Ian Leigh (born 11 June 1962) 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 le ...

who played as 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 ...

. Active between 1981 and 1992 in both England and Malta, in both League and non-League football, Leigh made over 125 career appearances.

Early and personal life

Leigh was born in

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

on 11 June 1962. After retiring as a professional footballer, Leigh later became a double-glazing salesman in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Career

Leigh began his career in non-League football with

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...

, leaving them as a seventeen-year-old in October 1979 to join

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 ...

team

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. Leigh made his professional debut for Bournemouth in 1981 after replacing the injured Kenny Allen in an away game against

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 ...

, a game in which Bournemouth lost 1–0. Over the next five seasons, Leigh made 123 appearances 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 Bournemouth. While playing in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

against defending champions

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in January 1984, Leigh kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory, and was rewarded with a lifetime supply of pizzas from a local Italian restaurant. The deal stayed in place for over a year, until Bournemouth's then manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

bought the restaurant, citing the fact that Leigh was getting, "a bit fat, a little bit lumpy." He also played as Bournemouth won the inaugural

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

by beating

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Towards the end of his Bournemouth career, Leigh spent brief loan spells at

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 ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, making one and four appearances respectively. After Leigh left Bournemouth in 1986, he briefly played non-League football for Bashley, before moving to Malta to play with Hamrun Spartans, where he spent a further six seasons. Leigh was renowned for his powerful long shots, and became Ħamrun Spartans' penalty taker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Ian 1962 births Living people English men's footballers Eastleigh F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Bristol City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Bashley F.C. players Ħamrun Spartans F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers People from Ilfracombe Footballers from Devon