Barrie Delf (born 5 June 1961) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Southend United in The Football League, where he made only one appearance in the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in the 1982–1983 season. After his spell with Southend ended in 1986, Delf went on to play

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and Grays Athletic.

Football career

Before turning professional, Delf played

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football for Leigh Ramblers in the Southend Borough Combination League, Leigh Marshes and Trinity whilst working as

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

for the Department of Social Security. He had a trial with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, but Ron Saunders decided against signing him due to Villa having recently taken on an apprentice goalkeeper. BBC Essex sports presenter Roger Buxton, recommended Delf to Southend United chief scout

Bob Walls Robert “Bob” Guy Walls (8 June 1927 – 11 November 1999) was a painter born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. After finishing his education at Wellington College, Walls worked for the Union Steamship Company. He spent 17 years (1943 to 1960) em ...

, eventually signing on non-contract terms in 1983. He made a number of reserve team appearances before making his debut on 26 March 1983 in the Football League Third Division for Southend against Sheffield United, in the 3–1 home victory. Southend's regular goalkeepers Mervyn Cawston and

John Keeley John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

were both injured, and Delf was drafted in on the morning of the day of the match. The one goal Delf conceded was a penalty kick taken by Colin Morris. He went on to play

for

under Peter Taylor, signing from Southend in 1986, before joining Grays Athletic for whom he made over 300 appearances.

Life after football

Delf went on to work as an IT manager for Castle Point Borough Council after his footballing career.

References

External links

SUFC DataBase profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delf, Barrie Living people 1961 births People from Rochford English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Southend United F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Essex