Ormsby: Brendan Thomas Christopher (Brendan)

1986-1990 (Player Details)

Centre Half

Born: Birmingham: 01-10-1960

Debut: v Huddersfield Town (h): 08-03-1986

5’11” 11st 9 1/2lb (1986)

Ormsby joined Aston Villa from school with eight England Schoolboy caps to his name. He turned professional in October 1978 and captained England Youth the following year. He broke an ankle and missed the whole of Villa’s 1980-81 championship season but played three times in their European Cup-winning campaign of 1981-82. He made one hundred and seventeen League appearances, including two as a substitute and scored four times for Villa before joining Leeds in March 1986 for £65,000. In 1986-87, inspirational captain Ormsby led Leeds to the FA Cup Semi-Final and the promotion Play-offs. He made a scoring debut but just a year later in the final play-off decider against Charlton Athletic he severely damaged a cartilage. His injury was so serious that he did not get back into the Leeds first-team for nearly two years, in the final game of the 1988-89 season at Shrewsbury. However it was not a lasting come-back and in January 1990 he was loaned to Shrewsbury for a month, but only managed one League game. He eventually resurrected his career with Doncaster Rovers in July 1990, often playing alongside his old Leeds partner, Jack Ashurst, under Billy Bremner’s managership. In two seasons there he played seventy-eight League games, scoring seven goals. He then joined Scarborough in the summer of 1992, for a year, scoring once in fifteen starts and one game from the bench before working another year as Player-Coach of Waterford United until April 1994. At only thirty three he contemplated life on the dole as he offered his services to seventy Second and Third Division and Vauxhall League clubs most did not even reply. To keep fit he trained with his old Villa colleague Tony Morley at Sutton Town and played for the Aston Villa All Stars. In August 1994 he joined Wigan Athletic but only played twice in the League for them. He then played with Northern Counties League club Farsley Celtic, where he was made Assistant Manager in November 1994. He later played for Garforth Town and while playing for them he retired from playing football in 1995, on medical advice. In later years he worked as a coach at Senior and Junior levels, including a spell working with Lawnswood Lasers JFC. He currently works as a postman in Leeds, alongside some junior coaching.