Albert Brayley (born 5 September 1981) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker. Brayley played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

in the 2001–02 season before dropping into non-League football.

Club career

Brayley began his footballing career at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, before moving to Aston Villa as a schoolboy. After finding the travel from

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

to play for Aston Villa a challenge, Brayley joined

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, the club he supported. At West Ham, Brayley was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning squad in 1999, scoring three goals in a 9–0 aggregate win over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

. He signed professional forms in August 1999 but was released by the club without making any first team appearances. Brayley joined

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

side

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

but after the club was relegated and went into administration, he was released along with 15 other players in May 2001, having made no appearances for the club. He joined Football League Second Division side

in August 2001, where he made seven substitute appearances in the league and three in other competitions, in the 2001–02 season. He left Swindon in August 2002 and after failing to impress on trial with Brentford, he dropped into non-league football, joining

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...

. Further moves include

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a l ...

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

, Heybridge Swifts,

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

in December 2005,

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

in September 2006, Braintree Town in November 2006,

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

in summer 2007, Eastleigh for the second time in February 2009, Chelmsford City for the second time in March 2009, before joining fellow Conference South side Bishop's Stortford in late August 2009. He left the club in October, but returned for a second spell at Christmas time until February 2010. The remainder of the season he spent with Braintree Town. He then signed for Concord Rangers in the summer of 2010, and after being released from them he signed for

in October 2010. In February 2011 he joined Harlow Town, Heybridge Swifts in August 2011,

in October 2011, Tooting & Mitcham United in December 2011, Harlow Town in March 2012, Bishop's Stortford again in August 2012, and East Thurrock United on dual registration in November 2012. In early 2013, he became the player-manager of non-league and hometown side Basildon United. In July 2013 Brayley was offered a short-term contract at Chelmsford City, his third spell at the club. On 27 March 2014, he made his debut for Great Wakering Rovers. Subsequently, he joined VCD Athletic on dual registration, making his debut for them on 12 April 2014. He returned to Canvey Island in October 2016. On 30 August 2019, Brayley joined Hullbridge Sports. In September 2021, Brayley re-signed for Basildon United.

Managerial career

In 2013, Brayley was named as manager of his hometown club Basildon United whilst still playing for them. In August 2014, Brayley was appointed manager of Burnham Ramblers, again in a player-manager role, however he resigned from his post at Burnham Ramblers after the club were relegated from the

Isthmian League Division One North The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...

in March 2015.

Representative honours

Honours

;West Ham United * FA Youth Cup:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

;Chelmsford City * Isthmian League: 2007–08 *

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although lea ...

: 2009

Club career

Managerial career

Representative honours

Honours

References

External links