Ben Wilkinson

Ben Wilkinson

Wilkinson in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Alistair Benjamin Wilkinson[1]
Date of birth	25 April 1987[2]
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Sheffield Wednesday
	Sheffield United
2003–2005	Derby County
2005–2006	Hull City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Hull City	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Harrogate Town (loan)	3	(0)
2008	→ Gretna (loan)	13	(0)
2008–2009	York City	21	(2)
2009	→ Altrincham (loan)	9	(0)
2009–2010	Chester City	0	(0)
2010–2011	Tamworth	28	(2)
2011	Boston United	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:37, 8 November 2011 (UTC).

Alistair Benjamin "Ben" Wilkinson (born 25 April 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder. He has played for Hull City, Harrogate Town, Gretna, York City, Altrincham, Chester City, Tamworth and Boston United.

He is not to be confused with the English poet and The Guardian book critic, Ben Wilkinson.

Career

Wilkinson playing for York City in 2008

Youth teams and loan spells

Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire,^[3] Wilkinson is the son of former player and manager Howard Wilkinson.^[4] He played with the youth teams of Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Derby County,^[5] who he became a scholar with in May 2003.^[6] He moved to Hull City in January 2005, where he completed his scholarship.^[7] He signed a two-year professional contract with Hull in the summer of 2006.^[2] He joined Conference North side Harrogate Town on a one-month loan on 9 December 2006,^[8] where he made five appearances before returning to Hull in January 2007.^[9][10]

He went on trial with York City of the Conference National in January 2008, during which he scored two goals in a reserve team match against Sheffield United,^[4] before later joining Gretna in the Scottish Premier League on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season.^[11] He made his debut in a 2–0 defeat against Hearts on 9 February 2008 and made 13 appearances whilst at the club.^[12][13]

York City and Altrincham loan

He joined Conference Premier team York City on a two-year contract on 11 June 2008.^[14][15] His debut came in a 1–0 victory against Crawley Town on 9 August.^[16] He scored his first goal for the team in a 3–1 defeat against Wrexham in October,^[17] which was followed by the first goal in a 2–0 victory against Woking in the following game.^[18] He joined Altrincham on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season on 26 March 2009.^[15] He made his debut after coming on as a 90th-minute substitute in a 2–2 draw with Crawley Town and he started in the subsequent game, a 1–0 defeat to Ebbsfleet United.^[19][20] He finished the spell with nine appearances.^[21] He was released by York on 2 July after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.^[22]

Chester City

He was quickly signed by newly relegated Conference Premier club Chester City on 9 July.^[23] Wilkinson scored in the first minute of his competitive debut for the club against Cambridge United on 15 August, but Chester suffered a 4–2 defeat.^[24] He made 28 appearances for Chester during the 2009–10 season,^[25] although these were expunged from the records after Chester were expelled from the Football Conference in March 2010.^[26] He left the club following their liquidation on 10 March and in April went on trial with League Two side Bradford City, playing in reserve games against Newcastle United and Leeds United.^[27][28][29]

Tamworth

Wilkinson playing for Tamworth in 2011

Wilkinson signed for Conference Premier club Tamworth on 26 August following a trial.^[30] His first goal came in a 1–0 away win at Mansfield Town, where his goal was the difference.^[31] Wilkinson scored a vital goal against former club York in a 2–1 away win on 16 April 2011 to help Tamworth fight relegation.^[32]

Boston United

Wilkinson signed for Conference North side Boston United on 30 July after a trial,^[33][34] having been set to follow former Tamworth players Aaron Mitchell and Jason Bradley to Eastwood Town.^[35] He found himself out of the team early in the 2011–12 season because of a knee injury but later established himself at right back due to a shortage in that position.^[36] He left Boston on 7 November after making 10 appearances for the club.^[37][38]

Career statistics

As of 22 October 2011.

Club	Season	League^[A]		FA Cup		League Cup		Other^[B]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hull City	2006–07[39]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2007–08[13]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Harrogate Town (loan)	2006–07[9]	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	5	0
Gretna (loan)	2007–08[13]	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
York City	2008–09[21]	21	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	25	2
Altrincham (loan)	2008–09[21]	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Chester City	2009–10[25]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tamworth	2010–11[40]	28	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	31	2
Boston United	2011–12[38]	8	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Career total		82	4	6	0	0	0	5	0	93	4

A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football Conference and Scottish Premier League.

B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Conference League Cup and FA Trophy.

References

1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/09/2010 and 30/09/2010" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 6. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
2. "Profiles". Hull City A.F.C. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
3. York City F.C. programme, v. Tamworth F.C., 16 April 2011, p. 16.
4. "A City family affair for Ben and Howard". The Press. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
5. Sobot, Lee (16 June 2008). "York City: Minstermen set for energy boost". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
6. "Welcome on board". Derby County F.C. 23 May 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
7. "Holmes loan extended". Derby County F.C. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
8. Beill, Andy (31 December 2006). "2006 Transfers". Hull City Online. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
9. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2007). Non-League Club Directory 2008. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-1-869833-57-2.
10. "Player Update". Hull City A.F.C. 3 January 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
11. "Gretna lose Caig, add Wilkinson". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
12. "Hearts 2–0 Gretna". BBC Sport. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
13. "Season 2007/2008:". Sportbox.tv. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
14. "York City clinch double signing". BBC Sport. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
15. Flett, Dave (27 March 2009). "Manager Martin Foyle warns York City they must do it for themselves". The Press. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
16. "Crawley 0–1 York". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
17. "Wrexham 3–1 York City". BBC Sport. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
18. "Woking 0–2 York". BBC Sport. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
19. "Altrincham 2–2 Crawley". BBC Sport. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
20. "Ebbsfleet 1–0 Altrincham". BBC Sport. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
21. "Season 2008/2009:". Sportbox.tv. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
22. Flett, Dave (2 July 2009). "York City part company with Ben Wilkinson". The Press. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
23. "Chester City FC: Mick Wadsworth signs four more". Chester Chronicle. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
24. "Chester City 2 Cambridge United 4". Chester Chronicle. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
25. "Season 2009/2010:". Sportbox.tv. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
26. "Chester City results erased from Blue Square Premier". BBC Sport. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
27. "Lambs swoop for former Chester City man". Tamworth Herald. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
28. "Chester City wound up in High Court". BBC Sport. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
29. "Leeds United 3 Bradford City 0 – reserves report". Bradford City A.F.C. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
30. "Tamworth complete Ben Wilkinson deal". BBC Sport. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
31. "Mansfield Town 0–1 Tamworth". BBC Sport. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
32. "York 1–2 Tamworth". BBC Sport. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
33. "Boston United's Ben Wilkinson wants to become a chip off the old block". Boston Standard. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
34. "Wilkinson aims to follow in his father's footsteps". Boston Standard. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
35. "Perry moves to the Imps". Tamworth F.C. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
36. "Browne on the ball: A hair-raising family experience for Wilkinson". Boston Standard. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
37. "Boston's Jason Lee unhappy with poor second-half display". BBC Sport. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
38. "Player Info". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
39. "Season 2006/2007:". Sportbox.tv. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
40. Appearances and goals for this season are taken from:
    "Season 2010/2011:". Sportbox.tv. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
    "Last minute equaliser denies Des his first win". Tamworth F.C. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
    "Ten men Lambs come back twice but its not enough". Tamworth F.C. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

External links

• Ben Wilkinson career statistics at Soccerbase