George Abbey (footballer)

George Peterson Abbey (born 20 October 1978) is a former Nigeria international footballer who played as a defender.

George Abbey

Personal information
Full name	George Peterson Abbey[1]
Date of birth	(1978-10-20) 20 October 1978
Place of birth	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Playing position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1996–1999	Sharks F.C.
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2004	Macclesfield Town	100	(1)
2004–2007	Port Vale	62	(1)
2007–2009	Crewe Alexandra	30	(0)
2010–2011	Akritas Chlorakas	8	(0)
Total		192	(2)
National team
2003–2007	Nigeria	18	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Starting his career with Sharks, in 1999 he moved to England to play for Macclesfield Town. After five years at Town, he signed with Port Vale in December 2004. He moved on to Crewe Alexandra in summer 2007, and left the club after a two-year stay. In 2010, he moved to Cyprus to play for Akritas Chlorakas. He was in the Nigeria squad for the third-place finish in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Abbey was born to a Nigerian father and a Welsh mother. He grew up in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt along with fellow footballer Joseph Yobo, who has remained his close friend since they both left the country.[3]

After playing for Sharks F.C. in his hometown, he left for England and was signed up with Sammy McIlroy's Macclesfield Town in 1999.[3] He played 18 games in the Third Division in 1999–2000. He featured 23 times in the 2000–01 campaign, and made 19 appearances under David Moss in 2001–02. He scored his first goal in the Football League on 15 April 2003, in a 3–2 win over Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.[4] Abbey played 24 games in 2002–03, as Macclesfield finished just six points clear of the relegation zone. He featured 30 times in the 2003–04 campaign, as he helped the "Silkmen" to finish three places and seven points above relegated Carlisle United. He played a total of 117 league and cup games for Macclesfield, before being released by manager Brian Horton in the summer.

Abbey was reported to be looking to sign for a Premier League club,[5] but instead he was signed up by League One side Port Vale in December 2004.[6] He played 18 times in the 2004–05 season, helping Vale to avoid relegation into League Two by a five-point margin. He featured 22 times in the 2005–06 season. Abbey played 31 games in 2006–07, scoring in a 2–1 defeat to rivals Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 4 November. He released by manager Martin Foyle in May 2007.[7]

He joined Crewe Alexandra at the end of July 2007.[8] He featured 23 times for Steve Holland's "Railwaymen" in 2007–08, and signed a two-year contract at the end of the season.[9] However, he played just seven times for new boss Guðjón Þórðarson, and agreed to have his contract terminated in May 2009.[10] Abbey underwent a trial at Tranmere Rovers, playing in pre-season friendlies against Cammell Laird, Preston North End and Liverpool.[11] However, due to Rovers financial difficulties, they were unable to offer Abbey a permanent contract.

In 2010, he joined Akritas Chlorakas in the Cypriot Second Division. He stayed for the 2010–11 season before retiring from football to become a fitness trainer.[12]

International career

Abbey was part of the Nigeria squad that participated at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations held in Tunisia, thanks in part to a close relationship with Everton player Joseph Yobo, with whom he offered advice to when deciding whether to move to Everton. The "Super Eagles" lost to Tunisia at the semi-final stage, before beating Mali 2–1 to claim third-place. He was not called up to the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, to his great disappointment.[13]

Statistics

Club statistics

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Macclesfield Town	1999–2000[14]	Third Division	18	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	21	0
	2000–01[15]	Third Division	18	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	23	0
	2001–02[16]	Third Division	17	0	1	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	19	0
	2002–03[17]	Third Division	22	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	24	1
	2003–04[18]	Third Division	25	0	3	0	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	30	0
	2004–05[19]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		100	1	9	0	6	0	2	0	117	1
Port Vale	2004–05[19]	League One	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
	2005–06[20]	League One	20	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	22	0
	2006–07[21]	League One	24	1	2	0	3	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	31	1
	Total		62	1	3	0	4	0	2	0	71	1
Crewe Alexandra	2007–08[22]	League One	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	0
	2008–09[23]	League One	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
Akritas Chlorakas	2010–11[24]	Cypriot Second Division	8	0							8	0
Career total			200	2	12	0	10	0	4	0	226	2

1. Appearance/s in the Football League Trophy.

International statistics

Nigeria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2003	3	0
2004	11	0
2005	1	0
2006	2	0
2007	1	0
Total[24]	18	0

Honours

Nigeria

• Africa Cup of Nations third-place: 2004

References

1. "George Abbey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2006/07". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
3. Copnall, James (12 February 2004). "Abbey days". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
4. "Shrewsbury vs Macclesfield". mtfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
5. White, Nicolas (12 February 2005). "Abbey eyes the Premiership". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
6. "Vale snap up former Macc defender". BBC Sport. 17 December 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
7. "Vale boss Foyle clears the decks". BBC Sport. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
8. "Crewe set to sign Abbey and Lynch". BBC Sport. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
9. "Alex duo agree terms on new deals". BBC Sport. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
10. "Daniel and Abbey released by Crewe". The Sentinel. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
11. Hilton, Nick (22 July 2009). "Tranmere Rovers hit back at Southport after John Barnes pep talk". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
12. "Profiles". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
13. "Abbey frustrated by Nigerian snub". BBC Sport. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
14. "Games played by George Abbey in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
15. "Games played by George Abbey in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
16. "Games played by George Abbey in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
17. "Games played by George Abbey in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
18. "Games played by George Abbey in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
19. "Games played by George Abbey in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
20. "Games played by George Abbey in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
21. "Games played by George Abbey in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
22. "Games played by George Abbey in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
23. "Games played by George Abbey in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
24. "George Abbey". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 7 August 2015.