Garry Nelson

Garry Paul Nelson (born 16 January 1961) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Southend United, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle, Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic and Torquay United (as player/assistant manager) between 1979 and 1997. He played as a striker or on the left wing.[2] He was voted into Plymouth Argyle's Team of the Century.[3]

Garry Nelson
Personal information
Full name Garry Paul Nelson[1]
Date of birth (1961-01-16) 16 January 1961
Place of birth Braintree, England
Position(s) Striker / Left wing
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1983 Southend United 129 (17)
1983–1985 Swindon Town 79 (7)
1985–1987 Plymouth Argyle 74 (20)
1987–1991 Brighton & Hove Albion 144 (47)
1990 → Notts County (loan) 2 (0)
1991–1996 Charlton Athletic 185 (37)
1996–1997 Torquay United 34 (8)
Total 647 (136)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
For other people with similar names, see Gary Nelson (disambiguation).

Background and Writing

Nelson passed eight 'O' Levels and 3 'A' Levels (French, Geography and Geology) and had the chance to attend Loughborough University but accepted the offer of a professional contract at Southend instead.[4] Nelson also wrote two memoirs about his professional career, Left Foot Forward and Left Foot in the Grave. The books are written in diary form, chronicling a season with Charlton (1994–95) and Torquay (1996–97) respectively. The books have been generally well received, and noted as showing the real life of "ordinary" professional footballers, became best-sellers, and each was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.[5][6]

Career after retirement

After retiring from the game in 1997, Nelson became commercial executive of the Professional Footballers' Association. In 2018, he was still playing football, regularly turning out for Chapel United in the Southend Borough Combination Veterans League and Charlton Athletic veterans.[7]

References
  1. "Player profile: Garry Nelson". Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk. Richard Banyard. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  2. "Garry Nelson". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. "Hall Of Fame". Plymouth Argyle F.C. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  4. Southend United v Rochdale programme, 1 October 1983
  5. O'Hagan, Simon (19 November 1995). "Nelson plays by the book". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  6. Baker, Andrew (14 December 1997). "The Year of the Sports Book". The Independent. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  7. "Where Are They Now: Garry Nelson". The Football League. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
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