Barry Thornley

DOB: 11th February 1948

Position: Full-back

Season of first appearance: 1975/76

Season of last appearance: 1976/77

Full Appearances: 109

Substitute: 0

Goals: 5

Also played for:

Gravesend & Northfleet, Brentford (7,0), Oxford United (25+1,4), Chelmsford City, Ramsgate and Dover.

Player Profile:

Gravesend-born player who started his career as a left winger with his hometown club during the 1964/65 season. Barry made 18 appearances for the Fleet, scoring three goals, before moving into League football with Brentford in September 1965.

Barry spent two years at Griffin Park but he never really established himself in Brentford's first-team and only made seven senior appearances.

In July 1967, Barry was transferred to Oxford and featured more regularly for them during the 1967/68 and 1968/69 seasons before dropping back into non-league football.

He joined Chelmsford for the 1969/70 season and won their 'Player of the Year' award. Barry went on to make a total of 210 appearances for City and scored in a 4-3 win over Margate on 31.3.72. He also had a spell on loan at Ramsgate, making eight appearances for them towards the end of the 1972/73 season.

In the summer of 1973, Barry joined Dover for a fee of £1,000 and he scored 13 goals in two seasons at Crabble before moving to Margate in the summer of 1975.

He made his debut on 18.8.75, coincidentally in a 1-0 win at his old club Chelmsford, and Barry initially played on the left wing. However, he soon moved to the left-back position and the Thanet Times' report on a 1-1 draw at Stourbridge on 30.8.75 said he gave a "thoroughly professional display" there. The paper described Barry as being a player of "proven talent and excellent reputation" with "the speed of an express train". He was also said to have a "legendary left peg".

Barry was a model of consistency during the 1975/76 campaign and made 61 appearances, scoring twice. One of his goals was a 40-yard free-kick that floated past former Margate keeper Brian Hughes during a 1-1 draw at Tonbridge on 29.11.75. On 22.4.76, Barry played as Margate won 2-0 at Canterbury in the 1st Leg of the Kent Floodlight Trophy Final and he also featured in the 2nd Leg at Hartsdown Park on 24.4.76 which the visitors won 2-1 after extra time. The result meant Margate took the trophy with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Despite being sent off in a pre-season friendly against Gravesend & Northfleet on 14.8.76, Barry continued to be a fixture in the side at left-back during the 1976/77 campaign and he made 48 appearances, scoring three times. Two of his goals were penalties - both in a 4-1 home win over Telford on 5.4.77 - and the other was a 35-yard effort in a 2-1 win over Weymouth at Hartsdown Park on 8.3.77. Barry left the club at the end of the season, shortly after Margate's relegation from the Southern League Premier Division was confirmed. He then retired from football aged just 29 to concentrate on his business interests.

Barry later worked in insurance for Liverpool Victoria and during the early 2000s was believed to be living in Norfolk.