James Matthew Spencer is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer who plays as a goalkeeper

Goalkeeper (football)

In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...

 for F.C. United of Manchester

F.C. United of Manchester

F.C. United of Manchester is an English semi-professional football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester that plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. It was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover of the...

.

Stockport County

Born in Stockport

Stockport

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, Spencer started his senior career with his local side Stockport County

Stockport County F.C.

Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

, where he came through the club's Centre of Excellence youth system, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

 in 2002, aged just 16. Since his debut in 2002, Spencer played regularly for the Stockport first team, linking him with moves to Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 and West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

. However, Spencer lacked first-team opportunities during the 2006–07 season

2006-07 in English football

The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

.

Rochdale

In the summer of 2007 he signed a two-year contract with Rochdale

Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...

, however he lacked first team opportunities when a double hernia and stress fracture of the hip in April 2008 kept him out due to injury he was replaced by Sam Russell

Sam Russell (footballer)

Samuel Ian 'Sam' Russell is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Darlington.-Middlesbrough:Russell was born in Middlesbrough and signed as a professional on 7 July 2000 for his hometown team...

 and subsequently Rochdale brought Premiership keeper Frank Fielding

Frank Fielding

Francis David "Frank" Fielding is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Derby County.-Club career:Born in Blackburn Lancashire, Fielding is a product of Blackburn Rovers Academy. He joined League Two side Wycombe Wanderers on 28 September 2007 on a three-month loan deal alongside...

 in on a loan deal. On April 9, 2009, Spencer joined Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 on an emergency loan, following an injury to regular goalkeeper John Danby

John Danby

John Danby is an English footballer who plays for Chester as a goalkeeper.-Career:Born in Stoke, Danby spent five seasons with Kidderminster Harriers before signing for Chester City in 2006...

. He played in the final five matches of the season but was unable to prevent City being relegated out of The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. At the end of the season, Spencer was released by Rochdale,

Non-League

After his release from Rochdale, he joined non-league side Northwich Victoria

Northwich Victoria F.C.

Northwich Victoria Football Club are an English football club who play at the Victoria Stadium in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.Northwich are an old club, founded in 1874 and named in honour of...

 in August 2009, but after two successful seasons with the club, he was released in 2011, to cut the playing budget.

He was then signed by F.C. United of Manchester

F.C. United of Manchester

F.C. United of Manchester is an English semi-professional football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester that plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. It was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's controversial takeover of the...

, who as of the 2011–12

2011–12 Northern Premier League

The 2011–12 season is the 44th season of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and the fifth season of the Northern Premier League Division One North and South.The League sponsors for 2011–12 are Evo-Stik...

 season are based in Bury, Greater Manchester.

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