Leslie Strong (born 3 July 1953) is an English former

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 as a

left 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 spent the majority of his career playing for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, where he began as a youth player in 1969 under the guidance of World Cup winner

George Cohen George Reginald Cohen (22 October 1939 – 23 December 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Fulham and won the 1966 FIFA World Cup with England. He is a member o ...

. Between 1972 and 1983, Strong made 427 appearances, including 373 League games, putting him ninth in the all time Fulham appearance list. After appearing in all 57 regular-season games, Strong missed the 1975 FA Cup final against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, due to injury. In the 1981–82 season, manager

Malcolm Macdonald Malcolm John MacDonald (17 August 1901 – 11 January 1981) was a British politician and diplomat. He was initially a Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), but in 1931 followed his father ...

made Strong the Fulham

club captain The captain of a football/soccer team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influ ...

and under his leadership, Fulham were promoted to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. In 1981, Strong was granted a testimonial season, for his 10 years of service, culminating in a match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After a brief loan to

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 ...

and a single season at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, he ended his career with a single game for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. Strong retired in 1985. He went on to manage the

Anguilla national football team The Anguilla National Football Team is the national team of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, and is controlled by the Anguilla Football Association. It is affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team ...

and

Petite Rivière Noire FC Petite Rivière Noire FC is a Mauritian football club based in Black River. They play in the Mauritian League, the top tier of Mauritian football. The club won the first charity shield against Cercle de Joachim SC in 2014. They won the domestic ...

of the

Mauritian League The Mauritian Premier League is the top division of football in Mauritius. The 10-team league has been governed by the Mauritius Football Association since its establishment in 1935. League games usually take place in front of dozens of spectat ...

. Under his management, they won the

Mauritian Cup The Mauritian Cup is the top knockout tournament of the Mauritius, Mauritian football (soccer), football. It was created in 1957

for the first time in 2007, thus qualifying for the African cup winners cup. Since 2002, Strong has been a popular match day host in Fulham's hospitality lounges.

References

1953 births Men's association football defenders English men's footballers English Football League players Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Lambeth Brentford F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Living people Rochdale A.F.C. players {{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub