Laurence Batty

Laurence William Batty (born 15 February 1964), sometimes known as George Batty, is an English retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, best remembered for his nine years in the higher echelons of non-League football with Woking, for whom he made over 500 appearances. He was capped by England at Semi-Pro level.

Club career

Early years A goalkeeper, Batty began his career in Portugal in the youth system at S.C. Farense. He progressed to the first team squad for the 1982–83 Segunda Divisão season, but he failed to make an appearance and returned to England to sign for Isthmian League First Division club Maidenhead United in 1983. before departing Craven Cottage in April 1991.

Brentford Batty dropped down to the Third Division to sign for Brentford on loan in February 1991, with Tony Parks moving the other way on loan. Two months later, he signed a contract until the end of the season. He was an ever-present in the league in his first season and collected the first silverware of his career with the First Division title, which the Cards won at a canter. He continued to be a first team regular over the following three seasons, in which Woking challenged for promotion to the Football League with a third-place and two runners-up finishes in the Conference. won his third FA Trophy and helped the Cards take Premiership club Coventry City to a replay in the third round of the FA Cup. As a recognition of Batty's continued service, he was awarded a testimonial versus former club Fulham in August 1999. Batty continued to play on until the end of the 1999–00 season, having seen his appearance-count diminish over the previous two seasons with the emergence of young understudy Darryl Flahavan. In the summer of 2000, Batty stalled over signing a new one-year contract and was then released by manager Colin Lippiatt in a summer clearout.

Managerial career

Molesey While with Molesey, Batty combined his playing duties with that of the assistant manager's role.

Walton and Hersham After the sacking of Matt Alexander in December 2002, Batty was named as caretaker manager. He accepted the manager's job on a full-time basis in January 2003, before being sacked in December that year.

Coaching career Batty has held goalkeeper coaching roles at Woking, Fulham (first team, academy and ladies), He has a link with manager Paul Lambert, having served as first team goalkeeping coach under Lambert at Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City and most recently Blackburn Rovers. He holds FA Level 3 and UEFA B coaching badges.

Personal life Batty is the son of songwriter Steve Wolfe. He moved with his parents to Portugal as a teenager. Batty had a role in the 1992 BBC Screen One episode Born Kicking and played the part of the goalkeeper.

Career statistics

Honours Woking Isthmian League First Division: 1991–92 Surrey Senior Cup: 1993–94, 1995–96, 1999–00

Individual

Woking Player of the Year: 1991–92