Nathanael "Nathan" Abbey (born 11 July 1978) is an English

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

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 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 ...

Career

Luton Town

Nathanael Abbey was born on 11 July 1978 in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and began his football career as a trainee with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, turning professional in August 1995. His first team debut came on 26 August 1997 in the League Cup first round second leg tie at home to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, a 1–1 draw taking the Hatters into the second round. Later that season he had a spell on loan to

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

side

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

. He had to wait until January 1999 for this next first team appearance for Luton, playing in the 3–0 defeat at home to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

. His league debut came the following month, on 6 February, playing in the 2–1 win away to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Abbey began the 1999–2000 season as Luton's first choice goalkeeper, previous first choice Kelvin Davis having been sold to

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

to aid Luton's financial problems, and remained a regular throughout the season. In the summer of 2000, Luton manager

Ricky Hill Ricky Hill (born 5 March 1959) is an English Association football, football coach and a former player who is the manager of the Turks and Caicos Islands national football team, Turks and Caicos Islands national team. He spent most of his playin ...

signed

Mark Ovendale Mark John Ovendale (22 November 1973 – 29 August 2011) was an English football goalkeeper. Playing career Ovendale was born in Leicester and began his career with local village team Leverington before joining Wisbech Town. He moved to Northa ...

and chose him to start the season in place of him. However, Abbey soon regained his place in the side, though spent most of the season in and out of the side as first

Lil Fuccillo Pasquale "Lil" Fuccillo (born 2 May 1956) is a former footballer and football manager. He is currently the chief scout at Crawley Town. Biography Playing career Fuccillo was born in Bedford to Italian parents and joined Luton Town from school. ...

and then

Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (27 December 1946 – 7 April 2024) was an Irish professional football manager and player. As a defender, Kinnear spent the majority of his career spanning ten seasons with Tottenham Hotspur and one with Brighton & H ...

took over as Luton manager.

Chesterfield

With Luton relegated to the bottom flight of

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 ...

, Abbey was released by Luton and joined Chesterfield in August 2001. He was an ever-present the following season and won the Chesterfield Player of the Year Award, but left after failing to agree a new contract.

Non-league

He joined

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in August 2002 and signed a contract extension until the end of the season, but struggled to establish himself and was released at the end of the season having played only eight games. He returned to Luton on trial, but signed for Conference side

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

in July 2003. He played six Conference games before returning to Luton Town in October 2003. He was released by Luton manager Mike Newell the following month, joining

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

, where he again failed to make the first team and was released, joining non-league

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

in December 2003. Abbey had similar experiences on moving to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

later the same month and

in January 2004.

Boston United

In July 2004, Abbey signed for

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

, playing 61 league games over the next season and a half. He had a spell on loan with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

in December 2005 and moved to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

on a free transfer in February 2006 after being released by Boston at the end of January. He made just one appearance for City, as a substitute for

Adriano Basso Adriano Basso (born 18 April 1975) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach. Basso began his playing career in his native Brazil befor ...

in the 1–0 defeat away 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 ...

on 6 May 2005, before being released at the end of the season.

Torquay United

He signed for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in July 2006 and was soon installed as first choice goalkeeper by Torquay manager

Ian Atkins Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...

. Despite being ever-present in the Torquay goal from the start of the 2006–07 season, Abbey was only offered a one-month extension to his existing six-month contract and left the club at the end of his contract on 28 December 2006. His last game for Torquay came on 26 December 2006 at home to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

, where Torquay manager Lubos Kubik decided to substitute him for debutant keeper Martin Horsell with seven minutes of the game remaining and Torquay 2–0 down.

Brentford

Abbey signed for

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 ...

on 29 December 2006 on an emergency loan as regular goalkeepers Stuart Nelson and Clark Masters were injured. He signed a permanent contract on 26 January 2007. He made sixteen appearances for the Bees before being released on 16 May 2007.

Milton Keynes Dons

He signed for

shortly before the start of the 2007–08 season. He made his debut for

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

coming on as a sub against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

when regular keeper Willy Gueret was sent off. After two seasons he was released by MK Dons.

Return to non-league

He joined

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

making eleven appearances for the club. In January 2010 he joined

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

on a non-contract basis. It was announced on 16 November 2010 that Abbey had been sacked from Kettering Town due to gross misconduct, having made 29 appearances for the club.

Managerial career

Abbey joined his brother Zema as player/assistant manager at

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at New Lamb Meadow. History The club was establishe ...

. In November 2013, Abbey moved with his brother to St Neots Town. Abbey left the club at the same time as his brother a couple of months into the 2014–15 season, with Gary King assuming sole control of the first team. Abbey soon joined Dunstable Town in late 2014. In February 2015, he returned to Arlesey Town as player-joint manager alongside his brother. The two left the club in May 2018. In the summer 2018, Abbey joined

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

both as a player and as an assistant coach, monitoring the match analysis. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Abbey was promoted to joint-head coach alongside Jon Taylor. On 3 November 2019, Taylor decided to step back and Abbey agreed to take on the role by himself. However, he decided to step back on 14 January 2020 after a disappointing run of form since he took charge of the team. In December 2021 it was announced that Bedford FC had been sold to new owner Peter McCormack. The club team, now known as Real Bedford, is currently managed by Nathan Abbey as it continues its season in the Spartan South Midlands Football League.

Personal life

His brother, Zema, was also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons *

: 2008

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Nathan 1978 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district) Men's association football goalkeepers Black British sportsmen National League (English football) players English men's footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Boston United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players St Neots Town F.C. players Dunstable Town F.C. players English football managers Arlesey Town F.C. managers English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent