{{Short description|Northern Irish footballer}} {{about|the Northern Ireland footballer, born 1967|the Scottish footballer, born 1987|Garry Fleming}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox football biography |name = Gary Fleming |fullname = James Gary Fleming |image = |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1967|2|17}} |birth_place = Derry, Northern Ireland |height = 5 ft 9 in<ref>{{cite book |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Dunk |publisher=Queen Anne Press |location=London |date=1987 |page=266 |isbn=978-0-356-14354-5}}</ref> |position = Defender |years1 = 1984–1989 |clubs1 = Nottingham Forest |caps1 = 74 |goals1 = 0 |years2 = 1989 |clubs2 = Manchester City |caps2 = 14 |goals2 = 0 |years3 = 1989–1990 |clubs3 = → Notts County (loan) |caps3 = 3 |goals3 = 0 |years4 = 1989–1996 |clubs4 = Barnsley |caps4 = 239 |goals4 = 0 |nationalyears1 = 1986–1994 |nationalteam1 = Northern Ireland |nationalcaps1 = 31 |nationalgoals1 = 0 }}
'''Gary Fleming''' (born 17 February 1967) is a retired footballer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He played for Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Barnsley before retiring aged 30 due to injury. Following his retirement, he became a physiotherapist for Forest and later opened his own private practice.
==Career==
He started his career as a youth at Tristar Boys F.C. and later signed for Derry Athletic under the tutelage of coach Jim O'Hea with whom he went to Limavady United. There, he caught the eye of Nottingham Forest and in 1983 he signed a contract with them. His début was against Arsenal on 13 April 1985. He was sold to Manchester City in 1989 for a fee of £150,000, but spent only one year there before he was sold to Barnsley for £85,000.
He played 31 times for Northern Ireland between 1986 and 1994, with his last game coming against Austria. His career ended at the age of 30 due to an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thegaryflemingpractice.co.uk/services.html |title=The Gary Fleming Practice |date=17 April 2009 |publisher=Derry Journal}}</ref>
==Physiotherapist==
Following his retirement, he became a physiotherapist and worked as Forest's physio for ten years until 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local-news/gary-fleming-remembers-the-horror-of-hillsborough-1-2136749 |title=Gary Fleming remembers the horror of Hillsborough |date=17 April 2009 |publisher=Derry Journal}}</ref><ref name="FlemingPractice">{{cite news |url=http://www.thegaryflemingpractice.co.uk/about.html |title=About Us |publisher=The Gary Fleming Practice}}</ref> During his spell at Forest, he studied at the University of Nottingham and graduated with a BSc (Hons).<ref name="FlemingPractice"/>
Currently, he runs his own private practice, called ''The Gary Fleming Practice'', which opened in 2009 with centres in Nottingham and Harrogate.<ref name="FlemingPractice"/> Fleming is one of 15 specialists in the UK to practice the Intramuscular Stimulation method.<ref name="FlemingPractice"/>
==Honours== '''Individual''' *Barnsley Player of the Year: 1992–93<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/club/player-of-the-season/ |title=Barnsley Player of the Season |website=Barnsley FC |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Soccerbase}} *[http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=39946 Nottingham Forest page on sporting-heroes.net] *[http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=36802 Manchester City page on sporting-heroes.net] *[http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_international.asp?HeroID=36801 International page on sporting-heroes.net] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070102053508/http://www.bridportred.co.uk/Players/Players%20F.htm#Fleming Player profile on bridportred.co.uk] *{{NFT player|pid=16165}}
{{Barnsley F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Gary}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham Category:Association footballers from Derry (city) Category:Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Category:Men's association football defenders Category:Nottingham Forest F.C. players Category:Manchester City F.C. players Category:Notts County F.C. players Category:Barnsley F.C. players Category:English Football League players Category:Northern Ireland men's international footballers Category:British physiotherapists Category:Irish physiotherapists