford, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) [2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
–1980 Leeds United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980–1982 Leeds United 12 (0)
1982Oldham Athletic (loan) 9 (0)
1982–1986 Peterborough United 72 (3)
Ramsey Town
Diss Town
Total93(3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Neil John Firm (born 23 January 1958) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played in the Football League for Leeds United, Oldham Athletic and Peterborough United, and played non-league football for Ramsey Town and Diss Town.

Contents

Career

Firm was born in Bradford, and signed his first professional contract with Leeds United in January 1976. [1] [3] He made his first team debut in an away match to Manchester City in February 1980, [4] and joined Oldham Athletic on loan in March 1982, for whom he made 9 appearances. [1] He made 12 league appearances in total for Leeds United. [1]

In the summer of 1982, he joined Peterborough United for a fee of £15,000, linking up with manager Martin Wilkinson, who was assistant manager at Leeds United while Firm played there. [4] He was a regular player there, [4] and made 72 league appearances, scoring three goals, [1] but retired from professional in January 1986 due to a prolonged knee injury. [4]

He subsequently played non-league football for Ramsey Town and Diss Town. [4]

Personal life

Firm moved to Norfolk in 1986 and ran a pub in Billingford, near Diss. He joined Norfolk Constabulary in 1988, and worked as a Police Constable in Thetford before being promoted to a detective. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Neil Firm". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. Rollin, Jack (1981). Rothmans Football Yearbook: 1981–82. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 196. ISBN   0-362-02046-9. OCLC   868301130.
  3. "Firm: Neil John (Neil)". www.ozwhitelufc.net.au. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walsh, Peter (30 August 2011). "Former Leeds United defender becomes Norfolk detective". Norwich Evening News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.