Carl Airey (born 6 February 1965) is an English 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 made more than 200 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

playing as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

during the 1980s.

Career

Carl Airey, a bustling centre-forward, began his professional career as an apprentice with

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, turning professional in February 1983 and making his league debut the same season. He also spent a period on loan at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

where he failed to score in five games at the start of the 1983–84 season. He left

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports ground in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used by Barnsley Football Club for home fixtures, and those of their reserves. As of 2023, the Barnsley F.C. Women's team also play at the stadium. While the na ...

in August 1984, after 38 league games in which he scored five goals, joining

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. He was top scorer the following season as Darlington, under

Cyril Knowles Cyril Barry Knowles (13 July 1944 – 30 August 1991) was a footballer who played left-back for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He was the son of the rugby league footballer Cyril Knowles, and the older brother of fellow professional football ...

, won promotion to the Third Division. He went on to score 28 goals in 75 league games before his transfer to Belgian side

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

in May 1986. His stay in Belgium was a short one, making 3 appearances without scoring, before returning to England in December of the same year to join Chesterfield on loan for whom he played 26 league games, scoring four goals. In August 1987, Airey was on the move once more, this time to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, where he averaged a goal every three games, scoring 11 in 32 league games. He teamed up again with Knowles and former teammate Phil Lloyd when he joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in December 1988. He made his debut on 20 January 1989 when he came on as a substitute for Ian Weston in a 2–0 defeat away to

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replaced Halifax Town, who went i ...

. He struggled to establish himself in the starting line-up, although he did start at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

in the

1989 Associate Members' Cup Final The 1989 Associate Members' Cup Final, known as the Sherpa Van Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 6th final of the domestic association football, football cup competition for teams from the Football League Third Division, Third Division and ...

against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. The following season, he started as first choice, but soon lost his place and along with Weston joined

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

on loan in September 1989 where after 5 appearance

he returned to the Torquay side the following month and equalled Sammy Collins' record of scoring in seven consecutive games before losing his place again and not featuring again in the first team after the end of January. He was released at the end of the season, joining Salisbury City F.C., Salisbury in July 1990. He was later reported to be working as a milkman in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Honours

Player

Darlington * Fourth Division third place: 1984–85 Torquay United *

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier League ...

runner-up: 1988–89

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Airey, Carl 1965 births Living people Footballers from Wakefield English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Barnsley F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Royal Charleroi S.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland English expatriate men's footballers