Phil Purnell (born 16 September 1964) is a 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 spent the majority of his career with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Before turning professional in 1985, Purnell played for

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

non-league sides

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

, Frome Town and Mangotsfield United, until signing for Bristol Rovers in September 1985. He went on to make 153 league appearances for The Pirates in a -year spell at the club, scoring twenty-two goals. He was loaned to

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

for a month in December 1991, where he played five league games and scored once. Purnell's playing career ended when he suffered a broken leg in April 1993. He was awarded a testimonial match in the summer of 1994, when Bristol Rovers faced a

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

side managed by former Rovers manager

Gerry Francis Gerald Charles James Francis (born 6 December 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Playing career Francis made his first team debut for Queens Park Rangers against Liverpool in March 1969. He was captain and central midfield play ...

, and featuring a number of former Bristol Rovers players. After retiring from playing, he worked in

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

, and also continued in football on a part-time basis as assistant manager of Yate Town, where his former Rovers teammate Ian Alexander was manager, and also at Winterbourne United.

Sources

* * 1964 births Living people Footballers from Bristol English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Frome Town F.C. players Mangotsfield United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players {{england-footy-midfielder-1960s-stub