Lenny Pidgeley

DOB: 7th February 1984

Position: Goalkeeper

Season of first appearance: 2017/18

Season of last appearance: 2017/18

Full Appearances: 38

Substitute: 0

Goals: 0

Clean Sheets: 16

Also played for:

Chelsea, Watford, Millwall, Carlisle United, Woking, Bradford City, Exeter City, Newport County, Mansfield Town, Leatherhead, Forest Green Rovers, Hastings United, Farnborough.

Player Profile:

Born in Twickenham, Middlesex, Lenny signed for Chelsea as a teenager at the start of the 2002-03 season and was loaned to Watford during 2003-04. His made his Watford debut on 4.10.03 as a substitute in a 1–0 win at Crewe Alexandra after the dismissal of Alec Chamberlain.

Due to Carlo Cudicini being suspended, Lenny was on the bench as Chelsea won the 2005 Football League Cup Final against Liverpool at Cardiff on 27.2.05. He made his debut for Chelsea coming on as a substitute for Cudicini in the final home game of the 2004–05 Premiership season, a 1-0 win against Charlton Athletic on 7.5.05.

Except for a League Cup game while on loan at Millwall, Lenny spent the whole of 2005–06 at Chelsea as third choice keeper behind Petr ÄŒech and Cudicini. He was given the number 40 shirt by Chelsea, a reference to his time at Watford when they beat Watford 4–0 in an FA Cup tie with Lenny in goal.

He made his first start for Chelsea in the last match of the season - a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on 7.5.06 - after Cudicini had been injured in the pre-match warm up.

In his time at Chelsea, Lenny had been selected for England youth squads.

He sought regular first-team football and signed a three-year contract with Millwall in League One in June 2006. He became their first choice goalkeeper in 2006-07 before injury and the arrival of new manager Kenny Jackett the following season. In August 2008, he had a loan spell at Woking. 

After a total of 55 appearances for the Lions, he left Millwall to sign a one-year deal with Carlisle United in July 2009.

He spent the first two months of 2010-11 with Woking. Lenny then moved to Bradford City in October 2010.

In June 2011, Lenny signed for League One side Exeter City on a one-year contract. He was released by Exeter in May 2012 after the club was relegated from League One.

At the start of 2012-13, he signed a short-term contract with Conference club Newport County as cover for the injured Alan Julian. Due to his fine form and ongoing injury to Julian, his contract was extended until the end of the season. Newport reached the play-offs and won the final 2-0 versus Wrexham at Wembley to gain promotion to the Football League.

In February 2015, Lenny joined Mansfield Town on loan until the end of the 2014-15 season. He was released by Newport in May 2015 at the end of his contract.

In January 2016, Lenny dropped into non-league to join Isthmian League Leatherhead. Later that season, however, he joined National League side Forest Green Rovers. He took on a temporary goalkeeper coach role as Rovers reached the 2015-16 National League play-off final at Wembley Stadium only to lose 3–1 against Grimsby Town.

In July 2016, Lenny signed for Isthmian League Division One South side Hastings United, joining former Chelsea team-mate Steven Watt, who was assistant manager. He then followed Watt, who by now was Margate manager, to Hartsdown in May 2017.

Lenny started the 2017-18 league campaign with a clean sheet as Margate won 1-0 at Thurrock on 12.8.17. He shared the Isthmian League Goalkeeper of the Month award for August and kept clean sheets in eight of his next 12 appearances.

After a 2-0 win at Lowestoft on 18.11.17, Watt told the Margate website: “The way we have defended this season has been extremely pleasing, our desire to not concede goals is something I’m extremely proud of. From front to back we have defended as a team superbly.

“Having said that, teams are going to create chances but when they do we are extremely lucky to have someone like Lenny in goal. In my opinion we have one of the best keepers at this level.”

Yet Lenny was surprisingly absent from the next match at Tooting on 21.11.17 and Patrick Lee played in his place. Lenny returned for a 1-1 draw at Burgess Hill on 2.12.17 but in December it was announced that Lenny was taking a break from football. 

A club statement said: "Margate Football Club can confirm that first-team goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley has been allowed compassionate leave for the month of December.

"Pidgeley will spend time away from the game to focus on his personal life and the club fully supports him and looks forward to welcoming him back in the New Year. Everyone at the club sends Lenny all our best."

Lenny’s return came on 20.1.18 for a 3-2 home win versus Tooting and he missed only one more game between then and the end of the campaign. In all, he kept 16 clean sheets during the season.

Lenny left Margate at the end of the 2017-18, citing the distance to Hartsdown from his home in Middlesex. He then joined Southern League Farnborough.

In September 2018, after only a handful of games, Farnborough, against his wishes, announced that Lenny had retired from football with immediate effect due to a ‘significant long term personal medical condition’.

Lenny then revealed on social media that he had suffered from depression for ten years.

Later, in an interview with Four Four Two magazine, he said: “I phoned the manager at Farnborough, saying I wouldn’t be able to play an evening game where I’d have had to drive for more than two hours to get there. I knew my body. I hadn’t been sleeping or eating properly, and I was as white as a ghost as the depression began to kick in.

“My palms were sweating, my heart was racing, and the thought of even leaving my flat was alien to me. If my girlfriend had asked me to pop down the road to get a Chinese takeaway, I wouldn’t have done, let alone drive to Lewes to play in goal for 90 minutes.

“After speaking to the manager, I was told that Farnborough’s other keeper was also unavailable and that I had to play. He tried to give me no option. My attempts to explain myself weren’t getting through to him. I told him this wasn’t simply a phase – I’d completely had it with football and was going to call it a day.”