George Abbey (footballer)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | George Peterson Abbey | ||
Date of birth | 20 October 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Port Harcourt, Nigeria | ||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
1996–1999 | Sharks F.C. | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2004 | Macclesfield Town | 100 | (1) |
2004–2007 | Port Vale | 62 | (1) |
2007–2009 | Crewe Alexandra | 30 | (0) |
2010–2011 | Akritas Chlorakas | 8 | (0) |
Total | 192 | (2) | |
National team | |||
2003–2007 | Nigeria | 18 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
George Peterson Abbey (born 20 October 1978) is a former Nigeria international football defender.
Starting his career with Sharks, in 1999 he moved to England to play for Macclesfield Town. After five years at Town, he signed with Port Vale in December 2004. He moved on to Crewe Alexandra in summer 2007, and left the club after a two-year stay. In 2010 he moved to Cyprus to play for Akritas Chlorakas. He was in the Nigeria squad for the third-place finish in the 2004 African Cup of Nations.
Club career
Abbey was born to a Nigerian father and a Welsh mother. He grew up in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt along with fellow footballer Joseph Yobo, who has remained his close friend since they both left the country.[1]
After playing for Sharks F.C. in his hometown, he left for England and was signed up with Sammy McIlroy's Macclesfield Town in 1999.[1] He played 18 games in the Third Division in 1999–2000. He featured 23 times in the 2000–01 campaign, and made 19 appearances under David Moss in 2001–02. He scored his first goal in the Football League on 15 April 2003, in a 3–2 win over Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.[2] Abbey played 24 games in 2002–03, as Macclesfield finished just six points clear of the relegation zone. He featured 30 times in the 2003–04 campaign, as he helped the "Silkmen" to finish three places and seven points above relegated Carlisle United. He played a total of 117 league and cup games for Macclesfield, before being released by manager Brian Horton in the summer.
Abbey was reported to be looking to sign for a Premier League club,[3] but instead he was signed up by League One side Port Vale in December 2004.[4] He played 18 times in the 2004–05 season, helping Vale to avoid relegation into League Two by a five-point margin. He featured 22 times in the 2005–06 season. Abbey played 31 games in 2006–07, scoring in a 2–1 defeat to rivals Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 4 November. He released by manager Martin Foyle in May 2007.[5]
He joined Crewe Alexandra at the end of July 2007.[6] He featured 23 times for Steve Holland's "Railwaymen" in 2007–08, and signed a two-year contract at the end of the season.[7] However he played just seven times for new boss Guðjón Þórðarson, and agreed to have his contract terminated in May 2009.[8] Abbey underwent a trial at Tranmere Rovers, playing in pre-season friendlies against Cammell Laird, Preston North End and Liverpool.[9] However, due to Rovers financial difficulties, they were unable to offer Abbey a permanent contract.
In 2010 he joined Akritas Chlorakas in the Cypriot Second Division. He stayed for the 2010–11 season before retiring from football to become a fitness trainer.[10]
International career
Abbey was part of the Nigeria squad that participated at the 2004 African Cup of Nations held in Tunisia, thanks in part to a close relationship with Everton player Joseph Yobo, with whom he offered advice to when deciding whether to move to Everton. The "Super Eagles" lost to Tunisia at the semi-final stage, before beating Mali 2–1 to claim third-place. He was not called up to the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, to his great disappointment.[11]
Statistics
Club statistics
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Macclesfield Town | 1999–2000[12] | Third Division | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
2000–01[13] | Third Division | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
2001–02[14] | Third Division | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
2002–03[15] | Third Division | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
2003–04[16] | Third Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
2004–05[17] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 100 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 1 | ||
Port Vale | 2004–05[17] | League One | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
2005–06[18] | League One | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
2006–07[19] | League One | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
Total | 62 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 1 | ||
Crewe Alexandra | 2007–08[20] | League One | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
2008–09[21] | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
Akritas Chlorakas | 2010–11[22] | Cypriot Second Division | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
Career total | 200 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 226 | 2 |
- 1 2 3 Appearance/s in the Football League Trophy.
International statistics
Nigeria national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2003 | 3 | 0 |
2004 | 11 | 0 |
2005 | 1 | 0 |
2006 | 2 | 0 |
2007 | 1 | 0 |
Total[22] | 18 | 0 |
Honours
- with Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations third-place: 2004
References
- 1 2 Copnall, James (12 February 2004). "Abbey days". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Shrewsbury vs Macclesfield". mtfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ↑ White, Nicolas (12 February 2005). "Abbey eyes the Premiership". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Vale snap up former Macc defender". BBC Sport. 17 December 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Vale boss Foyle clears the decks". BBC Sport. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Crewe set to sign Abbey and Lynch". BBC Sport. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Alex duo agree terms on new deals". BBC Sport. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Daniel and Abbey released by Crewe". The Sentinel. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- ↑ Hilton, Nick (22 July 2009). "Tranmere Rovers hit back at Southport after John Barnes pep talk". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ↑ "Profiles". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "Abbey frustrated by Nigerian snub". BBC Sport. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- 1 2 "Games played by George Abbey in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ↑ "Games played by George Abbey in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- 1 2 "George Abbey". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
External links
- George Abbey career statistics at Soccerbase
- George Abbey at National-Football-Teams.com