Neil Buckley (born 25 September 1968) 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 ...

who played as a defender. He began his career with

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

, where he spent six seasons in the first team. During the 1989–90 season he had a spell on loan with Lancashire-based club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

. After leaving Hull in 1992, Buckley moved into

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

, assisting

Brigg Town Brigg Town Football Club CIC is a football club based in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. Established in 1864, they are one of the oldest football clubs in the world. History The club w ...

, where he won the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...

in 1996, and North Ferriby United. Between 2003 and 2008 he was manager of Barton Town Old Boys.

Career

Buckley started his career at his hometown club

, where he came through the youth ranks before making his first-team debut in January 1987 in a Second Division fixture against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

. After missing the 1987–88 season, he made 23 league appearances for Hull over the following two campaigns before joining

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

side

on a short-term loan in March 1990. He was handed his debut by Burnley manager Frank Casper for the match away at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...

. It was an inauspicious start for Buckley as the team lost 1–4, with one of the opposition's goals coming from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

that he conceded. He made four further appearances for the

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footbal ...

club before returning to Hull at the end of the 1989–90 season. During the 1990–91 season Buckley established himself as a regular starter in the Hull side, scoring twice in 31 league matches. However, the season was ultimately unsuccessful for the club as they finished bottom of the Second Division and were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in six years. Buckley played just five times the following season before being released by Hull in the summer of 1992. He subsequently moved into

with

, where he remained for several years. In May 1996 he was part of the Brigg side that won the

, beating

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

3–0 in the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. He later had a spell with North Ferriby United. Buckley later moved into football management, joining Barton Town Old Boys in 2003. He led the team to a

Central Midlands League The Central Midlands Football League is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to its current na ...

championship in 2005–06 and earned promotion to the

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History ...

before resigning as manager in July 2008 due to other work commitments.

Football League statistics

Honours

Brigg Town *

: 1996 Barton Town Old Boys *

champions: 2005–06

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Neil 1968 births Living people Footballers from Kingston upon Hull English footballers Association football defenders Hull City A.F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Brigg Town F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Barton Town F.C. managers