Gary Plumley (born 24 March 1956) is an English former 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 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 ...

for Newport County,

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 ...

and Cardiff City, and in the

Hong Kong First Division League The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia. The league was formerly the highest division in Hong Kong until the formation ...

for Happy Valley. A

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, Plumley made 187 appearances for Newport County in four spells with the club between 1976 and 1987. He was part of the team that won the

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 ...

and were promoted to the Third Division in the 1979–80 season, and in the subsequent season reached the quarter-final of the 1981

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

, holding eventual runners-up Carl Zeiss Jena to a draw in the away leg before losing 1–0 at home. Plumley also played for

, Cardiff City, Happy Valley and Ebbw Vale. Plumley's father Eddie was chief executive of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, a family connection which led to him making a one-off appearance in the 1987 FA Cup semi-final. Watford goalkeeper

Tony Coton Anthony Philip Coton (born 19 May 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who is a goalkeeper scout for Premier League side Manchester United. As a player he was as a goalkeeper who made 500 appearances in the Football League a ...

broke a finger two weeks before the game leaving manager

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln C ...

needing to find cover for Steve Sherwood after the transfer deadline. In desperation, Taylor suggested to Eddie Plumley that they sign his son, who had by then retired from football. Plumley signed, Sherwood dislocated a finger, so Plumley played;

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

won the match 4–1. No fee had been agreed at the time but Graham Taylor wanted to pay Plumley. A few weeks later he received a cheque and went straight out and bought a fridge with it. They called it the Watford fridge. Plumley became an estate agent in Newport. He is married to Debbie Johnsey, who represented Great Britain at show jumping at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Their daughter Gemma Plumley is also an accomplished show jumper.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumley, Gary 1956 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English footballers Association football goalkeepers Leicester City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Happy Valley AA players Hereford United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Ebbw Vale F.C. players Watford F.C. players English Football League players Hong Kong First Division League players Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong English expatriate footballers