Simon Ainge
Encyclopedia
Simon Fitzpatrick Ainge (born 18 February 1988) is an English
footballer who plays for Northern Premier League Premier Division
side Guiseley
. He is a central defender
who began his career at League Two
club Bradford City
. He has also spent time on loan at Halifax Town
and Cambridge United
.
, near Bradford
, West Yorkshire
, Simon Ainge is a product of Bradford City
's youth system winning a senior contract in March 2006. He broke into the first team the following season making his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Scunthorpe United
on 17 October 2006 in the Football League Trophy
. He made his first league appearance the following month before his first start was in a 4–0 FA Cup
victory over Crewe Alexandra
on 4 November 2006. He played four times during November 2006 winning praise from his manager, Colin Todd
, a former England international
centre back. Ainge played a total of 11 games during the 2006–07
season but he was limited to just four games the following season, including three as substitute, and was instead given a trial at Scunthorpe United. He returned to Bradford before he joined Conference
side Halifax Town
in January 2008 in a loan deal for the rest of the season.
Ainge was an unused substitute as Halifax went out of the FA Trophy
as they lost to Rushden & Diamonds
2–0, and instead made his league debut the following weekend against the same team when he gave away a penalty for handball. Two days earlier Ainge had been one of five substitutes, who were all on loan at Halifax, during their 4–1 West Riding County Cup victory over Ossett Albion
. Ainge came on during the victory but Halifax were later thrown out of the competition because loan players are not eligible. Ainge did not feature again for Halifax following their explusion from the West Riding County Cup until 24 March 2008, when he came on as a substitute in the 16th minute when Halifax lost 2–0 to Droylsden
. On 15 April 2008, he received the first red card of his career for two bookable offences during Halifax's 2–1 defeat by Burton Albion
. He played 12 games during his loan spell for Halifax, helping them to avoid relegation from the Conference by just one point from Altrincham
. He returned to Bradford in time to play in their final game of the season with Wycombe Wanderers
as a late substitute.
Ainge made his first start for City in more than a year as replacement for injured full backs Paul Arnison
and TJ Moncur
in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town
on 4 October 2008. It was Ainge's only game for Bradford during the 2008–09 season, and instead he joined Cambridge United
in the Conference on another loan deal on the March transfer deadline day for the final two months of the season. He made his debut for Cambridge when he came on as substitute for another loanee Jai Reason in Cambridge's 1–0 victory against Woking
.
At the end of the 2008–09 season, Ainge was released by Bradford City; he joined their cross-city rivals Bradford Park Avenue
of the Northern Premier League Premier Division
in July 2009.
|2006–07||Bradford City||League One
||5||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08
||Bradford City||League Two
||4||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08||Halifax Town
||Conference National
||12||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09
||Bradford City||League Two
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09||Cambridge United
||Conference National
||20||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2009–10||Bradford Park Avenue
||Northern Premier
||11||0||4||0||||||||||||
|-
28||0||||||||||||||||
36||0||||||||||||||||
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 for Northern Premier League Premier Division
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...
side Guiseley
Guiseley A.F.C.
Guiseley A.F.C. are an English football club from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England.-History:Founded in 1909 by a local group of enthusiasts, the club’s first success came in 1913 when they won the local Wharfedale League...
. He is a central defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
who began his career at League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
. He has also spent time on loan at Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
and Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
.
Career
Born in ShipleyShipley, West Yorkshire
Shipley is a town in West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford and north-west of Leeds....
, near Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, Simon Ainge is a product of Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
's youth system winning a senior contract in March 2006. He broke into the first team the following season making his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
on 17 October 2006 in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
. He made his first league appearance the following month before his first start was in a 4–0 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
victory over Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
on 4 November 2006. He played four times during November 2006 winning praise from his manager, Colin Todd
Colin Todd
Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...
, a former England international
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
centre back. Ainge played a total of 11 games during the 2006–07
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...
season but he was limited to just four games the following season, including three as substitute, and was instead given a trial at Scunthorpe United. He returned to Bradford before he joined Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
side Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
in January 2008 in a loan deal for the rest of the season.
Ainge was an unused substitute as Halifax went out of the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
as they lost to Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds F.C.
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992, the club played in the Conference National following a short spell in the Football League at the start of...
2–0, and instead made his league debut the following weekend against the same team when he gave away a penalty for handball. Two days earlier Ainge had been one of five substitutes, who were all on loan at Halifax, during their 4–1 West Riding County Cup victory over Ossett Albion
Ossett Albion F.C.
Ossett Albion Association Football Club are an English football team who play in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They play at Queen's Terrace in Ossett, in the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire , more commonly known as Dimplewells, the area of Ossett the ground is situated...
. Ainge came on during the victory but Halifax were later thrown out of the competition because loan players are not eligible. Ainge did not feature again for Halifax following their explusion from the West Riding County Cup until 24 March 2008, when he came on as a substitute in the 16th minute when Halifax lost 2–0 to Droylsden
Droylsden F.C.
Droylsden F.C. is an English football club based in Droylsden, near Manchester. As of the 2011–12 season, they play in the Conference North.-History:...
. On 15 April 2008, he received the first red card of his career for two bookable offences during Halifax's 2–1 defeat by Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
. He played 12 games during his loan spell for Halifax, helping them to avoid relegation from the Conference by just one point from Altrincham
Altrincham F.C.
Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...
. He returned to Bradford in time to play in their final game of the season with Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
as a late substitute.
Ainge made his first start for City in more than a year as replacement for injured full backs Paul Arnison
Paul Arnison
Paul Simon Arnison is an English footballer who plays as a defender and plays for Darlington. Born in Hartlepool, he is a former Newcastle United trainee, who has also played for his hometown club Hartlepool United, Carlisle United and Bradford City.-Club career:Born in Hartlepool, Arnison started...
and TJ Moncur
TJ Moncur
Thomas James Moncur, also known as TJ Moncur, is an English footballer who plays for Cray Wanderers in the Isthmian Premier having been released by League Two side Chesterfield. He is a defender...
in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
on 4 October 2008. It was Ainge's only game for Bradford during the 2008–09 season, and instead he joined Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
in the Conference on another loan deal on the March transfer deadline day for the final two months of the season. He made his debut for Cambridge when he came on as substitute for another loanee Jai Reason in Cambridge's 1–0 victory against Woking
Woking F.C.
Woking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They are playing in the Conference South in the 2011–12 season. For the 2011/2012 season, Woking are sharing their ground with Conference National club Hayes & Yeading United.-Promotion to the...
.
At the end of the 2008–09 season, Ainge was released by Bradford City; he joined their cross-city rivals Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
of the Northern Premier League Premier Division
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...
in July 2009.
Career statistics
|-|2006–07||Bradford City||League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||5||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08
Bradford City A.F.C. season 2007–08
The 2007–08 season was the 105th season in Bradford City A.F.C.'s history, their 93rd in The Football League and 95th in the league system of English football. After finishing 22nd in League One during the 2006–07 season, Bradford City were relegated to League Two meaning the season...
||Bradford City||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||4||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2007–08||Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
||12||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09
Bradford City A.F.C. season 2008–09
The 2008–09 season was the 106th season in Bradford City A.F.C.'s history, their 94th in The Football League and 96th in the league system of English football...
||Bradford City||League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2008–09||Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
||Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
||20||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2009–10||Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C.
Bradford Association Football Club, previously also known as Bradford and since its reformation in the 1970s now referred to as Bradford Park Avenue, is a football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England...
||Northern Premier
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Premier Division is the top division of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 3 of the National League System, placing it six divisions below the Premier League...
||11||0||4||0||||||||||||
|-
28||0||||||||||||||||
36||0||||||||||||||||