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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathanael Abbey | ||
| Date of birth | (1978-07-11)11 July 1978 (age 47) | ||
| Place of birth | Islington, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1995 | Luton Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–2001 | Luton Town | 55 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Chesterfield | 46 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Northampton Town | 5 | (0) |
| 2003 | Stevenage Borough | 6 | (0) |
| 2003 | St Albans City | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | Hayes | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Ipswich Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2004 | Burnley | 0 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Boston United | 61 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | →Leyton Orient (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2006 | Bristol City | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | Torquay United | 24 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Brentford | 16 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Milton Keynes Dons | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Rushden & Diamonds | 10 | (0) |
| 2010 | Kettering Town | 29 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Arlesey Town | 56 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | St Neots Town | 37 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Dunstable Town | 1 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Arlesey Town | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 350 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011–2013 | Arlesey Town (player-assistant) | ||
| 2013–2014 | St Neots Town (player-assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | Arlesey Town (joint-coach) | ||
| 2018–2019 | Bedford Town (assistant) | ||
| 2019 | Bedford Town (joint-manager) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Bedford Town | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nathanael "Nathan" Abbey (born 11 July 1978) is an Englishjourneyman former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
Nathanael Abbey was born on 11 July 1978 inIslington,London, and began his football career as a trainee withLuton Town, turning professional in August 1995. His first team debut came on 26 August 1997 in theLeague Cup first round second leg tie at home toColchester United, a 1–1 draw taking the Hatters into the second round.[2] Later that season he had a spell on loan toFootball Conference sideWoking. He had to wait until January 1999 for this next first team appearance for Luton, playing in the 3–0 defeat at home toWalsall in theFootball League Trophy. His league debut came the following month, on 6 February, playing in the 2–1 win away toBurnley.
Abbey began the1999–2000 season as Luton's first choice goalkeeper, previous first choiceKelvin Davis having been sold toWimbledon to aid Luton's financial problems, and remained a regular throughout the season. In the summer of 2000, Luton managerRicky Hill signedMark Ovendale and chose him to start the season in place of him. However, Abbey soon regained his place in the side,[3] though spent most of the season in and out of the side as firstLil Fuccillo and thenJoe Kinnear took over as Luton manager.
With Luton relegated to the bottom flight ofthe Football League, Abbey was released by Luton[4] and joinedChesterfield 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.[5]
He joinedNorthampton Town in August 2002[6] and signed a contract extension until the end of the season,[7] 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 sideStevenage Borough in July 2003. He played six Conference games before returning to Luton Town in October 2003. He was released by Luton managerMike Newell the following month, joiningMacclesfield Town,[8] where he again failed to make the first team and was released, joining non-leagueHayes in December 2003.[9] Abbey had similar experiences on moving toIpswich Town later the same month[10] andBurnley in January 2004.
In July 2004, Abbey signed forBoston United, playing 61 league games over the next season and a half. He had a spell on loan withLeyton Orient in December 2005[11] and moved toBristol City on a free transfer in February 2006[12] after being released by Boston at the end of January.[13] He made just one appearance for City, as a substitute forAdriano Basso in the 1–0 defeat away toSouthend United on 6 May 2005, before being released at the end of the season.[14]
He signed forTorquay United in July 2006[15] and was soon installed as first choice goalkeeper by Torquay managerIan Atkins. 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.[16] His last game for Torquay came on 26 December 2006 at home toMilton Keynes Dons, where Torquay managerLubos Kubik decided to substitute him for debutant keeperMartin Horsell with seven minutes of the game remaining and Torquay 2–0 down.[17]
Abbey signed forBrentford on 29 December 2006 on an emergency loan as regular goalkeepersStuart Nelson andClark Masters were injured.[18] He signed a permanent contract on 26 January 2007.[19] He made sixteen appearances for the Bees before being released on 16 May 2007.[20]
He signed forMilton Keynes Dons shortly before the start of the 2007–08 season. He made his debut forMK Dons coming on as a sub againstCheltenham Town when regular keeperWilly Gueret was sent off.[21] After two seasons he was released by MK Dons.[22]
He joinedRushden & Diamonds making eleven appearances for the club. In January 2010 he joinedKettering Town on a non-contract basis.[23] 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.[24]
Abbey joined his brotherZema as player/assistant manager atArlesey Town.[25] In November 2013, Abbey moved with his brother toSt Neots Town.[26] 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 joinedDunstable Town in late 2014. In February 2015, he returned to Arlesey Town as player-joint manager alongside his brother.[27] The two left the club in May 2018.
In the summer 2018, Abbey joinedBedford Town both as a player and as an assistant coach, monitoring the match analysis.[28] Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Abbey was promoted to joint-head coach alongside Jon Taylor.[29] On 3 November 2019, Taylor decided to step back and Abbey agreed to take on the role by himself.[30] However, he decided to step back on 14 January 2020 after a disappointing run of form since he took charge of the team.[31]
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.
His brother,Zema, was also a professional footballer.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Luton Town | 1997–98 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1999–00 | Second Division | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Second Division | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 0 | ||
| Chesterfield | 2001–02 | Second Division | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 0 |
| Northampton Town | 2002–03 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Stevenage Borough | 2003–04 | Conference | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| Ipswich Town | 2003–04 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Burnley | 2003–04 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Boston United | 2004–05 | League Two | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | League Two | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Total | 61 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 0 | ||
| Leyton Orient (loan) | 2005–06 | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Bristol City (loan) | 2005–06 | League One | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Torquay United | 2006–07 | League Two | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Brentford | 2006–07 | League One | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2007–08 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Rushden & Diamonds | 2009–10 | Conference Premier | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Kettering Town | 2009–10 | Conference Premier | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Conference Premier | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 254 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 299 | 0 | ||
Milton Keynes Dons
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