John Kelly (born 20 October 1960) is a 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 lea ...

who 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, Chester City,

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. The son of former

manager Noel Kelly, John established himself as a stylish midfielder in the lower divisions after joining Tranmere from neighbours

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

in September 1979. In 1985–86 he struck up a successful partnership with fellow new signing

Milton Graham Milton Graham (born 2 November 1962) is an English former professional footballer with AFC Bournemouth, Chester City and Peterborough United in the 1980s. He is best remembered for scoring for Bournemouth in their 2–0 giantkilling win over Ma ...

at Chester City, with Kelly scoring eight times as Chester were promoted from

Division Four 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. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

. A year later he moved up to the second tier with

for £20,000, although he struggled to establish himself with the Wiltshire club and soon moved on to

. After spells with

and

, Kelly returned to Chester in the summer of 1992. Unfortunately, the 1992–93 season brought relegation to

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

and Kelly was released at the end of the campaign. This marked the end of his professional career and he went part-time by joining Welsh side

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

. Kelly made two appearances for the Republic of Ireland U21s, a nation he was eligible to represent as his father was born in Ireland.

Honours

Chester City *

runners-up: 1985–86

References

External links

John Kelly
at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1960 births Living people Footballers from Bebington Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Cammell Laird 1907 F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players English Football League players English people of Irish descent 20th-century Irish sportsmen