Gary Bellamy
Encyclopedia
Gary Bellamy is an English
former professional footballer. His clubs included Chesterfield
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
and Leyton Orient
. He has also managed several non-league
clubs.
as a teenager, but decided to pursue a career in football instead, joining Chesterfield
as a trainee. He broke into the first team and played seven seasons at Saltergate
. He won the (old) Fourth Division championship
in 1984/85 with the club and made a total of 207 appearances in all competitions for the Spirites, despite missing 15 months through injury.
He finally left in July 1987 to join then-fourth tier Wolverhampton Wanderers
for a £17,500 fee set at tribunal. After making his debut for the club on September 12, 1987 in a 2-2 draw with Crewe Alexandra
, he won the Fourth Division championship for the second time in his career. The defender also got to experience a Wembley final as the club lifted the Sherpa Van Trophy
at the end of the season too.
His second season with Wolves
saw him add another medal as the club immediately won the (old) Third Division
. He remained a first choice player in his first season at the second flight level in 1989/90 but subsequently was used only sparingly in the following two seasons.
After 164 games for Wolves, he was sold to Third Division Leyton Orient
for £30,000 in September 1992. Here, he played as a first choice player for four seasons before leaving for non-league Chelmsford City
in June 1996. Just five months later, he took up a joint manager role for the club and spent five years in this capacity, winning promotion to the Isthmian League
Premier Division in 2001. He had earlier guided them to promotion in 1998, but their ground was deemed not to meet the requirements of the higher division at that time.
This promotion success alerted Conference
side Dover Athletic
to him and he took up the reigns there following this in June 2001. However, he was sacked only months later as the club struggled. He became manager of Braintree Town
, where he had had a loan spell as a player, but was later fired in November 2003.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former professional footballer. His clubs included Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
and Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
. He has also managed several non-league
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
clubs.
Career
Bellamy had a spell at Nottinghamshire County Cricket ClubNottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
as a teenager, but decided to pursue a career in football instead, joining Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
as a trainee. He broke into the first team and played seven seasons at Saltergate
Recreation Ground (Chesterfield)
Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, is the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139 year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England at the time of its closure...
. He won the (old) Fourth Division championship
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League 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...
in 1984/85 with the club and made a total of 207 appearances in all competitions for the Spirites, despite missing 15 months through injury.
He finally left in July 1987 to join then-fourth tier Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
for a £17,500 fee set at tribunal. After making his debut for the club on September 12, 1987 in a 2-2 draw with Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
, he won the Fourth Division championship for the second time in his career. The defender also got to experience a Wembley final as the club lifted the Sherpa Van Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
at the end of the season too.
His second season with Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
saw him add another medal as the club immediately won the (old) Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
. He remained a first choice player in his first season at the second flight level in 1989/90 but subsequently was used only sparingly in the following two seasons.
After 164 games for Wolves, he was sold to Third Division Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
for £30,000 in September 1992. Here, he played as a first choice player for four seasons before leaving for non-league Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City F.C.
Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...
in June 1996. Just five months later, he took up a joint manager role for the club and spent five years in this capacity, winning promotion to the Isthmian League
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...
Premier Division in 2001. He had earlier guided them to promotion in 1998, but their ground was deemed not to meet the requirements of the higher division at that time.
This promotion success alerted Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
side Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic F.C.
Dover Athletic Football Club is an association football team based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover, whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club...
to him and he took up the reigns there following this in June 2001. However, he was sacked only months later as the club struggled. He became manager of Braintree Town
Braintree Town F.C.
Braintree Town F.C. is an English football club based in Braintree, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference National and play their home matches at Cressing Road.-History:...
, where he had had a loan spell as a player, but was later fired in November 2003.