Keith Welch
Encyclopedia
Keith Welch is an English-born footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League between 1987 and 2003, notably with Rochdale
and Bristol City
.
He started with Bolton Wanderers as a trainee, but moved to Rochdale in 1987 and made his Football League debut with them, going on to play 205 League games for the club. He transferred to Bristol City in 1991 for £200,000 and went on to play 321 times for them before moving on in 1999.
He spent the next three seasons at Northampton Town making 127 appearances before leaving in 2002. As of January 2010 he had the third-longest spell for consecutive minutes keeping a clean sheet at Northampton, having managed 467 minutes in 2000.
He signed for Tranmere Rovers in Summer 2002, primarily to act as cover for John Achterberg
, but he suffered a groin injury on his opening-day debut against Port Vale
. He made his second Tranmere appearance on 21 September 2002 against Crewe Alexandra, but he dislocated his shoulder in the game, and was substituted for Tranmere's goalkeeping coach Eric Nixon
. This was to be his final appearance for Tranmere although he went on to have further short spells that season with Torquay United and Mansfield Town. He made his final Football League appearance on 29 March 2003, for Mansfield against Peterborough United, and he was subsequently released by Mansfield that summer.
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
and Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
.
He started with Bolton Wanderers as a trainee, but moved to Rochdale in 1987 and made his Football League debut with them, going on to play 205 League games for the club. He transferred to Bristol City in 1991 for £200,000 and went on to play 321 times for them before moving on in 1999.
He spent the next three seasons at Northampton Town making 127 appearances before leaving in 2002. As of January 2010 he had the third-longest spell for consecutive minutes keeping a clean sheet at Northampton, having managed 467 minutes in 2000.
He signed for Tranmere Rovers in Summer 2002, primarily to act as cover for John Achterberg
John Achterberg
John Achterberg is a retired Dutch footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for NAC Breda, FC Eindhoven and Tranmere Rovers. He is now the goalkeeping coach for Liverpool....
, but he suffered a groin injury on his opening-day debut against Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
. He made his second Tranmere appearance on 21 September 2002 against Crewe Alexandra, but he dislocated his shoulder in the game, and was substituted for Tranmere's goalkeeping coach Eric Nixon
Eric Nixon
Eric Walter Nixon is an English former professional footballer who played as goalkeeper. His career spanned 22 years, thirteen of which were spent at Tranmere Rovers. He played for thirteen different clubs and made over 500 league appearances before his retirement in 2004...
. This was to be his final appearance for Tranmere although he went on to have further short spells that season with Torquay United and Mansfield Town. He made his final Football League appearance on 29 March 2003, for Mansfield against Peterborough United, and he was subsequently released by Mansfield that summer.