Ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley ‘angry and hurt’ after Farnborough FC publicly revealed battle with depression

The non-league club revealed on social media that Pidgeley had a ‘significant long-term personal medical condition’

The goalkeeper kept his illness undercover for 10 years (Getty)

Goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley says that he feels “angry and hurt” after Farnborough FC announced his retirement and forced him to reveal a long battle with depression.

The eighth-tier side explained on social media that Pidgeley, who was once on the books at Chelsea, has a “significant long-term personal medical condition” which meant that they lacked goalkeeping options for their FA Cup match.

“This is the first the club that has heard of this,” they added. “Although the timing is shocking, we wish Lenny and his family all the best in his retirement.”

The announcement meant that for the first time Pidgeley's depression became public. "At the other clubs I was at, it never came out in the open," Pidgeley told the BBC. "Recently my depression has been with me quite a lot.

Lenny Pidgeley made two appearances for Chelsea (Getty)

"In the last couple of weeks I tried to play through it, but it became too much for me. By midweek, when the cup game was, I could barely get out of bed… I was almost at the point of panic attacks.

"When the statement came out, it put me in a dark place. The way the club have conducted themselves is not right.

"They mentioned my illness, which I have never been comfortable talking about. For 10 years I've tried to keep it undercover. I have never wanted this to come out, never ever.”

Farnborough attempted to clarify their comments and apologised to the former goalkeeper.

“Our comment about the shocking timing, referred to us being shocked regarding the sad information we received on that afternoon, whilst preparing for our FA Cup Replay,” they said.

“With no goalkeeper available that night we owed the fans an explanation before kick-off, which due to the timings on the night was drafted in haste and did not convey our true thoughts accurately.

“The club fully backs the support and care required in dealing with all mental health issues and meant no harm to Lenny and sincerely apologise for any hurt. This was not our intention.”

It was at Millwall that Pidgeley began to experience differences with his mental health, something he could never see coming.

"The first time I got it, at Millwall, I was in a really dark place, it lasted months. I was a walking mess. I was physically shaking, I couldn't sleep, my mind would race," he said.

"I need to make clear, when it happened everything in my life was hunky dory, no problems at all. I was 23, ex-Chelsea, played 50 games for Millwall, did pretty well, everything in my life was fine and I had financial security.

"Then one day I started to feel anxiety, I didn't know what was going on, but it grew and grew and grew. I got injured and I was so relieved I didn't have to go on the pitch. I broke down to the physio and he pulled me out and they got me into the Priory and the PFA stepped in. I was in counselling for months. I was at rock bottom, I didn't want to live anymore. Every day I thought about it."

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the following organisations for support:
https://www.mind.org.uk/
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/