MARK FIORE

Full Name: Mark Joseph Fiore

Born: 18 November 1969

Came from: Wimbledon   Went to: Slough Town

First game: 17 March 1990   Last game: 15 August 1992

Appearances: 94 (84/10)   Goals: 10

Born in Southwark, in London, a left-sided midfielder, Fiore was one of the first signings of Dave Kemp's managerial reign at Home Park, joining from Kemp's former club Wimbledon late in the 1989-90 season. He had made just a single appearance for the Dons, but as a young player on the fringes of the first team also held the Football In The Community Officer role at Plough Lane.

Slightly-built, he undoubtedly possessed the skills to shine in the second tier of English football, but an apparent lack of confidence and belief in his own ability stymied his progress with The Pilgrims and he never quite fully lived up to his billing. Nevertheless, he was heavily backed by Kemp, under whom he made the vast majority of his appearances in green, posting a respectable total of 94 games and 10 goals in his first concerted stint in the Football League.

However, he was favoured less by Peter Shilton once he took over from Kemp and was only picked four times by the former England keeper early into his stint in the Home Park hot-seat. That he slipped straight into non-league when Shilton told him he could leave, perhaps suggest he wasn't totally comfortable in the pressure-cooker environment of professional football.

He moved to the comparatively sedate surroundings of Slough, which brought out the best in him. He made over 220 appearances and scored 25 times for the Rebels, in a six-year spell which was blighted by knee injuries. He also picked up the nickname "Billy", potentially due to it sounding like Billy Fury when paired with his surname. Whilst at the club, he again performed the Football In The Community Officer role as he had done with Wimbledon. Fiore also played against Argyle when the clubs met in the FA Cup in November 1995, along with another discarded Shilton Pilgrim, as Andy Clement also lined up in yellow that day. Argyle won the tie 2-0 at Wexham Park in front of 3,030 in an era when Shilton's presence always drew in extra interest when Argyle took to the road, including in this instance, the BBC Match of The Day cameras, perhaps hoping for an upset.

He later finished his playing days moving around non-league clubs, playing for Walton & Hersham, Chesham United, Chalfont St Peter, Windsor & Eton, and then Flackwell Heath before retiring around 2004, going on to set up his own interior decorating business, in Slough.