Karl Elsey

Karl Elsey
Personal information
Full name Karl William Elsey[1]
Date of birth (1958-11-20) 20 November 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Swansea, Wales
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Pembroke Borough
Swansea City 0 (0)
Pembroke Borough
1979–1980 Queens Park Rangers 7 (0)
1980–1983 Newport County 123 (15)
1983–1985 Cardiff City 59 (5)
1985–1988 Gillingham 128 (13)
1988–1989 Reading 44 (3)
1989–1991 Maidstone United 72 (5)
1991–1992 Gillingham 27 (3)
1992–1993 Sittingbourne
1993–1994 Braintree Town
1994 Ashford Town (Kent) 10 (0)
1994 Hastings Town
1994 Faversham Town
1994–1996 Margate
1996 Ramsgate
1996–1997 Chatham Town
1997 Lordswood
1998 Maidstone United
Managerial career
1995–1996 Margate
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Karl William Elsey (born 20 November 1958)[2] is a Welsh former professional footballer. His clubs included Swansea City, Queens Park Rangers, Newport County, Cardiff City, Gillingham, Reading and Maidstone United.[3] In total he made over 450 Football League appearances.

Career

Elsey joined Pembroke Borough from local amateur football and had a brief spell with Swansea City in the 1978–79 season before returning to Pembroke Borough. He signed for Queens Park Rangers in January 1979, but failed to establish himself.

Elsey moved to Newport County in July 1980, during the most successful period in the club's history. Elsey was part of the team that won promotion to the Football League Third Division, won the 1980 Welsh Cup and in the subsequent season reached the quarter-final of the 1981 European Cup Winners Cup.

He moved to Cardiff City in September 1983 in a move that saw Elsey and Nigel Vaughan join Cardiff from Newport in exchange for Tarki Micallef, John Lewis and Linden Jones. He played over 60 games for Cardiff before joining Gillingham on a free transfer in May 1985. He moved to Reading in August 1988 and, although virtually ever-present in the Reading side the following season, left to join Maidstone United in July 1989. He rejoined Gillingham in August 1991, but dropped out of league football in March 1992 when he joined Sittingbourne.

He moved to Braintree Town in December 1993, but in February 1994 moved to Ashford Town (Kent).[4] The following month he joined Hastings Town.

In September 1994 he joined Faversham Town, but the following month left to join Margate. In April 1995 he became Margate's caretaker manager and was appointed as player-manager in early May. He was sacked in March 1996 and joined Ramsgate as a player. In April 1996 he joined Chatham Town and became their player-manager in October 1996. He left Chatham in March 1997 and joined Lordswood as a player. He remained with Lordswood until early in the following season when he dropped out of senior football.

He signed for Maidstone United in the 1998 close season and played twice for the reformed side in the Kent County League before retiring in September 1998.

Personal life

His father Billy was also a professional footballer and played for Swansea.

References

  1. ^ Barry J. Hugman (1998). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946-1998. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 1-85291-585-4.
  2. ^ Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 110. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
  3. ^ Karl Elsey at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
  4. ^ "Karl Elsey player profile". www.nutsandboltsarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2022.