Brian Kenneth Edgley (26 August 1937 – 18 February 2019) was an English 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 ...

who played as an

inside 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 ...

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

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

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 w ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

and Barnsley. He later played in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and Australia and had a 10-year

management 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 ...

career in the latter country.

Playing career

Shrewsbury Town

Edgley began his career at hometown

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

club

in 1955. He made his first team debut in January 1956 and signed his first professional contract the following month. Having begun his career as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, the Shrews' relegation to the Fourth Division in 1958 saw Edgley break into the team on a regular basis as an

, making 32 appearances and scoring five goals to help propel the club back into the Third Division with a fourth-place finish in the 1958–59 season. He missed just five league games and scored seven goals during the 1959–60 season as Shrewsbury narrowly missed out on a second successive promotion. Edgley departed the club at the end of the season, having made 113 league appearances and scored 12 goals in five years at

Gay Meadow Gay Meadow was the home ground of Shrewsbury Town football club in Shropshire, England. Just outside the town centre, on the banks of the River Severn, it opened in 1910. The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07 Football League season and ...

Cardiff City

Edgley moved up to the First Division to sign for

in a £6,000 deal prior to the start of the 1960–61 season. He had a forgettable season with the Bluebirds, making just 10 league appearances, but his only goal for the club came with a strike in a memorable 3–0 win over

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 ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

on 26 November 1960. He left the club at the end of the season.

Brentford

Edgley dropped to back to the Third Division to sign for

in June 1961. He scored 12 goals in 33 games during a disastrous 1961–62 season, in which the Bees were relegated to the Fourth Division. Edgley found it difficult to settle 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 ...

(having failed to relocate from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

to London) and looking for a quick move away, he signed a month-to-month contract at the start of the 1962–63 season. Now behind new signing John Dick in the pecking order, Edgley made just five appearances before departing in November 1962. He made 45 appearances and scored 13 goals during his time with the Bees.

Barnsley

Edgley joined Third Division club Barnsley in November 1962, but managed just four league appearances for the Tykes.

Non-League football

After leaving

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

football, Edgley returned to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and played for

non-League Non-League football describes association football, 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 s ...

clubs

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Ty ...

and Caernarfon Town.

South Africa

In 1966 and 1967, Edgley played in

for

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

clubs

Addington Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Add ...

Arcadia United Arcadia United Football Club is an association football club based in Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a popu ...

and

Cape Town City A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a Hood (headgear), hood in t ...

Return to non-League football

Edgley returned to

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 ...

in 1968 and made one appearance for Southern League Premier Division club

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 'Th ...

in a

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...

semi-final win over Newport County on 23 March 1968. He also had a spell with

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has ...

club

GKN Sankey GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 a ...

Australia

Edgley moved to Australia in 1970 and played for Ringwood City, Mooroolbark United (for whom he top-scored in the 1973 and 1974 seasons) and Balgownie Rangers.

Management career

Caernarfon Town

Edgley had a short spell as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of Welsh League (North) club Caernarfon Town between June 1965 and January 1966. After his departure, the Canaries went on to win the 1965–66 division title.

Australia

Edgley had a 10-year management career in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

regional football, managing Ringwood City, Balgownie Rangers, Mooroolbark United (two spells),

South Melbourne Hellas South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium ...

, Doveton, Frankston City, Essendon Croatia and Preston Makedonia. He won the Victorian Metropolitan League First Division title with Mooroolbark United in 1973, received the Victoria Soccer Coach of the Year award in 1975 and later managed the club in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaug ...

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

season, finishing bottom and suffering relegation back to the regional leagues. Edgley won a Victorian State League and Cup double with Preston Makedonia in the 1980 season.

Personal life

Edgley attended the Monkmoor Boys' School in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

. After his retirement from football, Edgley settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia and became a businessman. After his retirement from business, he and his wife settled on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Ge ...

Honours

As a player-manager

Mooroolbark United * Victorian Metropolitan League First Division: 1973

As a manager

Preston Makedonia *

Victorian State League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the high ...

: 1980 * Victorian Cup: 1980

As an individual

* Victorian Soccer Coach of the Year: 1975

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgley, Brian 1937 births Sportspeople from Shrewsbury English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Association football wingers Association football inside forwards English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Australia National Football League (South Africa) players Caernarfon Town F.C. managers Caernarfon Town F.C. players Addington F.C. players Arcadia Shepherds F.C. players Cape Town City F.C. (NFL) players English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa English expatriate football managers Southern Football League players Hereford United F.C. players GKN Sankey F.C. players Ringwood City SC players Ringwood City SC managers National Premier Leagues managers Balgownie Rangers FC players Balgownie Rangers FC managers Mooroolbark SC players Mooroolbark SC managers South Melbourne FC managers National Soccer League (Australia) coaches Melbourne Knights FC managers Preston Lions FC managers English football managers 2019 deaths