Gary Michael Bennett (born 20 September 1963) 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 ...

. He played for six different clubs 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 ...

, with the majority of appearances being made for Chester City and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Playing career

Early playing career

Bennett began his football career playing for Skelmersdale United and his local team Kirkby Town. Bennett began his full-time playing career when he joined

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, playing in the Preston League in October 1984. At the end of the season, Bennett appeared 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 Wigan in the final of the Associate Members' Cup, which ended in a 3–1 win over

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 ...

. However, Bennett was soon on the move as he followed manager Harry McNally to Chester City, where 'Psycho', as he was known, scored 13 league goals in 43 appearances as the club achieved promotion from

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

. Bennett scored 23 times in 1986–87 but his season was overshadowed by his tackle in an

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 ...

tie against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

that left opponent Ian Knight with his leg broken in 7 places. The matter was eventually settled out of court a decade later. In November 1988 Bennett moved on to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

for £25,000 (scoring against Chester in Southend's 4–2 win later in the month) but by March 1990 he was back at Chester, again for a £25,000 fee. He remained there until the end of the 1991–92 season, scoring the winner at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in April 1992 that effectively sealed

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

survival for Chester.

Tranmere Rovers

Bennett was transferred for £300,000 by

manager Brian Flynn to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

in the summer of 1995.

Preston North End

Bennett spent just a year at Preston for the 1996-97 season but is remembered fondly due to scoring the first and third goals in a riotous match against fierce rivals

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. Over 14,000 fans were there to witness a master performance from Bennett.

Return to Chester

Bennett moved back to Chester in the summer of 1997 for £50,000, registering 12 goals by early November in his first season back. He failed to add any more during the season and would manage just one more (the winner at his former club Southend in August 1998) before injury forced him to retire from the game in August 1999.

Post-playing career

In July 2014, he was a participant on the television series ''

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

'' alongside his wife Linda.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1994–95 Second Division

References

Bibliography

External links

*
BBC Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Gary 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Kirkby Footballers from Merseyside Skelmersdale United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players English Football League players English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Knowsley United F.C. players