Dan Gardner (footballer)

Dan Gardner

Gardner playing for Chesterfield in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Gardner[1]
Date of birth	5 April 1990
Place of birth	Gorton, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Winger / Striker
Club information
Current team	Chesterfield
Number	7
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2009	Celtic	0	(0)
2009–2010	Flixton
2010	Crewe Alexandra	2	(0)
2010–2012	Droylsden	0	(0)
2012–2014	Halifax Town	51	(17)
2014–	Chesterfield	71	(8)
2015	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	4	(2)
2016	→ Bury (loan)	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04:22, 28 September 2016 (UTC).

Daniel "Dan" Gardner (born 5 April 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays for Chesterfield. He plays as a midfielder and can also play as a striker. He previously played in the Football League for Crewe Alexandra.

Career

Celtic

Gardner was attending The Manchester College, training to be a panel beater and playing for their academy team (affiliated with FC United of Manchester) when he was noticed by scouts from Scotland and invited for a trial with Celtic's youth team in mid-October 2008. An "outstanding" performance against Rangers secured a short-term deal which was extended to a three-year professional contract.^[2] He went on to make a couple of substitute appearances for the reserve team. However the SPL decided to scrap the Reserve League and so teams continued with a smaller first-team roster and a youth team. This effectively left him surplus to requirements and he was released by the club in May 2009.

Flixton

Gardner returned to Manchester where he was persuaded to join local team Flixton in the Vodkat Premier Division. His performances soon attracted the attention of football league sides, he spent two weeks on trial at Oldham Athletic and a month training with Crewe Alexandra.^[3]

Crewe Alexandra

While training with the club he hit the only goal in a reserve game against Aston Villa on 20 January 2010. This earned him a deal till the end of the season. He was handed the number 34 shirt and went on to make two substitute appearances in League Two before being released at the end of the 2009–10 season.^[4] Gardner joined Droylsden for the 2010–11 season in the Conference North. He signed for fellow Conference North team Halifax Town in July 2012.^[5]

Halifax Town

He made his league debut in November in a 4–0 home win against Vauxhall Motors.^[6] His first league goal for the club was a penalty in a 3–3 draw at home to Histon in February, a couple of days after scoring a brace in the FA Trophy at Dartford. He went on to score 8 more league goals for the club and was instrumental in the Conference North play-off final at Brackley Town which secured Town's place back in the Conference Premier for the 2013–14 season.

Chesterfield

It was announced on 4 January 2014 that Gardner had joined League Two side Chesterfield.^[7]

On 8 March 2016, he moved to Bury, signing a loan deal with the Shakers that was due to last until the end of the 2015-16 season, however Gardner was recalled early and scored against Bury in Chesterfield's final home game of the season.^[8]

Career statistics

As of 5 October 2016

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chesterfield	2013–14	League Two	16	3	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	17	3
	2014–15	League One	19	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
	2015–16	League One	36	4	2	0	1	0	0	0	39	4
	2016–17	League One	10	0	0	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	12	0
Career total			124	27	0	0	0	0	2	0	126	27

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy

References

1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 42. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
2. Kenny, Nicole (2009-02-27). "College star signs for Celtic". North & East Manchester Advertiser. MEN Media. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
3. Morse, Peter (2010-02-17). "Danny Gardner gets leave to prove he is real deal". Crewe Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
4. "Gradi wields axe as injury ends Gardner hopes". This is Staffordshire. 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
5. "He Loves To Score Goals". FC Halifax Town. 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
6. "Vauxhall Motors: Report". FC Halifax Town. 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
7. "Spireites: Chesterfield snap up former Celtic prospect". Derbyshire Times. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
8. "Bury bring in Chesterfield midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

External links

• Dan Gardner career statistics at Soccerbase