Wayne Cegielski (born 11 January 1956) is a former Welsh under-21 international

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 ...

. A defender, he played 282 league games in a thirteen-year career 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 ...

. An

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

winner with Tottenham Hotspur in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, he played on loan at Northampton Town, before joining German side Stuttgarter Kickers in 1975. He played in the United States for the

Tacoma Tides The Tacoma Tides was an American soccer club based in Tacoma, Washington that was a member of the American Soccer League. It began play in 1976, but the league folded the following year. It was owned by businessman and future governor Booth Gard ...

, before heading to Welsh club Wrexham in 1976. He helped the club to the

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 ...

title in 1977–78, before they reached the Welsh Cup final in 1979. He signed with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in July 1982, and won promotion out of 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 ...

in 1982–83, also being named as the club's Player of the Year. He joined

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 ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, as the club won promotion out of the Fourth Division. He then spent a two-year spell with

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

, before joining non-league

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

in 1987. His final club was

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Career

Cegielski started his career at Tottenham Hotspur in May 1973, and was a member of the

winning side of

. However he didn't play a First Division game for Terry Neill's side, and was instead loaned out to

side Northampton Town. He played eleven league games for Bill Dodgin's "Cobblers". He left White Hart Lane in 1975, and linked up with German side VfB Stuttgart. He played five games in

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

for

István Sztáni István Sztáni (; born 19 March 1937) is a Hungarian football manager and a former player who played as a forward. Sztani left Hungary for Eintracht Frankfurt and faced a one-year FIFA ban. With the Main siders he won the German championship ...

's "Reds" in 1975–76, before he departed for the United States to play for

in the

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. He returned to the UK in September 1976, and signed with

Wrexham, then managed by John Neal. The "Red Dragons" finished fifth in 1976–77, one point behind promoted Crystal Palace.

Arfon Griffiths Arfon Trevor Griffiths MBE (born 23 August 1941) is a Welsh former football player and manager. During his playing career which lasted from 1959 to 1979, Griffiths played at both professional and international levels, before becoming a football ...

took the reins for the 1977–78 campaign, and Wrexham topped the division with 61 points. Wrexham retained their Second Division status in 1978–79, and qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup after reaching the final of the Welsh Cup, where they lost out to Shrewsbury Town. A mid-table finish followed in 1979–80, before they avoided relegation in 1980–81 by just two points.

Mel Sutton Melvyn Charles Sutton (born 13 February 1946) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. Career Born in Birmingham, Sutton was an amateur at Aston Villa F.C. when Jimmy Scoular brought him to Cardiff City F.C. in Decemb ...

took charge for the 1981–82 campaign, however this time the club finished two points away from safety, and were relegated back into the third tier. Cegielski left Wrexham with 123 league appearances to his name, and joined John McGrath's Fourth Division

in July 1982. He quickly slotted into the squad and was a regular in the 1982–83 promotion winning season, picking up the Player of the Year award at the end of the campaign. During the season he hit five goals in 48 games, striking in wins against Hereford United, Halifax Town, Crewe Alexandra, Aldershot, and Peterborough United. He then played 43 games in 1983–84, as the club suffered relegation. He fell out of favour under John Rudge in 1984–85, as

Phil Sproson Phillip Jess Sproson (born 13 October 1959) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), central defender. He played in 500 matches (426 in the league) for Port Vale F.C., Port Vale and ...

and

Alan Webb Alan Webb may refer to: * Alan Webb (actor) (1906–1982), English actor * Alan Webb (runner) (born 1983), American track athlete * Alan Webb (footballer) (born 1963), retired English association football player See also

* Allan Webb (disambigu ...

built up a partnership. Cegielski was allowed to move to

on a free transfer in March 1985. In six games for Sam Ellis' club, he scored one goal – Blackpool's first in a 6–1 victory over Crewe Alexandra at Bloomfield Road on 9 April 1985. The "Tangerines" won promotion out of the Fourth Division as runners-up, but he was not retained beyond the end of the season. He then linked up with manager

Johnny Newman John Sylvester Newman Jr. (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 7" and shooting guard/small forward, Newman starred at the University of Richmond, before going on to play in the National Basketball ...

, and made a total of 66 appearances for the club in league and cup. The "Bulls" finished in mid-table in the fourth tier in 1985–86 and 1986–87, after which Cegielski left the

for non-league

. He later turned out for

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Individual * Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year: 1982–83 Tottenham Hotspur *

Wrexham * Football League Third Division: 1977–78 * Welsh Cup runner-up: 1979 Port Vale *

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 ...

third-place promotion: 1982–83 Blackpool *

second-place promotion: 1984–85

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cegielski, Wayne 1956 births Living people People from Bedwellty Sportspeople from Caerphilly County Borough People from Blackwood, Caerphilly Welsh footballers Welsh expatriate footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Welsh people of Polish descent Men's association football central defenders Expatriate footballers in West Germany Expatriate soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Stuttgarter Kickers players Tacoma Tides players Wrexham A.F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players 2. Bundesliga players Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden