Lenny Piper

Leonard Henry Piper (8 August 1977 – 28 January 2024) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Early career Born in London, Piper played Sunday league football for a local side Metrolite when he was around 8 or 9. He started off by just training with the side but after a couple of weeks he signed schoolboy forms and subsequently signed Youth Training Scheme (YTS) forms in October 1991 at the age of 14. He was later offered a four-year contract by Wimbledon but turned the offer down on advice from his agent, who believed that his footballing style would be more suited to a lower league club, where he could then gain regular football and be sold on again in a couple of years. The fee was decided by a tribunal after Piper had turned down Wimbledon's contract offer. He only made four starts in the 1996–97 season but appeared as a substitute on 15 occasions.

After leaving Welling, he signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side St Albans City but continued to train with Third Division side Barnet, who were full-time, to improve his fitness. He was named Player of the Year in the 1999–2000 campaign and was also named in the Isthmian League Team of the Year. St Albans re-engaged in Piper's registration and offered to make him the highest paid player, but were unable to negotiate a deal and a tribunal had to settle the transfer fee. He scored 16 times during the 2002–03 season as Farnborough also had a record-breaking campaign in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth round where they met Arsenal at Highbury. He made four appearances before returning to Fisher.

Death Piper's former club Gillingham announced on 28 January 2024 that he had died at the age of 46 after a long illness.

Honours Farnborough Town Isthmian League Premier Division: 2000–01

Fisher Athletic Southern Football League Division One East: 2004–05 Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs: 2005–06