Peter Zelem (born 13 February 1962,
Manchester
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 Salford to the west. The t ...
) is an English former professional footballer who played as a
defender. He 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 four clubs during the 1980s. He is the uncle of
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 ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
midfielder
Katie Zelem.
Playing career
Zelem began with
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
on schoolboy forms but was released and joined
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
as an apprentice.
['Where are they now?', Chester City v. Burnley matchday programme; 5 September 1992; pg. 20] He made his debut in a 1–0 win over
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
in August 1980, one of six first-team appearances he made during the
1980–81 season. His first goal arrived on the opening day of the following season against
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 ...
and he became a regular over the next few years. By the start of
1984–85 he was the longest serving player at Chester,
but he moved midway through the season to
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
for £12,500. Although this initially gave Zelem the chance to play in the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, the club were rapidly sliding downwards and were in the
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 ...
by the time he linked up with former Chester manager
John McGrath at
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 ...
in March 1987. He had the distinction of scoring the first goal in the Fourth Division for Wolves, on 23 August 1986, in their 2–1 home defeat to
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...
on the opening day of the league season.
He helped Preston to promotion before joining
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
in the summer of 1987. After an injury hit two years at
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...
,
Zelem left the club and joined non-league side
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
. He then moved on to
Ashton United, but injury forced him to retire from playing.
Away from football he has worked as a contract cleaner with his twin brother
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
(a former
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 ...
with
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
).
.
Zelem was the first post-war
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 ...
player to have a surname beginning with a Z, first appearing the season before
Romeo Zondervan
Romeo Eugene Zondervan (born 4 March 1959) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played his early football with FC Den Haag and FC Twente before joining West Bromwich Albion, for whom he made 84 appearances. He ...
joined
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
.
Personal life
His brother Alan was also a professional footballer, a goalkeeper for Macclesfield Town;
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/asifburhan/2023/05/11/katie-zelem-follows-in-footsteps-of-goalkeeping-father-with-wembley-appearance/] while his niece is the England
Lionesses
The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...
footballer
Katie Zelem.
External links
Burnley career stats
Bibliography
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelem, Peter
1962 births
Living people
Footballers from Manchester
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
English Football League players
Chester City F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Preston North End F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Winsford United F.C. players
Ashton United F.C. players