Garry Flitcroft
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Garry William Flitcroft (born November 6, 1972 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is a former English football player.
Flitcroft's career started in 1991 with Manchester City, for whom he had played for most of his career, albeit having a brief spell at Bury in March 1992. After five years at with City, having played 142 games, some as captain, he joined Blackburn in March 1996 for £3.5m. The combative midfielder was signed in favour of Zinadine Zidane, who then subsequently signed for Juventus for £3m, due to club owner Jack Walker and then manager Ray Harford's xenophobic attitudes. Despite being sent off after just three minutes of his debut, he went on to serve as Blackburn's captain, and was a very confident midfielder.
During the 2001-02 season however, he was unmasked in the newspapers as allegedly having had an extra-marital affair. The lawsuit resulting from this allegation, A v B & C, was notable for the way it weighed personal privacy rights against the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights (applicable since the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force in 2000).
The allegations of infidelity did not halt Garry's career, as he continued to make appearances for the club, his 250th coming during the 2003-04 season. Blackburn allowed him to join Sheffield United on a free transfer on January 12 2006 where his Premiership experience was expected to make him a permanent figure in United's midfield. However, due to a persistent knee injury, Flitcoft was forced to retire in July 2006 after just a handful of games for the club.
[edit] External links
- A v B & C 2002 EWCA Civ 337, a discussion of Garry's lawsuit
[edit] Clubs
| Season | Club | Apps (Sub) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1992 | Bury F.C. | 12 (0) | 0 |
| 1992–1993 | Manchester City F.C. | 28 (4) | 6 |
| 1993–1994 | Manchester City F.C. | 19 (2) | 3 |
| 1994–1995 | Manchester City F.C. | 37 (0) | 5 |
| 1995–1996 | Manchester City F.C. | 30 (0) | 1 |
| 1995–1996 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 3 (0) | 0 |
| 1996–1997 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 30 (1) | 4 |
| 1997–1998 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 31 (6) | 0 |
| 1998–1999 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 10 (0) | 3 |
| 1999–2000 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 18 (1) | 0 |
| 2000–2001 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 48 (1) | 5 |
| 2001–2002 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 29 (3) | 1 |
| 2002–2003 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 39 (1) | 4 |
| 2003–2004 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 31 (2) | 3 |
| 2004–2005 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 20 (3) | 0 |
| 2005–2006 | Blackburn Rovers F.C. | 1 (1) | 0 |
| 2005–2006 | Sheffield United F.C. | 3 (3) | 0 |
