| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Anthony Abrey[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1939-04-25)25 April 1939 (age 86)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hendon, London, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1955–1961 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1961–1963 | Colchester United | 38 | (1) |
| Total | 38 | (1) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Brian Anthony Abrey (born 25 April 1939) is an English formerfootballer who played as awing half inthe Football League forColchester United. Having begun his career atChelsea, Abrey spent one full season at Colchester before having to retire through injury.
Born inHendon,London, Abrey was invited to joinChelsea in 1955 by managerTed Drake, but never managed to break into the first-team during his five-year stay. After representing aNew York team in the inauguralInternational Soccer League in the summer of 1960, Abrey joinedColchester United,[2] where he would make hisFootball League debut on 19 August 1961 in a 3–0 win overStockport County.[3] He scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw withMillwall on 28 October 1961,[4] and scored his second and final goal for the U's in the following match on 4 November 1961 in a 3–3FA Cup draw withPeterborough United atLondon Road.[5] He helped Colchester gain promotion to theThird Division as the U's finished the season asFourth Division runners-up.[6]
Abrey could only manage one appearance in the1962–63 season, a 2–0 defeat toNorthampton Town in the second round of theLeague Cup on 26 September 1962[7] as he was forced to retire from playing following a recurring knee injury in April 1963,[2] having made 38 league appearances and scoring one goal.[8]
Following his retirement from playing, Abrey returned to his native Hendon where he worked at a school, before becoming adrayman and later apostman in the area.[2]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Colchester United | 1961–62[2] | Fourth Division | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 1962–63[2] | Third Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 38 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 2 | ||