Chris Garland

Christopher Garland (24 April 1949 – 13 July 2023) was an English footballer who played in all four divisions of the Football League. He was capped once by England at under-23 level.

A forward, he began his professional career with local club Bristol City in April 1966. He was sold to Chelsea for £100,000 in 1971, and went on to play on the losing side of the 1972 League Cup final. He joined Leicester City in 1974, before returning to Bristol City in November 1976. The club underwent a dramatic decline from the First Division to the Fourth Division and he had to accept a termination of his contract for half the amount due in 1982, though he went on to remain at the club for another season. He later played for Gloucester City, coached at Yeovil Town and managed Minehead.

Playing career Bristol City Garland was born on 24 April 1949 in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, the second son of Grace and George William Henry, a factory worker and lorry driver respectively. He attended a trial for England Schoolboys, and was signed up as an apprentice at Bristol City in 1964. However, he broke his leg in a park game with friends, and was severely reprimanded by manager Fred Ford. He recovered and went on to sign professional terms with the club five days after his 17th birthday. He made his Second Division debut at Ashton Gate on 3 December 1966 in a 2–0 victory over Preston North End. This was his only appearance of the season as the "Robins" went on to finish in 15th place.

Ford was sacked early in the 1967–68 campaign, and caretaker-manager Les Bardsley made wholesale changes to the first eleven, including a recall for Garland. He played all three of Bardsley's games in charge, and scored in the 3–3 draw with Hull City. He started in new manager Alan Dicks' second game in charge, and remained a first team regular throughout the rest of the season, scoring nine goals in 32 league and cup games. In the FA Cup the club beat Bristol derby rivals Bristol Rovers and Middlesbrough, before losing 2–0 to Leeds United in a bad tempered game that saw Gary Sprake sent off for punching Garland in the jaw. City finished in 19th place in the 1970–71 season, four points above the relegation zone.

Chelsea Garland was sold to Dave Sexton's Chelsea for £100,000 in September 1971. He was signed as a squad player and found first team opportunities limited, especially after spending a month out injured following a bad tackle from Nottingham Forest's Barry Lyons. He scored his first goal for the club in his fifth appearance, in a League Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur; he also scored in the second leg. He went on to sing with the rest of the team in Blue Is the Colour, a song to coincide with the final, which went on to reach number five in the charts. He played in the final at Wembley Stadium, in which Chelsea lost 2–1 to Stoke City. The "Pensioners" finished the 1971–72 campaign seventh in the First Division. Chelsea declined in the immediate aftermath of his departure, and suffered relegation at the end of the 1974–75 season.

Leicester City Garland was sold to Leicester City for £100,000 on 12th March 1975; he agreed to join the club without speaking to Everton as he was convinced by manager Jimmy Bloomfield that Leicester were the right club for him. He scored eight goals in ten matches, including a hat trick in a 3–2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Filbert Street on 22 March, to help the "Foxes" to finish three points above the First Division relegation zone at the end of the 1974–75 season. He was one of three regular rotated forwards in the 1975–76 campaign, alongside Frank Worthington and Bob Lee, and City went on to finish seventh; he claimed another hat trick in a 3–0 FA Cup victory over Sheffield United on 3 January. He scored three goals at the start of the 1976–77 season and broke Jeff Blockley's cheekbone after punching him during training for what Garland believed was Blockley's rough treatment of the club's apprentices. Garland submitted four transfer requests and was eventually sold back to his hometown club.

Garland married Patricia Cooper in June 1970. They had two sons, Adam and Ryan, and one daughter, Jessica. The couple split after 25 years of marriage. After leaving Patricia he spent time sleeping rough, before he was housed by a property developer who also provided him with casual work. A testimonial with Manchester United raised £81,000 for Garland, which he split between himself and his ex-wife. He married again, to Ruth, in 2004. However his gambling problems remained, and he was again declared bankrupt a few years later. However, with funding from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) he was able to undergo pioneering surgery to help relieve his Parkinson's.

Honours Chelsea Football League Cup runner-up: 1972