Ian Bray

Ian Michael Bray (born 6 December 1962) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a full-back. During his career, he played for Hereford United, Huddersfield Town and Burnley and made more than 200 appearances in the Football League.

Ian Bray
Personal information
Full name Ian Michael Bray
Date of birth (1962-12-06) 6 December 1962
Place of birth Neath, Wales
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1985 Hereford United 108 (4)
1985–1990 Huddersfield Town 89 (1)
1990–1992 Burnley 17 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Born in Neath, in southern Wales, Bray started his career as an apprentice at Football League Fourth Division side Hereford United before signing his first professional contract with the club in December 1980. He made his senior debut at the beginning of the 1981–82 season and in his first five matches he scored two goals. During the same campaign he had a loan spell at New Zealand club Stop Out.[1] Bray became a first-team regular for Hereford over the following four seasons, making 108 league appearances and scoring four goals during his time at Edgar Street.[2]

Ahead of the 1985–86 campaign, Bray left Hereford to join Second Division club Huddersfield Town on a free transfer. He went on to play 89 league games for the side, scoring once, but was injured during the 1987–88 season as Huddersfield were relegated to the Third Division. The injury caused him to miss the whole of the next season and he was subsequently released from his contract in the summer of 1990.[2]

Following his release by Huddersfield, Bray returned to the Fourth Division with Burnley, who were managed by Frank Casper. He made his league debut for the club alongside fellow new signing Paul France in the opening match of the 1990–91 campaign, a 2–2 draw against Lincoln City at Turf Moor. Bray kept his place for several matches before being dropped in favour of Ray Deakin, but regained the left-back berth towards the end of the season when the latter was unavailable through injury. He went on to make ten appearances during the following campaign, six of them in the league, before again being dropped for Joe Jakub. Bray played his final match for Burnley on 19 October 1991 in the 2–0 home win over Walsall.[3] Following the arrival of new manager Jimmy Mullen, Bray did not play again for the club; he was released in April 1992 and subsequently retired from professional football.[2]

After retirement

As of November 2011, Bray was a coach at junior football club Scholes United in Huddersfield.[4]

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References

General

  • Hugman, Barry (2005). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946-2005. Queen Anne Press.
  • Ian Bray at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database

Specific

  1. "Ian Bray". HU-FC.co.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  2. Simpson, Ray (1996). The Clarets Collection 1946–1996. Burnley FC. pp. 33–34. ISBN 0-9521799-0-3.
  3. "Ian Bray". The Longside Reference. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  4. Barrow, Peter (15 November 2011). "Junior Football: YMCA's Oliver Tucker off to Australia". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
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