Vernon Charles Sidney Avis (24 October 1935 – June 1996) was an English

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

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

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

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 ...

Playing career

Brentford

Avis began his career in the youth team at Second Division club

. He made his debut at age 18 in a 0–0 draw with

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

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 ...

on 12 December 1953. Due to national service and with

Ken Coote Kenneth Alexander Coote (19 May 1928 – 2 August 2003) was an English footballer. He is best remembered for his 14 years as a full back and utility player with Brentford, for whom he tops the all-time appearances list with 559 and was also ...

ahead of him in the pecking order, Avis spent much of his subsequent Griffin Park career in the reserve team. His best first team appearance tally was 11, in the 1959–60

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 ...

season. He departed the club in 1961, after making just 19 appearances.

Bedford Town

Avis dropped into

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 ...

and signed for Southern League Premier Division club

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

in 1961. A

by trade, Avis spent an early part of his Bedford career at

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He made nearly 200 appearances over the course of five seasons, before hanging up his boots at the end of the 1965–66 campaign. Avis played two matches during the 1966–67 season as an emergency replacement. He left the club in 1967 and joined United Counties League First Division club

Rushden Town Rushden is a market town and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of Bedford. The parish of Rushden covers an area of some . The population of Rushde ...

Managerial and coaching career

Avis became the trainer at

in 1966, and stepped in as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

in April 1967. He departed the club when Ron Heckman was appointed first team manager later that month.

Career statistics

References

1935 births 1996 deaths Footballers from the City of Westminster People from Marylebone English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Bedford Town F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. managers Rushden Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Men's association football fullbacks English football managers United Counties League players {{England-footy-defender-1930s-stub