Michael John Astbury (born 22 January 1964), also known as Mick Astbury, was a 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 as 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 ...

for five

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 ...

clubs.

Playing career

Astbury became York City's youngest ever goalkeeper when, as a 16–year old, he played in goal during City's 1–1 draw at

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

in the 1980–81 season. He had spells in and out of the side over the next few years, with one of the highlights being playing in goal when York surprisingly knocked

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

out of the

1984–85 FA Cup The 1984–85 FA Cup was the 104th staging of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The competition was won by Manchester United, who defeated Everton 1–0 at Wembley, thus denying ...

, where some brave goalkeeping from Astbury kept City in the game before their late winner. He moved to

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

on loan in January 1986, two months before signing permanently for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. Astbury moved on again in July 1987 to Chester City. Injured shortly after arriving, Astbury had to wait until December 1987 for his first-team debut. He played in five successive games during the month but was never picked again, as

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as the ...

became the regular goalkeeper for the club. Astbury was released at the end of the season and joined Chesterfield, where just eight league appearances were made in a relegation season from

Football League 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 ...

. That marked the end of Astbury's professional career as he joined non–league side

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. He later emigrated to play in the USA.

Honours

As a player

York City *

Football League Fourth Division 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 ...

winner: 1983–84

References

External links

York City goalkeepers 1970-94
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astbury, Mike 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Kippax, West Yorkshire Footballers from West Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers York City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players English Football League players