Ormsby: Brendan Thomas Christopher (Brendan)

1986-1990 (Leeds Player Details)(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 Ladywood Comprehensive 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. He also started three and came off the bench in one F.A. Cup game without scoring, but scored twice in the League Cup, from eleven starts and one as a substitute and also netted once in seven starts in the European Cup. When he arrived at Leeds they were in some danger of being involved in the relegation struggle he made a scoring debut as Leeds beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Elland Road and a series of three straight wins in April 1986 saw Leeds finish in safety in the fourteenth spot. In 1986-87, inspirational captain Ormsby led Leeds to the FA Cup Semi-Final and the promotion Play-offs. After his scoring debut, he scored several inspirational goals including a the winners in the F.A. Cup Fifth Round at home to Queens Park Rangers and in the home play-ff against Charlton Athletic, but conversely he was also remembered for a terrible lapse which resulted in a goal in the Hillsborough Semi-Final Loss to Coventry City on 12th April 1987. However, just a year after his debut, 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 Town. 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. Howard Wilkinson had taken over at Leeds in September 1988 and brought in several central defenders and Ormsby 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 also played four F.A. Cup ties and three League Cup ties while at Belle Vue. 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, where he scored twice in twenty-three games. 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, on a no contract basis, but only stayed less than a fortnight, but played twice in the League for them. He was brought in by Kenny Swain and made his debut for the Latics on 30th August 1994 in a 2-3 defeat by Chesterfield at Springfield Park. He then played in the next game on 3rd September 1994, in a 1-2 home defeat by Barnet but he never turned out for the club again. 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 worked as a postman in Leeds, alongside some junior coaching and wrote a column for the Yorkshire Evening Post, did hosting work at Elland Road, and managed Pontefract Collieries for a short spell.