Barrie Emmanuel Vassallo (born 1 March 1956) is a Welsh former professional football midfielder. He represented Wales at schools' level. He was most recently manager of Chepstow Town F.C.

Playing career

Vassallo began his career as an apprentice at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, turning professional in May 1973. He failed to break into the first team at Highbury, moving to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in November 1974 for a fee of £10,000.Barrie Vassallo
''Greens on Screen''. Retrieved 24 January 2010. His appearances at Argyle were limited by the presence of Paul Mariner in the Pilgrims' side, Vassallo only making 13 league appearances (7 of which were as substitute), scoring twice, before leaving for Aldershot. He left Aldershot without making the first team, joining non-league Barnstaple Town. In March 1977 he returned to league football, joining Torquay United for a fee of £3,000. He quickly established himself in the first team, playing all of the last 15 games of the 1976–77 season. The following season started in a similar fashion, with a run of 26 games from the start of the season before losing his place to Kenny Raper. He made just three further appearances that season, in place of Willie Brown. Although he played the first game of the 1978–79 season, he would make only one further appearance for Torquay, as a substitute for

Lindsay Parsons Lindsay William Parsons (20 March 1946 – 12 April 2019) was an English professional footballer who played in The Football League for Bristol Rovers and Torquay United. Playing career Parsons is from the Barton Hill area of Bristol and played ...

in a 1–0 defeat away to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

in November 1978 before returning to non-league football with Welsh side Bridgend Town. He went on to play for

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

, and Gloucester City, before retiring due to injury, on which he was given a testimonial by Gloucester City in the 1987–88 season, with

being the visitors. He later came out of retirement to play for Newport County and

Cinderford Town Cinderford Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Cinderford in Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA, they are currently members of the and play at the Causeway Ground. History The modern ...

Management

In 1997, he became manager of Welsh League side Chepstow Town, guiding them from the Gwent County League to the Welsh League Division Two. He left Chepstow in the summer of 2001 when he was appointed manager of Caldicot Town (AFC), resigning in August 2002 just a week before the start of the season. He later returned to manage Chepstow Town, helping them avoid relegation from the Welsh League Division Three He later returned to manage Chepstow for a third time in February 2006, again guiding them to Welsh League Division Three safety, but stepped down as manager in July 2006 at the age of 50, reportedly due to an impending knee operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassallo, Barrie 1956 births Living people Footballers from Newport, Wales Welsh men's footballers Arsenal F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Bridgend Town A.F.C. players Barnstaple Town F.C. players Cinderford Town A.F.C. players Men's association football midfielders English Football League players