Leon Townley

Leon Townley (born 16 February 1976) is an English retired semi-professional footballer, best remembered for his spell as a defender with Brentford in the Football League between 1997 and 1999. After his release, he dropped into non-League football and retired from senior football in 2005.

Leon Townley
Personal information
Full name Leon Townley[1]
Date of birth (1976-02-16) 16 February 1976
Place of birth Loughton, England
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1992–1994 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
1997–1999 Brentford 16 (2)
1999 → Slough Town (loan) 7 (2)
1999–2001 Slough Town 58 (1)
2001–2002 Aldershot Town 43 (1)
2002 St Albans City 16 (0)
2002 → Windsor & Eton (loan)
2002–2004 Windsor & Eton
2004–2005 Boreham Wood 4 (1)
2005 Hitchin Town 6 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2009 Debden Sports (reserves)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Tottenham Hotspur

Townley began his career as a trainee at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 1992 and signed a professional contract at the age of 18 in 1994.[3] Townley received his maiden call into the first team for Spurs' 1995 Intertoto Cup campaign,[4] though he failed to make an appearance and was an unused substitute during an infamous 8–0 defeat to 1. FC Köln in July 1995.[5] Townley left White Hart Lane in 1997, after failing to break into the first team.[6]

Brentford

On 18 September 1997, Townley joined Second Division club Brentford on a three-year contract for a £25,000 fee, rising to £55,000 on appearances.[7] He made his debut the following day with a starting appearance in a 1–1 home league draw with Wycombe Wanderers.[8] He scored his first Brentford goals in a 3–1 win over Blackpool on 13 December 1997, scoring his first after two Blackpool players were sent off on the hour mark and scoring again in the 78th minute.[8] He fell out of favour with new manager Micky Adams in January 1998 and finished the 1997–98 season with 19 appearances and three goals.[8]

After Brentford's relegation to the Third Division in May 1998,[9] incoming manager Ron Noades elected to transfer-list Townley during the 1998 off-season.[10] He failed to make a single appearance during the Bees' 1998–99 Third Division championship-winning season and instead played for the reserve team.[2][10] Townley left the club in September 1999, when his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[10]

Non-League football

Townley joined Isthmian League Premier Division club Slough Town on a one-month loan on 23 August 1999 and the move was made permanent in September 1999.[7][11] A virtual ever-present, Townley made a total of 48 appearances in all competitions during the 1999–00 season and scored four goals.[11] He made 33 appearances during the 2000–01 season and left the club after its relegation to the Isthmian League First Division in May 2001.[11][12] Townley made a total of 81 appearances during his time at Arbour Park and scored four goals.[11]

Between 2001 and 2009, Townley played in the Isthmian, Southern and Hertfordshire Senior County Leagues for Aldershot Town, St Albans City, Windsor & Eton, Boreham Wood, Hitchin Town and Debden Sports.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tottenham Hotspur 1995–96[5] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Brentford 1997–98[8] Second Division 18 2 1 0 1 0 — 1[lower-alpha 1] 1 19 3
Slough Town 1999–00[11] Isthmian League Premier Division 35 2 3 0 — — 10[lower-alpha 2] 2 48 4
2000–01[11] Isthmian League Premier Division 30 0 0 0 — — 3[lower-alpha 3] 0 33 0
Total 65 2 3 0 — — 13 2 81 4
Aldershot Town 2001–02[27] Isthmian League Premier Division 25 1 0 0 — — 0 0 43 1
St Albans City 2002–03[28] Isthmian League Premier Division 16 1 2 0 — — 2[lower-alpha 4] 1 20 2
Boreham Wood 2004–05[29] Southern League First Division East 2 0 0 0 — — 0 0 2 0
2005–06[22] Southern League First Division East 2 1 0 0 — — 0 0 2 1
Total 4 1 0 0 — — 0 0 4 1
Hitchin Town 2005–06[30] Southern League Premier Division 6 0 — — — 2[lower-alpha 5] 0 8 0
Career total 134 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 18 4 159 11
  1. Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. 4 appearances and 1 goal in Berks & Bucks Senior Cup, 4 appearances and 1 goal in Isthmian League Full Members Cup, 1 appearance in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Isthmian League Cup
  3. 1 appearance in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Isthmian League Cup, 1 appearance in Isthmian League Full Members Cup
  4. 1 appearance and 1 goal in Herts Charity Cup, 1 appearance in Herts Senior Cup
  5. Appearances in FA Trophy

References
  1. "Leon Townley". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  2. "Brentford Squad". Archived from the original on 26 May 2000. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  3. "leon townley – fact file". archive.mehstg.com. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  4. "Tottenham's ill-Fated Venture Into The 1995–96 Intertoto Cup". Hotspur HQ – A Tottenham Hotspur Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion, and More. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  5. "Inside the Intertoto Cup". theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  6. "Leon Townley". 11v11.com. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  7. Leon Townley at Soccerbase
  8. "Games played by Leon Townley in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  9. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  10. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 421. ISBN 9781906796723.
  11. "Leon Townley". SloughTownFC.net – The Official Website of Slough Town FC. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  12. Slough Town F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  13. "Leon Townley: 2001/2002 Biography & Statistics". Aldershot Town Football Club. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  14. "Forward thinking". Watford Observer. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  15. "Close Season Signings (Eleven)". NonLeagueDaily.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  16. "Leon Townley". St Albans City F.C. History & Archives. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  17. "Double Dose Of Good News For Saints". NonLeagueDaily.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  18. "Football: Vauxhall Trophy hopes dashed". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  19. "Leon Townley (Windsor & Eton)". Manchester United FC – United Mad. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  20. "Berkhamsted T'n 1–2 B.W.F.C." webteams.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  21. "October News Archive". southern-football-league.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  22. "Player Details: Season 2005–2006 Leon Townley". SoccerFacts UK. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  23. "Goal Scorers 2007–08". debdensportsclub.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  24. "Goal Scorers 2008–09". debdensportsclub.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  25. "A Team Report – Wednesday 29-04-2009". debdensportsclub.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  26. "Leon Townley". fishpondersfactsandstats.info. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  27. "Player Details: Season 2001–2002 Leon Townley". SoccerFacts UK. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  28. "Season 2002–03 appearances". St Albans City F.C. History & Archives. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  29. "Player Details: Season 2004–2005 Leon Townley". SoccerFacts UK. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  30. "Fixtures 2000–2009". fishpondersfactsandstats.info. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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