Gary Plumley (born 24 March 1956) 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 played in

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for Newport County, Hereford United and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, and in the

Hong Kong First Division League The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the List of oldest football competitions, third oldest in Asia, after Calcutta and Bombay. Moreover, it is ...

for Happy Valley. A

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, Plumley made 187 appearances for Newport County in four spells with the club between 1976 and 1987. He was part of the team that won the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

and were promoted to the Third Division in the 1979–80 season, and in the subsequent season reached the quarter-final of the 1981

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

, holding eventual runners-up Carl Zeiss Jena to a draw in the away leg before losing 1–0 at home. Plumley also played for Hereford United,

, Happy Valley and

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...

. Plumley's father Eddie was chief executive of

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, a family connection which led to him making a one-off appearance in the 1987 FA Cup semi-final. Watford goalkeeper Tony Coton broke a finger two weeks before the game leaving manager

Graham Taylor Graham Taylor (15 September 1944 – 12 January 2017) was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln ...

needing to find cover for Steve Sherwood after the transfer deadline. In desperation, Taylor suggested to Eddie Plumley that they sign his son, who had by then retired from football. Plumley signed, Sherwood dislocated a finger, so Plumley played;

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

won the match 4–1. No fee had been agreed at the time but Graham Taylor wanted to pay Plumley. A few weeks later he received a cheque and went straight out and bought a fridge with it. They called it the Watford fridge. Plumley became an estate agent in Newport. He is married to Debbie Johnsey, who represented Great Britain at

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

at the

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

. Their daughter Gemma Plumley is also an accomplished show jumper.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumley, Gary 1956 births Living people Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Leicester City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Happy Valley AA players Hereford United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Ebbw Vale F.C. players Watford F.C. players English Football League players Hong Kong First Division League players Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong English expatriate men's footballers