Brian Kenneth Edgley (26 August 1937 – 18 February 2019) was an English professional

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 an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the Football League for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

, Brentford, Cardiff City and Barnsley. He later played in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and Australia and had a 10-year

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

career in the latter country.

Playing career

Shrewsbury Town

Edgley began his career at hometown

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

club

in 1955. He made his first team debut in January 1956 and signed his first professional contract the following month. Having begun his career as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, the Shrews' relegation to the Fourth Division in 1958 saw Edgley break into the team on a regular basis as an

, making 32 appearances and scoring five goals to help propel the club back into the Third Division with a fourth-place finish in the 1958–59 season. He missed just five league games and scored seven goals during the 1959–60 season as Shrewsbury narrowly missed out on a second successive promotion. Edgley departed the club at the end of the season, having made 113 league appearances and scored 12 goals in five years at

Gay Meadow Gay Meadow was the home ground of Shrewsbury Town football club in Shropshire, England. Just outside the town centre, on the banks of the River Severn, it opened in 1910. The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07 Football League season and t ...

Cardiff City

Edgley moved up to the First Division to sign for Cardiff City in a £6,000 deal prior to the start of the 1960–61 season. He had a forgettable season with the Bluebirds, making just 10 league appearances, but his only goal for the club came with a strike in a memorable 3–0 win over Manchester United at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

on 26 November 1960. He left the club at the end of the season.

Brentford

Edgley dropped to back to the Third Division to sign for Brentford in June 1961. He scored 12 goals in 33 games during a disastrous 1961–62 season, in which the Bees were relegated to the Fourth Division. Edgley found it difficult to settle at Griffin Park (having failed to relocate from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

to London) and looking for a quick move away, he signed a month-to-month contract at the start of the 1962–63 season. Now behind new signing John Dick in the pecking order, Edgley made just five appearances before departing in November 1962. He made 45 appearances and scored 13 goals during his time with the Bees.

Barnsley

Edgley joined Third Division club Barnsley in November 1962, but managed just four league appearances for the Tykes.

Non-League football

After leaving

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

football, Edgley returned to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and played for

non-League 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 d ...

clubs Merthyr Tydfil and

Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...

South Africa

In 1966 and 1967, Edgley played in

for

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

clubs Addington, Arcadia United and

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Return to non-League football

Edgley returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1968 and made one appearance for Southern League Premier Division club

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

in a

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

semi-final win over Newport County on 23 March 1968. He also had a spell with

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

club

GKN Sankey GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

Australia

Edgley moved to Australia in 1970 and played for

Ringwood City Ringwood City Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne. The club was formed in 1953 as Wilhelmina by Dutch Australians. The club currently competes in Victorian State League Division 4 East, where it has b ...

, Mooroolbark United (for whom he top-scored in the 1973 and 1974 seasons) and Balgownie Rangers.

Management career

Caernarfon Town

Edgley had a short spell as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

of Welsh League (North) club Caernarfon Town between June 1965 and January 1966. After his departure, the Canaries went on to win the 1965–66 division title.

Australia

Edgley had a 10-year management career in Victorian and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

regional football, managing Ringwood City, Balgownie Rangers, Mooroolbark United (two spells),

South Melbourne Hellas South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium. ...

, Doveton, Frankston City, Essendon Croatia and Preston Makedonia. He won the Victorian Metropolitan League First Division title with Mooroolbark United in 1973, received the Victoria Soccer Coach of the Year award in 1975 and later managed the club in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

National Soccer League season, finishing bottom and suffering relegation back to the regional leagues. Edgley won a Victorian State League and Cup double with Preston Makedonia in the 1980 season.

Personal life

Edgley attended the Monkmoor Boys' School in Shrewsbury. After his retirement from football, Edgley settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia and became a businessman. After his retirement from business, he and his wife settled on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geo ...

Honours

As a player-manager

Mooroolbark United * Victorian Metropolitan League First Division: 1973

As a manager

Preston Makedonia *

Victorian State League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

: 1980 * Victorian Cup: 1980

As an individual

* Victorian Soccer Coach of the Year: 1975

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgley, Brian 1937 births Sportspeople from Shrewsbury English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Association football wingers Association football inside forwards English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Australia National Football League (South Africa) players Caernarfon Town F.C. managers Caernarfon Town F.C. players Addington F.C. players Arcadia Shepherds F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa English expatriate football managers Southern Football League players Hereford United F.C. players GKN Sankey F.C. players Ringwood City SC players Ringwood City SC managers National Premier Leagues managers Balgownie Rangers FC players Balgownie Rangers FC managers Mooroolbark SC players Mooroolbark SC managers South Melbourne FC managers National Soccer League (Australia) coaches Melbourne Knights FC managers Preston Lions FC managers English football managers 2019 deaths