John Kelly (born 20 October 1960) is a 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 in the Football League as a midfielder for Tranmere Rovers,

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, Chester City, Swindon Town, Oldham Athletic, Walsall and Huddersfield Town. The son of former Tranmere Rovers manager Noel Kelly, John established himself as a stylish midfielder in the lower divisions after joining Tranmere from neighbours

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

in September 1979. In 1985–86 he struck up a successful partnership with fellow new signing

Milton Graham Milton Graham (born 2 November 1962) is an English former professional footballer with AFC Bournemouth, Chester City and Peterborough United in the 1980s. He is best remembered for scoring for Bournemouth in their 2–0 giantkilling win over Ma ...

at Chester City, with Kelly scoring eight times as Chester were promoted from

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

. A year later he moved up to the second tier with Swindon Town for £20,000, although he struggled to establish himself with the Wiltshire club and soon moved on to Oldham Athletic. After spells with Walsall and Huddersfield Town, Kelly returned to Chester in the summer of 1992. Unfortunately, the 1992–93 season brought relegation to Division Three and Kelly was released at the end of the campaign. This marked the end of his professional career and he went part-time by joining Welsh side Rhyl. Kelly made two appearances for the Republic of Ireland U21s, a nation he was eligible to represent as his father was born in Ireland.

Honours

Chester City *

runners-up: 1985–86

References

External links

John Kelly
at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1960 births Living people People from Bebington Association football midfielders English footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Cammell Laird 1907 F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players English Football League players English people of Irish descent