Gary Blissett
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Blissett | ||
| Date of birth | 29 June 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1983–1987 | Crewe | 129 | (79) |
| 1987–1993 | Brentford | 238 | (131) |
| 1993–1997 | Wimbledon | 76 | (51) |
| 1995 | Wycombe (loan) | 8 | (7) |
| 1996 | Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 10 | (12) |
| 1997 | Sembawang Rangers | ||
| 1997–2001 | SV Elversberg | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 January 2007. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
He played for Crewe Alexandra, Brentford and Wimbledon in a professional career spanning almost fifteen years. Whilst at Wimbledon, he also had a short loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers.
Whilst at Brentford, Blissett became a strong fan favourite and fitted well into the team's long-ball style at the time, similar to Marcus Gayle, who was also at the club during this era and would later be his team-mate at Wimbledon.
In December 1992, Blissett was acquitted of GBH after challenging for an aerial ball with Torquay United player John Uzzell in an away game at Plainmoor 12 months earlier. It was alleged by Uzzell that Blissett had deliberately elbowed him in the face, fracturing his eye socket, although the court did not agree with this. Blissett has always maintained that the incident was an accidental collision and video evidence of the challenge was deemed to show that Blissett kept his eyes on the ball and, furthermore, that in jumping to head an aerial ball, a player would typically raise one or both arms to gain height.[1]
He later played in Singapore for Sembawang Rangers and in Germany for SV Elversberg. He has stayed in Germany post-retirement, firstly as assistant manager, then reserve team manager at Elversberg.
He is currently based in Philadelphia, where he and his business partner, Alan Cockram, are coaching under 18's, as well as developing their business; Soccer Sounds.
References
- ↑ Haylett, Trevor (4 December 1992). "Football: Torquay anger at Kelly after Blissett cleared". The Independent (London).
- ↑ Rob Hughes (27 August 2006). "Rise of the elbow". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2007.