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Garry William Flitcroft (born 6 November 1972) is an English football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder.

Between 1991 and 2006, Flitcroft spent four seasons in the Premier League with Manchester City, winning the club's Player of the Year award in only his second year in senior football. He joined Blackburn Rovers in 1996, with whom he spent ten years, of which eight were in the Premier League, and won the 2001–02 Football League Cup. He also played briefly in the Football League, beginning his career on loan to Bury and ending it with Sheffield United. He was capped 10 times by England U21, scoring three goals.

In 2009 he became manager of Leigh Genesis and the following year took over as manager of Chorley, where he won two promotions in five years, taking the team up to the Conference North.

Playing career

Flitcroft came through the youth ranks at Manchester City where he made 116 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals. In only his second season of senior football he was awarded City's Player of the Season award for the 1992–93 season. He played for the England U21s 10 times in 1993. He was also called up to Terry Venables' get-together England squad in April 1995, but ultimately was never capped for the senior side.

In March 1996, he was signed by reigning Premier League Champions Blackburn Rovers for £3.5 million, but was sent off on his debut in a 3–0 defeat to Everton. Rovers were relegated to Division One in 1999 and new manager Graeme Souness appointed Flitcroft captain ahead of the 2000–01 season, in which Rovers gained promotion back to the Premier League. Flitcroft continued in his role as club captain for the next three years, but was suspended for Blackburn's 2001-02 League Cup victory although he did lift the trophy with match captain Henning Berg.

Managerial career

On 23 March 2009, it was announced that Flitcroft would replace Lee Merricks as manager of Northern Premier League side Leigh Genesis. This also came with the news that the club had moved into their new ground at Leigh Sports Village. Flitcroft left Leigh Genesis after revealing to the media that he and many of his players had not been paid at Leigh for some time, and moved to Leigh's rivals, Chorley F.C. in May 2010.

Flitcroft was hugely successful at Chorley, earning them two promotions – as Northern Premier League Division One play-off winners in 2010–11 and then Premier Division Champions in 2013–14. He immediately guided Chorley to 4th place in the Conference North but lost 3–2 at home to Guiseley in the Play Off Final. On 2 July 2015, Flitcroft stepped down as manager and his assistant Matt Jansen was put in charge.

Personal life

Flitcroft's brother David was also a midfielder who played in the lower divisions. Flitcroft married Karen, whom he had met at Turton High School, and the couple had three children. The couple subsequently divorced.

Flitcroft, now owner of a timber frame business called "Flitcraft" with his son Thomas, faced trial in 2019 following a legal dispute. In September 2020 he won the case against a rival business.

Flitcroft and the Leveson Inquiry

During his marriage, Flitcroft had two affairs, one with a nursery nurse and the second with a lap dancer. After a disagreement with one of the women, the media began to pursue the story, so Flitcroft took out a High-Court injunction, banning media coverage of the affairs. After a long legal battle, during the 2001–02 season an injunction preventing Flitcroft being named ran out. The lawsuit resulting from this allegation, presided over by Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, 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).

In September 2011, Flitcroft was named as a "core participant" in the Leveson Inquiry into the News International phone hacking scandal.

Honours

As a player

Manchester City

• Player of the Year: 1992–93

Blackburn Rovers

• League Cup: 2001–02

As a manager

Chorley

• Northern Premier League Division One: play-off winners 2010–11
• Northern Premier League: 2013–14

Managerial statistics

As of July 2015.

References

1. "Garry Flitcroft Midfielder, Profile & Stats | Premier League".
2. "50 years of MCFC Player of the Year: Part 3".
3. "Venables places emphasis on youth". The Independent. 19 April 1995. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
4. "New manager, new home". Leigh Genesis F.C. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
5. "Garry Flitcroft appointed Chorley Manager". Lancashire Telegraph. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
6. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (22 November 2011). "Leveson inquiry: Steve Coogan gives evidence on phone hacking". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
7. "Footballer exposed for two affairs blames the press for father's suicide". The Standard. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
8. "Ex-Blackburn Rovers star Garry Flitcroft faces trial over house rip-off claims". 2 October 2019.
9. "Ex-footballer Garry Flitcroft wins legal dispute with rival business over patents". 2 September 2020.
10. "I JUST DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE | Sunday Mirror Newspaper". Retrieved 28 November 2011 – via FindArticles.
11. Morris, Steven (30 March 2002). "Footballer loses year-long fight for privacy". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
12. "Hacking inquiry: Core participant status for dozens". BBC News. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
13. "Managers: Garry Flitcroft". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2016.

External links

• A v B & C 2002 EWCA Civ 337, a discussion of Garry Flitcroft's lawsuit

• 1972 births
• Living people
• English men's footballers
• England men's under-21 international footballers
• Premier League players
• Manchester City F.C. players
• Bury F.C. players
• Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
• Sheffield United F.C. players
• Footballers from Bolton
• English Football League players
• Men's association football midfielders
• Chorley F.C. managers
• English football managers
• Leigh Genesis F.C. managers
• Northern Premier League managers