Michael Denis Conway (born 11 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 le ...

who played as a winger 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

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

Career

Conway was born in 1956 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. He began his football career as an apprentice with

in 1972, and made his senior debut in the last match of the 1972–73 Second Division season, at home to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 28 April 1973. At the age of , he became the club's youngest league debutanta record he held until 1987 when the 16-year-old Ian Chapman first appearedand scored the equalising goal, albeit via a deflection. His club record as youngest goalscorer was only broken when

Jake Robinson Jake David Robinson (born 23 October 1986) is an English footballer who plays for Worthing. Robinson plays either as a winger or striker. Career Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton-born Robinson made his debut in September 2003 against Middle ...

, also 16, scored in the

Football League Trophy 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 Leag ...

40 years later. Later in 1973, he represented

England Youth England national under-18 football team, also known as England under-18s or England U18(s), represents England in association football at under-18 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England ...

. Conway turned professional with Brighton in 1974, but played only once more for the team before joining

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

club

in December 1975 for a £3,000 fee. Conway soon established himself in the first team and, according to a profile on Swansea City's website, "became a favourite with his pace and sparkling control on the left wing." He was a member of the squad promoted from the Fourth Division in 1977–78, but was unable to enjoy playing at the higher level. He suffered serious injuries in a car crash, attempted a comeback against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

in April 1978, and during the match was rushed to hospital with liver damage, believed to have been a consequence of the accident. That was his last professional appearance; he had scored 12 goals from 63 league appearances. In May 1979, Swansea faced the Brighton team newly promoted to the First Division in Conway's

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Micky 1956 births Living people Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football wingers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players English Football League players