John Bartley (footballer)

John Reginald Bartley (born 15 September 1958) is an English former professional footballer who played in the English Football League as a forward. He was a prolific scorer, scoring over 500 goals for Welling United.

John Bartley
Personal information
Full name John Reginald Bartley
Date of birth (1958-09-15) 15 September 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Camberwell, England
Height 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) 9
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1975–1980 Welling United 326 (450)
1980–1982 Millwall 40 (8)
1982 Kuopion Elo 8 (5)
1982–1984 Maidstone United 98 (72)
1984–1986 Welling United 75 (76)
1986–1987 Maidstone United 16 (13)
1987–1988 Chelmsford City 27 (21)
1988–1989 Dartford 38 (31)
1989–1991 Alma Swanley 86 (86)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career edit

Bartley began his career with Welling United, where he played as a youth. For the under-18s, he scored 64 goals in 40 games. He debuted for the first team in the 1974-75 season in the Athenian League and continued to play for both the senior and youth teams the following season. For both teams in 1975-76, he scored 113 goals. For the next five seasons, his average scoring remained over a goal per game. For Welling, he scored 450 goals in 326 appearances.[1]

Thanks to his prolific goalscoring, Bartley signed for Second Division Millwall for £12,000 in 1980,[2] but failed to score consistently. After a brief spell in Finland, he then joined Maidstone United in the Alliance Premier League for around £5,000.[3] With Maidstone, he finished second and then won the league in 1983-84.[1]

Bartley returned to Welling in 1984-85 for a club record fee of £8,000[2] and won the championship in 1985-86, scoring 60 goals in 58 appearances, 57 of those goals in 55 league appearances.[4] He left Welling after a disagreement and returned to Maidstone. Bartley then played for Chelmsford City in the Southern League. After their relegation, Bartley moved to Dartford for £6,000. He finished his career at Alma Swanley in the Kent League, scoring 86 goals in 86 games. Bartley scored around 770 goals and 100 hattricks throughout his career.[1][3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Whitney, Steve (28 May 2020). "Southern League Legends (Part Five)". Pitching In. The Southern League. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Introducing Welling United" (PDF). Wealdstone Football Club Season 84-85 Official Magazine. 23 February 1985.
  3. ^ a b Tucker, Craig (25 January 2021). "Bill Williams picks his Maidstone United Greatest XI". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  4. ^ Whitney, Steve (29 March 2020). "Looking Back……Season 1985/86". Pitching In. Retrieved 1 December 2023.

Sources edit