Errington Edison Kelly (born 8 April 1958) is a former footballer who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, Lincoln City, and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

in England. He had more than 100 appearances during his five seasons at Peterborough United, and later played in Sweden for

Grebbestads IF Grebbestads IF is a Swedish football club located in Grebbestad. Background In 2012 Grebbestads IF won Division 4 Bohuslän/Dalsland which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. In 2013 they played – and won – the third division N ...

and Gimonäs CK.

Early life and career

Kelly was born on the island of Saint Vincent, and moved to

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

as a young boy. His younger brother

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

also became a football player. Early in his career, he joined

AP Leamington Leamington Football Club is a football club based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of and play at the New Windmill Ground near Bishop's Tachbrook. History The club was established in 1933 as the works te ...

and played for VS Rugby for one season. He briefly joined Ledbury Town in the summer of 1981, but transferred a month later to

for £1,000.

Career

In September 1981, Kelly was signed by manager Terry Cooper at Bristol Rovers, shortly before

Bobby Gould Robert Hewitt Gould (born 12 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. Early life Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on 12 June 1946. He is the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould (née Morton). He spent hi ...

took over as manager. His first League appearance was in February 1982, during the Rovers' 3–2 win against Exeter City. He briefly moved to Lincoln City in January 1983, and joined Terry Cooper and his brother Tony Kelly at

two months later. In July 1983, he linked up with Gould again at First Division

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. Initially joining Coventry with a three-month contract, the deal was extended for two months after Kelly scored four goals in six games for the reserve team. Although Kelly appeared in a couple of pre-season friendlies, he did not break through to the first team. Kelly moved to

on loan in March 1984. After netting seven goals in 11 appearances, Kelly was made permanent. Over five seasons with Peterborough, Kelly made more than 100 appearances. He was once considered "Peterborough's only skilful player", the team's "leading marksman in 1984–1985", and "on his day, the division's most dangerous striker". Although he was popular with Peterborough fans, over time he developed a public love-hate relationship with manager

John Wile John David Wile (born 9 March 1947) is an English former footballer and manager. Wile played as a central defender for Sunderland, although he did not play a Football League match for them. In 1967–68 he signed for Peterborough United, ha ...

, and was disciplined on multiple occasions. By 1986, the '' Peterborough Standard'' referred to Kelly as "the exciting but controversial striker", and lamented that he was "unfortunately, very inconsistent". In May 1986, Kelly was released on a free transfer, along with five other players. During the 1986 Swedish football season, Kelly played for

in the Third Division, and won the team award for top goalscorer, with six goals. By January 1987, he had returned to England to play for Peterborough United, signing a one-year contract in June of that year, but struggled with injuries. Kelly left for Sweden once again in April 1988 to play for Grebbestads IF, and moved to Gimonas the following season. He later returned to England and became a football coach and English teacher.

References

External links

Errington Kelly stats
at Neil Brown stat site
Errington Kelly stats
at Grebbestads IF
Errington Kelly interview with 6TownsRadio
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Errington Living people 1958 births Saint Vincent and the Grenadines men's footballers English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards English Football League players Ledbury Town F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Black British sportsmen English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Footballers from Coventry