Steven Gillespie
Encyclopedia
Steven Gillespie is an English
professional footballer currently playing for Colchester United
.
.
Gillespie began his career with Liverpool having carved out a name for himself as a goalscorer in schoolboy football. He broke Robbie Fowler
's goal-scoring record for Liverpool Schools; he later had his record broken by Wayne Rooney
.
In 2004, having had few opportunities at Liverpool, he was released and was quickly signed by Bristol City
, then of League One
, who are now in the Championship
. He continued to find himself without many chances and later in 2004 was sent on-loan to Cheltenham Town
of League Two
, where he scored four goals in five appearances.
Gillespie once again joined Cheltenham on loan at the end of the 2004–05 season, and again in the first half of the 2005-2006 season, scoring a further five goals. He signed a permanent two-and-a-half year contract in January 2006, for an undisclosed fee.
Despite signing a new contract in August 2007, Gillespie handed in a transfer request in the summer of 2008. Less than a week after handing in the request, Gillespie was sold to fellow League One club Colchester United
for a fee of £400,000.
Unfortunately for both Gillespie and Colchester, however, his time with the club was dogged by injuries from shortly after his arrival, despite having made a promising start with three goals from his first three outings.
His first season in Essex continued to be stop-start and, although when he managed to play he continued to show his natural, goalscoring instinct and displayed this in scoring five goals in his little time spent on the pitch, he struggled to rack up game time and barely managed a ninety minute performance. This was compounded when, in the 5-0 home win over Carlisle he managed just sixteen minutes in his return from injury before having to go off injured once more.
The season was a huge shame for Gillespie who would have wished to make a much more impressive impact on his arrival as the club's record signing. Under Aidy Boothroyd in the 2009/10 season he struggled to break in to the team despite seemingly having gotten over the worst of his injury troubles and it was not until the final season of his contract that Gillespie's ability finally came to the fore.
With John Ward now the U's manager, his former Cheltenham Town
boss eased him back in to the U's team after the Christmas period and Gillespie flourished, bagging nine goals in ten starts as well as having a legitimate goal chalked out in a 0-1 defeat at Charlton.
Gillespie committed his future to Colchester for another two years on 17 May 2011 and was given the number nine shirt for the 2011–12
season.
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...
professional footballer currently playing for Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
.
Early career
Gillespie, who plays as a striker, began his career as a trainee for LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
Gillespie began his career with Liverpool having carved out a name for himself as a goalscorer in schoolboy football. He broke Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
's goal-scoring record for Liverpool Schools; he later had his record broken by Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
.
In 2004, having had few opportunities at Liverpool, he was released and was quickly signed by Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
, then of 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....
, who are now in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
. He continued to find himself without many chances and later in 2004 was sent on-loan to Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
of 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....
, where he scored four goals in five appearances.
Gillespie once again joined Cheltenham on loan at the end of the 2004–05 season, and again in the first half of the 2005-2006 season, scoring a further five goals. He signed a permanent two-and-a-half year contract in January 2006, for an undisclosed fee.
Despite signing a new contract in August 2007, Gillespie handed in a transfer request in the summer of 2008. Less than a week after handing in the request, Gillespie was sold to fellow League One club Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
for a fee of £400,000.
Colchester United
On 7 July 2008, Gillespie signed for Colchester following a successful season with Cheltenham in which he scored 16 goals. It was a club record signing, as the U's looked to bounce back to the Championship.Unfortunately for both Gillespie and Colchester, however, his time with the club was dogged by injuries from shortly after his arrival, despite having made a promising start with three goals from his first three outings.
His first season in Essex continued to be stop-start and, although when he managed to play he continued to show his natural, goalscoring instinct and displayed this in scoring five goals in his little time spent on the pitch, he struggled to rack up game time and barely managed a ninety minute performance. This was compounded when, in the 5-0 home win over Carlisle he managed just sixteen minutes in his return from injury before having to go off injured once more.
The season was a huge shame for Gillespie who would have wished to make a much more impressive impact on his arrival as the club's record signing. Under Aidy Boothroyd in the 2009/10 season he struggled to break in to the team despite seemingly having gotten over the worst of his injury troubles and it was not until the final season of his contract that Gillespie's ability finally came to the fore.
With John Ward now the U's manager, his former Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
boss eased him back in to the U's team after the Christmas period and Gillespie flourished, bagging nine goals in ten starts as well as having a legitimate goal chalked out in a 0-1 defeat at Charlton.
Gillespie committed his future to Colchester for another two years on 17 May 2011 and was given the number nine shirt for the 2011–12
2011–12 Colchester United F.C. season
The 2011–12 season will be Colchester United's fourth consecutive season in the third tier of English football.- Current squad :-Out on loan:- Player Info :-Transfers:-Transfers In:-Transfers Out:-Loans In:...
season.
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||||||
| Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
2003–04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City... |
2004–05 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||
| Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more... (loan) |
2004–05 2004–05 Football League Two The 2004–05 Football League Two season was the first season since the Football League Third Division was renamed League Two, following a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The league was made up of eighteen teams from the Third Division who were neither promoted or relegated, the four relegated... |
12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | |||||||||
| Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City... |
2005–06 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||
| Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more... (loan) |
2005–06 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 2 | 12 | 5 | |||||||||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more... | 2005–06 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 2007–08 2007–08 Football League One The Football League 2007–08 , was the sixteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals.... |
37 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 40 | 16 | ||||||||||
| Total | 67 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Colchester United Colchester United F.C. Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910.... | 2008–09 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | 20 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 2009–10 Football League One The Football League 2009–10 , was be the seventeenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2009 and ended on 8 May 2010.... |
30 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2010–11 2010–11 Football League One The 2010–11 Football League One is the seventh season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format... |
18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 19 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 2011–12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Total | 75 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Career total | 175 | 45 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 196 | 52 | ||