Anthony Funnell (born 20 August 1957) is an English retired 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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 ...

. Funnell played in the Football League for

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 ...

, Gillingham,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Southampton. After a back injury forced him to retire from League football, Funnell he had a notable spell with Poole Town in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. He made over 300 appearances and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2014. Funnell later became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Playing career

Southampton

After rising to prominence at Athenian League club Eastbourne United, Funnell joined Second Division club Southampton for a £250 fee in January 1977. Funnell played the 1977 English off-season in Canada with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club Vancouver Whitecaps. He scored two goals in 10 games for the club, which fell to the Seattle Sounders in the first round of the playoffs. Funnell made an impression during the second half of the 1977–78 season, scoring 9 goals to help the Saints clinch promotion to First Division with a second-place finish. The higher level of football during the 1978–79 season meant Funnell rarely figured in the first team picture and he departed The Dell in March 1979. Funnell made 20 appearances and scored 9 goals during his time with Southampton.

Gillingham

In March 1979, Funnell transferred to

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

club Gillingham for a then-club record fee of £50,000. He made 38 appearances and scored 10 goals during just over a year at Priestfield.

Brentford

Funnell joined Third Division club

for a then-club record fee of £56,000 in March 1980. Not rated by incoming manager

Fred Callaghan Frederick John Callaghan (19 December 1944 – 13 September 2022) was an English professional association football, footballer, who made over 290 appearances in the Football League for Fulham F.C., Fulham as a left back. After retiring as a pla ...

, he made only 23 appearances and scored six goals during his only full season at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

. Funnell departed the Bees in the summer of 1981, having made 35 appearances and scored 10 goals.

Bournemouth

Funnell signed for

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 September 1981 for a £5,000 fee. Under David Webb's management, he had the best season of his career in 1981–82, top-scoring 16 goals in 43 league games to help the Cherries to promotion to Division Three with a fourth-place finish. A back injury during the 1982–83 season ended Funnell's career in league football. He made 64 appearances and scored 22 goals during his time at Dean Court.

Poole Town

After two years in

Sunday league football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain and Ireland to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number of ...

, Funnell moved into

to join Southern League Premier Division club Poole Town in 1985. During a long spell with the club, Funnell scored 127 goals in 308 appearances for the Dolphins. He was recognised for his service with a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...

versus former club Southampton in May 1991 and he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2014.

Managerial career

Funnell had spells as

of Dorset League club

Hamworthy United Hamworthy United Football Club is a football club based in Hamworthy, a suburb of Poole, England. Formed in 1970 as a merger of Hamworthy and Trinidad Old Boys, they are currently members of the and play at the County Ground. The club are affil ...

and Wessex League club Wimborne Town.

Personal life

Funnell's son Gary is also a footballer, who represented non-League clubs Wimborne Town,

Salisbury City Salisbury City Football Club was an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They were formed in 1947 and played at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury had gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference S ...

and Poole Town, in addition to the England beach football team at international level.

Career statistics

Honours

Southampton * Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1977–78 Bournemouth *

Football League Fourth Division 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 ...

fourth-place promotion: 1981–82 Individual * Poole Town Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funnell, Tony 1957 births Footballers from Eastbourne English men's footballers Eastbourne United A.F.C. players English Football League players Southampton F.C. players Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players Southern Football League players Men's association football forwards Living people Gillingham F.C. players Brentford F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Poole Town F.C. players English football managers Hamworthy United F.C. managers Wimborne Town F.C. managers English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Newhaven F.C. players