Andrew James Feeley (born 30 September 1961) is an English retired 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 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 ...

for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, Bury and

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 ...

as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He later became

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...

club Ramsbottom United and also worked as

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Playing career

Hereford United

, Feeley joined hometown club

as an apprentice and made his first team debut in a Fourth Division match versus

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 14 October 1978, at the age of just 17 years and 14 days. He became a regular pick throughout the rest of the 1978–79 season, making 25 appearances and even captaining the club, the youngest player ever to do so. After signing a professional contract, he was again a first team regular during the 1979–80 season, making 29 appearances and scoring three goals. He departed

Edgar Street Edgar Street, currently known as MandM Edgar Street Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Hereford and was the home of Hereford United Football Club from the club's formation in 1924 until December 2014, when the club was w ...

in 1980, after making 53 appearances and scoring three goals.

Moorfields

For a time after leaving Hereford United, Feeley played for Herefordshire Sunday League Second Division club Moorfields.

Trowbridge Town

Feeley signed for Southern League Midland Division club Trowbridge Town in 1980. He enjoyed a good season with the club, which finished third and was the only club from the division to win promotion to the

Alliance Premier League The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League ...

. Feeley averaged 28 games per season in the Alliance Premier League for struggling Trowbridge, before departing Frome Road in January 1984. He made 85 appearances and scored 12 goals during his time with the club in the Alliance Premier League.

Leicester City

In a surprise move, Feeley signed for

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

in January 1984. He had to wait until 10 March to make his debut, which came with a baptism of fire against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. Feeley started in the 2–0 defeat and was brought off for Tommy English. He made two further appearances during what remained of the 1983–84 season. He established himself in the first team in the 1984–85 season, making 41 appearances and winning the Supporters Club's Player of the Year award. Knee injuries reduced his appearance-count over the next two seasons and he departed the club in June 1987, after refusing a new contract. Feeley made 86 appearances during years at

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

Brentford

Feeley dropped down to the Third Division to sign on trial for

in August 1987 and he subsequently signed a permanent contract. Though never fully fit during his two years at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, 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 was in a predominantly resi ...

, he managed 88 appearances and was a member of the team which reached the quarter-finals of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

during the 1988–89 season, going out 4–0 to eventual winners

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Bury

Feeley joined Third Division club Bury in July 1989. He made 57 league appearances and scored three goals in two seasons with the Shakers. While later working in the club's

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

in 2002, Feeley turned out for a Bury Veterans XI in a benefit match against their

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 ...

counterparts.

Northwich Victoria

Feeley dropped back into

non-League football 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 ...

in 1991 to sign for

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club

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

. He made 13 appearances and scored one goal during his spell.

Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Feeley joined

First Division club Atherton Laburnum Rovers in 1991. He celebrated promotion to the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

First Division as champions at the end of the 1993–94 season and remained with the club until 1996.

Highfield United

Feeley had a spell with Manchester League Premier Division club Highfield United in 1996.

Seedfield Sports

Feeley joined Bolton Combination club Seedfield Sports during the 1996 off-season. He scored with a 30-yard strike to send the club through to the last 16 of the Lancashire Amateur Shield.

Managerial and coaching career

Seedfield Sports

While with Seedfield Sports, Feeley served as the club's assistant manager.

Bury

In the late 1990s, Feeley returned to former club Bury, working in the commercial and community areas. He later returned to the football club, serving as Director of Youth, overseeing the club's Centre of Excellence and managing the club's youth and reserve teams. He oversaw the development of future international players

David Nugent David James Nugent (born 2 May 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career in 2002 when he signed his first professional contract with Bury. He left the club in 2005, when he joined Pres ...

and

Colin Kazim-Richards Colin Kazim-Richards (born 26 August 1986), also known as Colin Kâzım, Kâzım or Kâzım Kâzım, is a British-born former professional Association football, footballer who played as a forward. Internationally, he represented the Turkey natio ...

. He coached the U19 team to the semi-finals of the 1999–00 Youth Alliance Cup, losing 2–0 to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

to be denied a chance of a place in the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. For a time Feeley served as first team coach, before being replaced by

Billy Ayre William Ayre (7 May 1952 – 16 April 2002) was an English association football, footballer who played for three clubs in a sixteen-year professional career, making over three hundred English Football League, League appearances in the process. ...

in December 2000. While Ayre was receiving treatment for cancer in July 2001, Feeley again stepped into the role.

Ramsbottom United

Feeley was appointed manager of North West Counties League Premier Division club Ramsbottom United in June 2008. Despite having to virtually rebuild the playing squad from scratch, he led the Rams to the top of the table early in the 2008–09 season. Feeley departed the club in February 2009.

Personal life

After leaving professional football, Feeley was employed as a

psychiatric nurse Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophr ...

at Prestwich Hospital. In August 2009, he received a 22-month jail sentence for committing

Grievous Bodily Harm Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feeley, Andy Living people 1961 births Footballers from Hereford English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Hereford United F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football fullbacks Southern Football League players Leicester City F.C. players Bury F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players National League (English football) players Atherton Laburnum Rovers F.C. players Northern Premier League players English football managers Ramsbottom United F.C. managers