Tony Funnell

Tony Funnell
Personal information
Full name Anthony Funnell[1]
Date of birth (1957-08-20) 20 August 1957
Place of birth Eastbourne, England
Playing position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1975–1977 Eastbourne United
1977–1979 Southampton 17 (8)
1977 → Vancouver Whitecaps (loan) 10 (2)
1979–1980 Gillingham 33 (10)
1980–1981 Brentford 32 (8)
1981–1983 Bournemouth 64 (22)
Poole Town
Teams managed
Hamworthy United
Wimborne Town

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Anthony "Tony" Funnell (born 20 August 1957) is a retired English professional football forward who appeared in the Football League for Bournemouth, Gillingham, Brentford and Southampton.[1] After dropping into non-league football, he had a notable spell with Poole Town, making over 300 appearances and being inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2014.[1][2] He later became a manager.

Playing career

Southampton

Funnell joined Division Two side Southampton in January 1977,[3] having risen to prominence at Athenian League club Eastbourne United. He made quite an impression in just 18 appearances during the 1977–78 season, scoring 9 goals to help the Saints clinch promotion to Division One with a second-place finish.[4] The higher level of football during the 1978–79 season meant Funnell rarely figured in the first team picture and he departed The Dell in March 1979.[5] Funnell made 20 appearances and scored 9 goals during his time with Southampton.[4]

Vancouver Whitecaps (loan)

Funnell spent the 1977 English off-season in Canada with North American Soccer League side Vancouver Whitecaps.[6] He scored two goals in 10 games for the side,[6] which fell to the Seattle Sounders in the first round of the 1977 playoffs.

Gillingham

Funnell signed for Division Three side Gillingham for a then-club record fee of £50,000 in March 1979.[1][5] He failed to fully break through into the first team, making 38 appearances and scoring 10 goals during just over a year at Priestfield.

Brentford

Funnell joined Division Three club Brentford for a then-club record fee of £50,000 in March 1980.[1][3] Not rated by new manager Fred Callaghan, he made only 23 appearances and scored six goals during his only full season at Griffin Park.[1] Funnell departed the Bees in the summer of 1981, having made 35 appearances and scored 10 goals.[1]

Bournemouth

Funnell signed for Division Four side Bournemouth in September 1981.[3] Under David Webb's management, he had the best season of his career in 1981–82, top-scoring 16 goals in 43 league games to help the Cherries to promotion to Division Three with a fourth-place finish.[7] An injury during the 1982–83 season ended Funnell's career in league football.[1] He made 64 appearances and scored 22 goals during his time at Dean Court.[7]

Poole Town

After departing Bournemouth, Funnell dropped into non-league football and signed for Southern League Premier Division side Poole Town in 1983.[1] In a long spell with the club, Funnell scored 127 goals in 308 games for the Dolphins.[1] He was rewarded for his service with a testimonial versus former side Southampton in May 1991 and was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2014.[2]

Managerial career

Funnell had spells as manager of Dorset League side Hamworthy United and Wessex League club Wimborne Town.[1]

Personal life

Funnell's son Gary is also a footballer and represented non-league clubs Wimborne Town, Salisbury City and Poole Town, in addition to the England beach soccer team at international level.[8]

Honours

As an individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 61. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  2. 1 2 "Hall of Fame 2014". Poole Town FC. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Barry Hugman's Footballers - Tony Funnell". hugmansfootballers.com. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  4. 1 2 "Tony Funnell". 11v11.com. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Southampton v Norwich City, 11 November 1978". 11v11.com. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/F/Funnell.Tony.htm. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. 1 2 Ian Wadley. "Funnell: Cherries have done 10 times better than Saints". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Ian Wadley. "Wimborne Town: Funnell after more FA Cup exploits". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.