Dennis Thorley

Dennis Thorley (born 7 November 1956) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City.^[1]

Dennis Thorley

Personal information
Full name	Dennis Thorley^[1]
Date of birth	(1956-11-07) 7 November 1956 (age 67)^[1]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England^[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1976–1981	Stoke City	13	(0)
1978	→ Southern California Lazers (loan)	1	(0)
1980–1981	→ Blackburn Rovers (loan)	4	(0)
Total		18	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Thorley was born in Stoke-on-Trent and joined local side Stoke City in 1976.^[1] He had his debut on the penultimate match day of the 1976–77 season against West Bromwich Albion with Stoke relegated on the final game to the Second Division.^[1] He made just one sub appearance in 1977–78 and in 1978–79 he spent a few months playing in the United States for Southern California Lazers.^[1][2] He then spent the end of 1979–80 season on loan at Blackburn Rovers under Howard Kendall where he made four appearances. In 1980–81 he played in 13 matches under Alan Durban but was forced to retire in 1982 with a serious knee injury aged 26.^[1]

Career statistics

Source:^[3]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1976–77	First Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	1977–78	Second Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	1978–79	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1979–80	First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1980–81	First Division	11	0	0	0	2	0	13	0
	Total		13	0	0	0	2	0	15	0
Southern California Lazers (loan)	1978	ASL	1	0	—		—		1	0
Blackburn Rovers (loan)	1979–80	Third Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Career Total			18	0	0	2	0	0	20	0

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. "1978 Southern California Lazers Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
3. Dennis Thorley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)