Peter Billing
Personal information
Full name Peter Graham Billing[1]
Date of birth (1964-10-24) 24 October 1964[1]
Place of birth Liverpool, England[1]
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
1985–1986 South Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986 Everton 1 (0)
1986–1989 Crewe Alexandra 88 (1)
1989–1993 Coventry City 58 (1)
1993 → Port Vale (loan) 12 (0)
1993–1995 Port Vale 14 (0)
1995–1996 Hartlepool United 36 (0)
1996–1997 Crewe Alexandra 15 (0)
1997–1998 Northwich Victoria
1998 Bamber Bridge
1999–2000 Witton Albion
Total 224 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Peter Graham Billing (born 24 October 1964) is an English former footballer who played in central defence. He made 281 league and cup appearances in an eleven-year career in the Football League.

A former South Liverpool player, he turned professional with Everton in January 1986. He featured in the Super Cup final, but was sold on to Crewe Alexandra for £12,000 in December 1986. He helped the "Railwaymen" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1988–89, before he was sold on to Coventry City for £120,000 in June 1989. He made 58 top-flight appearances for the "Sky Blues", before joining Port Vale for a £35,000 fee in May 1993, following a successful three-month loan spell in which he featured in the club's Football League Trophy success. He helped the "Valiants" to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1993–94, but was allowed to leave on a free transfer in May 1995. He then spent a season each with Hartlepool United and former club Crewe Alexandra, before he went into non-League football with Northwich Victoria, Bamber Bridge and Witton Albion.

Career

Born in Liverpool, Billing started his career with local non-League side South Liverpool, before being signed up by Howard Kendall at Everton in January 1986. He only played one First Division game for the "Toffees", and also featured in both legs of the 1986 Super Cup final defeat to rivals Liverpool. He left Goodison Park after being sold to Crewe Alexandra for £12,000 in December 1986. The "Railwaymen" finished 17th in the Fourth Division in 1986–87 and 1987–88. Manager Dario Gradi took the Gresty Road club to promotion in 1988–89 with a third-place finish. Billing made a total of 88 league appearances for the club in his two-and-a-half seasons in Cheshire.

He was sold on to Coventry City for £120,000 in June 1989 as manager John Sillett needed defensive cover.[3] The "Sky Blues" finished 12th in the top-flight in the 1989–90 season, though Billing had to wait until October before making his club debut in the League Cup.[3] They then dropped to 16th in 1990–91 under new boss Terry Butcher, before finishing 19th in 1991–92, one place and two points above relegated Luton Town. Coventry played in the first ever season of Premier League football in 1992–93 under Bobby Gould, though Billing lost his first team place by 1993–94, after new boss Phil Neal took over at Highfield Road. Billing made 58 league appearances for the Midlands side.

He was loaned to Second Division club Port Vale in February 1993.[1] He impressed manager John Rudge and was signed permanently for a £35,000 fee in May 1993.[1] Two of his 17 appearances for the "Valiants" in 1992–93 were as a substitute for Robin van der Laan in the 1993 Football League Trophy final and the play-off final, both at Wembley.[1] Vale won the cup game 2–1 over Stockport County, but were beaten 3–0 by West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final.[1] He did though help the club to achieve promotion with a second-place finish in 1993–94.[1] His first team chances limited in 1994–95, he was given a free transfer to Hartlepool United in May 1995.[1] He played 43 games at Victoria Park under Keith Houchen, helping "Pools" to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division in 1995–96. He returned to Crewe in August 1996, and made 15 league appearances, helping Alex to win promotion out of the Second Division via the play-offs in 1996–97, though he did not feature in the play-off final itself. He then headed into the Conference with Northwich Victoria, but was transfer-listed in January 1998.[4] He later played for Bamber Bridge, but left Bamber Bridge in March 1998.[5] He signed with Witton Albion, but retired in September 1999 to concentrate on becoming a PE instructor. He came out of retirement to rejoin Witton Albion two months later.[6] He started 35 games in the 1999–2000 campaign as Nigel Gleghorn's Albion finished third in the Northern Premier League Division One, missing out on both promotion and the league title on goal difference.[7]

Style of play

Billing was a "fearsome combative" defender.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[8][9]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Everton 1985–86 First Division 10004050
Crewe Alexandra 1986–87 Fourth Division 1900010200
1987–88 Fourth Division 3201050380
1988–89 Fourth Division 3714050461
Total 88150901021
Coventry City 1989–90 First Division 1801050240
1990–91 First Division 1504030220
1991–92 First Division 2212040281
1992–93 Premier League 30000030
Total 58170120771
Port Vale 1992–93 Second Division 1200050170
1993–94 Second Division 80001090
1994–95 First Division 60000060
Total 2600060320
Hartlepool United 1995–96 Third Division 3601060430
Crewe Alexandra 1996–97 Second Division 1502030200
Career total 22421504202812

Honours

Everton

Crewe Alexandra

Port Vale

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 29. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ↑ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1980). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 142. ISBN 0362020175.
  3. 1 2 3 "Members News: Peter Billing Is 54 Today: Happy Birthday 'Ged'! : Coventry City Former Players Association || CCFPA". ccfpa.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "PETER Billing has been transfer-listed by Phil Wilson just six months after his arrival at the Drill". Warrington Guardian. 15 January 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "PHIL Wilson has already started ringing the changes in preparation for next season following Vics' d". Warrington Guardian. 12 March 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Peter gets top Billing on return". Warrington Guardian. 12 November 1999. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "1999–2000 PLAYERS RECORDS". wittonalbionfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. ↑ Peter Billing at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Peter Billing at Soccerbase
  10. ↑ Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879–1993. Witan Books. p. 236. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.
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