Barrie Delf (born 5 June 1961) is an
English retired professional
footballer who played as a
goalkeeper for
Southend United in
The Football League, where he made only one appearance in 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 ...
in the
1982–1983 season. After his spell with Southend ended in 1986, Delf went on to play
non-League football
Non-League football describes 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 specifically used to de ...
for
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
and
Grays Athletic.
Football career
Before turning
professional, Delf played
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
football for Leigh Ramblers in the Southend Borough Combination League, Leigh Marshes and Trinity whilst working as
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
for the
Department of Social Security.
He had a trial with
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, but
Ron Saunders decided against signing him due to Villa having recently taken on an apprentice goalkeeper.
BBC Essex sports presenter Roger Buxton, recommended Delf to
Southend United chief scout
Bob Walls
Robert “Bob” Guy Walls (8 June 1927 – 11 November 1999) was a painter born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
After finishing his education at Wellington College, Walls worked for the Union Steamship Company. He spent 17 years (1943 to 1960) em ...
, eventually signing on non-contract terms in 1983.
He made a number of reserve team appearances before making his debut on 26 March 1983 in the
Football League Third Division for Southend against
Sheffield United, in the 3–1 home victory.
Southend's regular goalkeepers
Mervyn Cawston and
John Keeley
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
were both injured, and Delf was drafted in on the morning of the day of the match.
The one goal Delf conceded was a
penalty kick taken by
Colin Morris. He went on to play
non-League football
Non-League football describes 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 specifically used to de ...
for
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
under
Peter Taylor, signing from Southend in 1986, before joining
Grays Athletic for whom he made over 300 appearances.
Life after football
Delf went on to work as an IT manager for
Castle Point Borough Council after his footballing career.
References
External links
SUFC DataBase profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delf, Barrie
Living people
1961 births
People from Rochford
English men's footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Southend United F.C. players
Dartford F.C. players
Grays Athletic F.C. players
English Football League players
Footballers from Essex