Terry Armstrong
Terence Armstrong (born 10 July 1958) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder for Huddersfield Town and Port Vale in a nine-year career in the Football League. He helped Port Vale to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83. He later played non-League football for Nuneaton Borough and Northwich Victoria.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Terence Armstrong[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 July 1958[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Barnsley, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1980 | Huddersfield Town | 40 | (2) |
| 1980–1985 | Port Vale | 116 | (12) |
| Nuneaton Borough | |||
| Northwich Victoria | |||
| Total | 156+ | (14+) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Armstrong played for Huddersfield Town, and made four Fourth Division appearances in the 1976–77 season. He made 19 appearances in the 1977–78 season, and scored once in a 4–1 win over Doncaster Rovers at Leeds Road on 1 October. Manager Tom Johnston was then replaced by Mick Buxton. However, Armstrong continued to make progress in the first-team, starting 15 league games in 1978–79 and scoring once in a 2–1 home win over AFC Bournemouth on 13 March. However, he did not feature at all in the title-winning 1979–80 campaign, and was also absent throughout the 1980–81 season, before signing with Fourth Division Port Vale in February 1981.[1]
Armstrong made 17 appearances for the "Valiants" at the end of the 1980–81 campaign, and claimed goals against Hereford United and Peterborough United.[1] He featured 42 times in the 1981–82 season, scoring goals against Hartlepool United and Lincoln City.[1] He scored seven goals in 45 games in the 1982–83 promotion campaign, including a brace in a 4–1 win over Mansfield Town at Vale Park.[1] However, he and numerous other players fell out with manager John McGrath over player wages, and as a result Armstrong, Barry Siddall, Russell Bromage, and Geoff Hunter all remained on weekly contracts.[1] Armstrong hit two goals in 21 matches in the 1983–84 season as Vale were relegated out of the Third Division, despite an upturn in form under new boss John Rudge.[1] Armstrong began to be plagued by a nagging knee injury, which required a cartilage operation.[1] His injury kept him limited to just six appearances in the 1984–85 campaign, and he left the club on a free transfer to non-League Nuneaton Borough in May 1985, later moving on to Alliance Premier League rivals Northwich Victoria.[1]
Post-retirement
In April 2003, he lost his job as a prison warder at Wakefield Prison after he was jailed for 28 days for sending sexually explicit material to the husband of his former lover. This act was in breach of a restraining order.[3] He also graffitied a motorway bridge as an insult to the husband of his former lover.[3]
Career statistics
Source:[4]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 1976–77 | Fourth Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1977–78 | Fourth Division | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| 1978–79 | Fourth Division | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| Port Vale | 1980–81 | Fourth Division | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| 1981–82 | Fourth Division | 33 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 2 | |
| 1982–83 | Fourth Division | 42 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 7 | |
| 1983–84 | Third Division | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
| 1984–85 | Fourth Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 116 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 131 | 13 | ||
| Career total | 156 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 171 | 15 | ||
References
- Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 8. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 198. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- "Prison warder jailed". BBC News. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- Terry Armstrong at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.