Brian Robert Attley (born 23 August 1955) is a Welsh former professional footballer. Able to play in either defence or midfield, he made over 200 appearances in The Football League during his career.

Early life

Attley was born in Cardiff and attended Fitzalan High School.

Career

In Wales

Attley began his career at

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 ...

, where his uncle

Len Attley Leonard James Attley (21 April 1910 – 1979) was a Welsh professional footballer. He made 12 appearances in the Football League for Cardiff City. Career Born in Cardiff, Attley joined his hometown club Cardiff City Cardiff City Footba ...

had played in the 1930s, making his professional debut in March 1975 against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

. He was involved in the club's 1975–76 promotion season, scoring his first professional goal against Port Vale, as well as their FA Cup run the following season.Swansea City past players
He joined

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

in February 1979 for £20,000 and played for them in the First Division. However, Attley was unable to hold down a starting place in the team at this higher level and fell out of favour. In February 1982 he left the club to join Derby County in a £25,000.

Derby County

He made his Derby debut against Leicester City on 6 February 1982 and altogether made 55 appearances for the

Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 19 ...

side. He also spent part of the 1982–83 season on loan at Oxford United.

Non-league

Attley left 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 ...

in the 1984 close season to sign for

Gresley Rovers Gresley Rovers Football Club is an English association football, football club from Church Gresley, South Derbyshire. Gresley is a member of the and plays home games at the Moat Ground. They were known as Gresley Rovers until 2009, when they we ...

, having been convinced to sign by player-manager

Roger Davies Roger Davies may refer to: * Roger Davies (actor), English actor known for ''Renford Rejects'' and ''The Cloverfield Paradox'' * Roger Davies (manager) (born 1952), Australian-born manager in the music industry * Roger Davies (footballer) (born 19 ...

, and made his debut for the club in August against Oldswinford. He remained with the club until 1986 when he joined

Stapenhill Stapenhill is a suburban village and civil parish in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom, UK. It was a small village owned by Nigel of Stafford as far back as 1086, however, this ancient parish area has long since been surroun ...

for a time, having been convinced to join the club by manager Mick Allsopp and an offer of a full-time job by one of the club's sponsors. Attley left the game following his retirement and settled in Rhoose where he works in floor tiling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attley, Brian 1955 births Living people Welsh men's footballers English Football League players Cardiff City F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Gresley Rovers F.C. players Footballers from Cardiff Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders