Blue Square South club Bromley have paid tribute to former Crystal Palace midfielder Simon Osborn, who has announced that he was hanging up his boots for good.
Osborn joined Bromley in September 2006 and was instrumental in their promotion from the Ryman Premier Division at the end of that season, forming a partnership in central midfield with Barry Moore that took the team to second in the league and victory in the play-offs.
In total he made eighty-five appearances for the Lillywhites, becoming player-manager midway through the following campaign and helping Bromley to a top half finish in their debut season in Blue Square South.
Born in Croydon in January 1972, Osborn began his career at Crystal Palace before being sold at the age of 22 to Reading. After one season with the Royals he became the subject of two £1m transfers in quick succession, signing first for QPR and then, in December 1995, for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He spent six seasons at Wolves, during which time they reached the First Division play-offs and the Semi Final of the FA Cup. However, following short spells with Tranmere (on loan) and Port Vale, he joined Wolves’ First Division rivals Gillingham in October 2001.
The opportunity to return to the Midlands raised its head in July 2003 as Osborn linked up again with his former Wolves manager Colin Lee at Walsall.
Lee was relieved of his duties towards the end of the season and former England star Paul Merson took over the managerial reigns with Osborn appointed as his assistant.
After making over 100 appearances for the Saddlers, Osborn moved on in the summer of 2006 making a fleeting appearance at Hereford before returning to the area in which he grew up to sign for Bromley, scoring just eight minutes into his debut against Ashford Town (Middx).
In two last moments of glory, Osborn scored the winning goal in last year’s Ryman Division One South play-off final, securing promotion for Cray Wanderers, just a couple of weeks after helping Bromley lift the Isthmian Veterans Cup.
The club just hopes that Osborn’s decision to retire doesn’t extend to veterans football!
