Garry Flitcroft

Football player infobox
playername = Garry Flitcroft


fullname = Garry William Flitcroft
nickname =
height = 6'0"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|12|6
cityofbirth = Bolton
countryofbirth = England
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991–1996
1992
1996–2006
2006
clubs = Manchester City
→ Bury (loan)
Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield United
caps(goals) = 116 (13)
012 0(0)
248 (14)
006 0(0)
nationalyears = 1993
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 010 0(3)

Garry William Flitcroft (born November 6, 1972 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is a former English football player.

Flitcroft's career started when he left Harper Green School and sent aplications to all 92 English football league clubs asking for trials, however only Manchester City gave him a trail and in 1991 he joined them and he had played for most of his career, albeit having a brief spell at Bury in March 1992. After five years at with City, having played 142 games, some as captain, he joined Blackburn in March 1996 for £3.5m after City were going through financial difficulties and their then chairman Francis Lee told the then manager Alan Ball Jr to sell their most profitable player, which turned out to be Flitcroft. The combative midfielder was signed after Rovers' talks with rising French star Zinedine Zidane broke down. Despite being sent off after just three minutes of his debut, he went on to serve as Blackburn's captain, and was a very tenacious, albeit technically ungifted midfielder.

During the 2001-02 season however, he was unmasked in the newspapers as allegedly having had an extramarital affair. The lawsuit resulting from this allegation, "A v B (A Company)", was notable for the way it weighed personal privacy rights against the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights (applicable since the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force in 2000).

The allegations of infidelity did not halt Garry's career, as he continued to make appearances for the club, his 250th coming during the 2003-04 season. Blackburn allowed him to join Sheffield United on a free transfer on January 12 2006 where his Premiership experience was expected to make him a permanent figure in United's midfield. However, due to a persistent knee injury and a lack of form, Flitcroft was forced to retire in July 2006 after just a handful of games for the club.

Garry's brother, David, was also a midfielder who played in the lower divisions for clubs including Chester City, Bury and Rochdale, where he is now assistant manager. Garry was educated at Harper Green School, in Farnworth, Bolton.

External links

* [http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2002/337.html A v B & C] 2002 EWCA Civ 337, a discussion of Garry's lawsuit

Clubs

{|class=prettytable!Season!Club!Apps (Sub)!Goals
-
1991–1992
Bury F.C.
12 (0)
0
-
-
1992–1993
Manchester City F.C.
28 (4)
6
-
-
1993–1994
Manchester City F.C.
19 (2)
3
-
-
1994–1995
Manchester City F.C.
37 (0)
5
-
-
1995–1996
Manchester City F.C.
30 (0)
1
-
-
1995–1996
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
3 (0)
0
-
-
1996–1997
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
30 (1)
4
-
-
1997–1998
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
31 (6)
0
-
-
1998–1999
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
10 (0)
3
-
-
1999–2000
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
18 (1)
0
-
-
2000–2001
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
48 (1)
5
-
-
2001–2002
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
29 (3)
1
-
-
2002–2003
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
39 (1)
4
-
-
2003–2004
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
31 (2)
3
-
-
2004–2005
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
20 (3)
0
-
-
2005–2006
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
1 (1)
0
-
-
2005–2006
Sheffield United F.C.
3 (3)
0
-