William Lansdowne (born 28 April 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Active in both England and Sweden, Lansdowne scored 45 goals in 169 career league games. On 24 September 2018 he was inducted into the Kalmar FF Wall of Fame.[2][3][4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Lansdowne[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1959-04-28) 28 April 1959 (age 63) | ||
| Place of birth | Epping, England | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–1978 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1981 | West Ham United | 9 | (1) |
| 1981–1982 | Charlton Athletic | 32 | (4) |
| 1982–1983 | Gillingham | 6 | (2) |
| 1983–1988 | Kalmar FF | 122 | (38) |
| Leytonstone & Ilford | |||
| Dagenham | |||
| Anderstorp | |||
| Total | 169 | (45) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Epping, Essex, Lansdowne began his career with West Ham United, making his professional debut for the club on 28 April 1979.[5] Lansdowne later played for Charlton Athletic and Gillingham, and made a total of 47 appearances in the Football League for all three clubs.[6]
Lansdowne later spent six seasons with Swedish club Kalmar FF and was joint-top scorer in the Allsvenskan in 1985 with 10 goals.[7] He played in the 1987 Svenska Cupen Final, where Kalmar FF won. In September 2018, he was commemorated with a plaque at the Guldfågeln Arena.[8]
He later played for Leytonstone & Ilford, Dagenham and Anderstorp.[9]
After his retirement, he remained in Sweden and became a football commentator for TV4. He later commentated on greyhound racing for TV3.[10]
Lansdowne's father Bill was also a professional footballer who played for West Ham United.[11] His son, Billy Jr, played for Nybro IF, IFK Berga and Lindsdals IF, in the lower levels of Swedish football.[12][13]
Kalmar FF