Gary Blissett

Gary Blissett (born 26 June 1964) is an English former professional footballer.

In December 1992, Blissett was acquitted of GBH after challenging for an aerial ball with Torquay United player John Uzzell in an away game at Plainmoor 12 months earlier. It was alleged by Uzzell that Blissett had deliberately elbowed him in the face, fracturing his eye socket, although the court did not agree with this. Blissett has always maintained that the incident was an accidental collision and video evidence of the challenge was deemed to show that Blissett kept his eyes on the ball and, furthermore, that in jumping to head an aerial ball, a player would typically raise one or both arms to gain height.[2][3][4]

Blissett was a prolific scorer in the lower divisions of English football, scoring 210 league goals in 10 seasons (an average of 21 goals per season) for Crewe and then Brentford before being sold to Wimbledon in the summer of 1993. He had picked up a Third Division title medal with Brentford in 1992.

He was a semi-regular player in four seasons at Wimbledon, making 67 FA Premier League appearances and scoring 24 goals. He had a loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers during that time, and also a loan spell back at Crewe, before leaving Wimbledon in 1997 for a brief spell with Sembawang Rangers in Singapore. He then completed his playing career with a four-year spell in Germany playing for SV Elversberg.

He is currently based in Philadelphia, where he and his business partner, Allan Cockram, are coaching under 18's, as well as developing their business; Soccer Sounds.[5]