Peter Zelem
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Peter Zelem
| image =
| fullname = Peter Richard Zelem
| height =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1962|2|13}}
| birth_place = Manchester, England
| currentclub =
| position = Defender
| youthyears1 =
| youthyears2 = 1978–1980
| youthclubs1 = Blackpool
| youthclubs2 = Chester City
| years1 = 1980–1985
| years2 = 1985–1987
| years3 = 1987
| years4 = 1987–1989
| years5 = 1989–1991
| years6 = 1991–1992
| clubs1 = Chester City
| clubs2 = Wolverhampton Wanderers
| clubs3 = Preston North End
| clubs4 = Burnley
| clubs5 = Winsford United
| clubs6 = Ashton United
| caps1 = 129
| caps2 = 45
| caps3 = 6
| caps4 = 19
| goals1 = 15
| goals2 = 1
| goals3 = 1
| goals4 = 2
}}Peter Richard Zelem (born 13 February 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played in The Football League for four clubs during the 1980s. He is the uncle of Manchester United and England midfielder Katie Zelem.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=England Women's player profile: Katie Zelem {{!}} England Football |url=https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/squad/katie-zelem |access-date=22 August 2023 |website= |language=en}}
Playing career
Zelem began with Blackpool on schoolboy forms but was released and joined Chester as an apprentice.'Where are they now?', Chester City v. Burnley matchday programme; 5 September 1992; pg. 20 He made his debut in a 1–0 win over Carlisle United in August 1980, one of six first-team appearances he made during the 1980–81 season. His first goal arrived on the opening day of the following season against Bristol RoversSumner (1997), stats section and he became a regular over the next few years. By the start of 1984–85 he was the longest serving player at Chester, but he moved midway through the season to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £12,500.Sumner (1997), p 100 Although this initially gave Zelem the chance to play in the Second Division, the club were rapidly sliding downwards and were in the Fourth Division by the time he linked up with former Chester manager John McGrath at Preston North End in March 1987. He had the distinction of scoring the first goal in the Fourth Division for Wolves, on 23 August 1986, in their 2–1 home defeat to Cambridge United on the opening day of the league season.{{cite web |url=http://www.wolves-stats.co.uk/1986-1987_Season.html |title=1986–1987 Season |publisher=Wolves-stats.co.uk |access-date=9 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227140733/http://www.wolves-stats.co.uk/1986-1987_Season.html |archive-date=27 February 2012 }}
He helped Preston to promotion before joining Burnley in the summer of 1987. After an injury hit two years at Turf Moor, Zelem left the club and joined non-league side Winsford United. He then moved on to Ashton United, but injury forced him to retire from playing. Away from football he has worked as a contract cleaner with his twin brother Alan (a former goalkeeper with Macclesfield Town).
Zelem was the first post-war Football League player to have a surname beginning with a Z, first appearing the season before Romeo Zondervan joined Ipswich Town.Hugman (2005), p 682–683
Personal life
His brother Alan was also a professional footballer, a goalkeeper for Macclesfield Town;{{Cite web |last=Burhan |first=Asif |title=Katie Zelem Follows In Footsteps Of Goalkeeping Father With Wembley Appearance |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/asifburhan/2023/05/11/katie-zelem-follows-in-footsteps-of-goalkeeping-father-with-wembley-appearance/ |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}} while his niece is the England Lionesses footballer Katie Zelem.
External links
- [http://www.claretsmad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED35&id=341500 Burnley career stats]
Bibliography
- {{cite book | first=Chas | last=Sumner| title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City F.C. 1885–1997 | publisher=Yore Publications | year=1997 | isbn=978-1-874427-52-0}}
- {{cite book | first=Barry | last=Hugman| title=The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005 | publisher=Queen Anne Press | year=2005 | isbn=1-85291-665-6}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelem, Peter}}
Category:Footballers from Manchester
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:English Football League players
Category:Chester City F.C. players
Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Category:Preston North End F.C. players