Ben Gordon (footballer, born 1991)

Gordon came through the academy system at Leeds United and was signed by Chelsea from Leeds in 2007 for compensation.[3] He progressed through the youth ranks at Chelsea, before graduating to the reserves where he became a regular player.[4]

Gordon signed for League One side Tranmere Rovers on an initial one-month loan deal on 25 March 2010.[4] Rovers' manager Les Parry brought Gordon in to help beat off the threat of relegation, replacing regular left-backs Zoumana Bakayogo and Aaron Cresswell who were both suspended at the time.[5] He made his Football League debut for the club two days later when they fell to a 3–0 away defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.[6] Gordon made a total of four appearances for Rovers during his loan spell before returning to his parent club.[2]

Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock signed Gordon on a short-term loan deal on 5 August 2010,[7] and made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season on 14 August as Killie fell to a 2–1 away defeat to Rangers.[8] Manager Mixu Paatelainen was encouraged by his debutants performances in the game despite the defeat.[9] He scored his first professional goal on 10 November 2010 as Kilmarnock earned a third consecutive Premier League win against Hamilton Academical. Gordon opened the scoring with a curling shot into the top corner midway through the first half.[10] He was instrumental in a 2–1 victory over Hibernian on 18 December, laying on two goals for Liam Kelly.[11] His impressive form for Killie saw him and other in-form players linked with moves away from the club prior to the January transfer window.[12]

Gordon's loan spell with Kilmarnock was ended prematurely by his parent club on 3 January 2011, having been a key member of Paatelainen's team that held fourth position in the Scottish Premier League. The club cited that they would prefer Gordon to play the second half of the 2010–11 season on loan in England. He had hoped to extend his stay with Kille prior to his recall. He left the Ayrshire club on the back of a ten-game run which included seven wins and two draws,[13] and made a total of 18 league appearances, scoring once, in addition to three Scottish League Cup games.[2]

Chelsea sent Gordon out on loan just three days after his return from Kilmarnock. He joined Championship strugglers Scunthorpe United until the end of the season. However, his debut was to be delayed due to a hamstring injury he had collected while on loan with Kilmarnock.[3] The announcement followed Gordon penning a new two-and-a-half-year extension to remain with the Stamford Bridge club.[14] Due to the injury, his loan move was delayed until the end of the transfer window,[15] with the move finally completed on 7 February.[16] His eventual debut arrived on 12 February in a 1–0 away defeat to Cardiff City.[17] Scunthorpe eventually ended the season bottom of the Championship and relegated to League One. Gordon made a total of 14 league appearances for the Iron during his stint at the club.[2]

On 18 July 2011, it was leaked that Peterborough United were interested in signing Gordon from Chelsea.[18] Further to this, it was confirmed that a deal was in place to sign an unnamed England under-20 left-back once the player returned from international duty.[19] The deal was finally confirmed on 17 August, with Gordon due to stay with the Posh until 2 January 2012.[20] He made his one and only league appearance for the club as a 57th-minute substitute for Mark Little in their 7–1 rout against Ipswich Town on 20 August.[21] He also made a League Cup appearance four days after the Ipswich win, but lost the tie 2–0 at home to Middlesbrough.[22] Finding his chances limited, Gordon returned from his loan spell in late September.[23]

Gordon returned to Kilmarnock for a second loan spell on 11 January 2012.[24] He revealed how Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas persuaded him to return to Scotland in an attempt to force his way into the Blues' first team on the completion of the loan.[25] He made his second debut for the club in a 0–0 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie on 14 January.[26]

Gordon helped the club to their first ever Scottish League Cup win as they defeated Celtic 1–0 in the 2012 Scottish League Cup Final at Hampden Park on 18 March, earning his first silverware as a player.[27] In the summer of 2012, Gordon returned to Chelsea[28] having made 20 further appearances for Killie.[2]

Birmingham City signed Gordon on loan from Chelsea on a six-month deal on 10 August 2012.[29] He made his debut on 25 August as the Blues suffered a 2–0 defeat at Watford.[30] This was to be his solitary league appearance, though he did feature in Birmingham's 3–2 extra time loss to Coventry City on 29 August.[31][32] On his return to Chelsea following the completion of his loan in January 2013, Gordon was released by the club without making a single first-team appearance.[33]

Following his release from Chelsea in January 2013, Gordon featured for Hull City Reserves on trial.[34] Shortly after, he signed a month-long contract with League One club Yeovil Town on 11 March 2013, with a view to an extension.[33] Gordon made his debut for Yeovil the following day, featuring for 67 minutes in a 2–2 draw with Crawley Town, his first game in over six months. He assisted the opening goal, crossing in for Byron Webster to head home after five minutes, before being substituted for Dominic Blizzard.[35] Gordon played just two more games for Yeovil, coming on as a substitute in both the 2–0 home defeat to Swindon Town on 19 March,[36] and the 3–3 away draw with Carlisle United on 23 March.[37] He left the club on 14 April following the expiry of his deal.[38]

After attracting attention from English clubs Blackpool[39] and Notts County,[40] and failing to secure a long-term contract with Yeovil, Gordon returned to Scotland, this time with Ross County in the newly established Scottish Premiership. He signed a one-year deal on 27 June 2013.[41] He made his debut in the opening game 2–1 defeat at Celtic on 3 August.[42] Gordon scored his only goal for the club as the Staggies fought back from a 3–1 deficit to draw 3–3 with Partick Thistle on 11 January 2014, netting to bring the score to 3–2.[43] He ended the season with 27 Premiership appearances to his name, and made one League Cup appearance.[44]

It was reported on 17 June 2014 that Gordon had signed a one-year contract extension with the Dingwall club.[45] However, he decided to leave the club just ten days after the club announced that he had signed a contract extension, citing his desire to return to play in England.[46]

On 1 July 2014, Gordon signed a two-year contract with League One club Colchester United.[47] He made his debut for the club in the opening fixture of the 2014–15 season as Colchester held Oldham Athletic to a 2–2 draw at the Colchester Community Stadium.[48]

After falling out of favour under new Colchester manager Tony Humes having been ousted by loan signings, Gordon earned a recall on 20 December having been out of league action since early October. He helped his side to a 1–0 victory over his former club Yeovil Town.[49] Gordon was again left out by the loan signing of Matthew Briggs in February 2015, and after Colchester signed Briggs on a permanent basis in the summer of 2015, Gordon was allowed to move on to find a new club. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 1 July 2015.[50]

Gordon signed for National League side Chester on 30 October 2015,[51] but he was released in January 2016 having failed to make a first-team appearance for the club. He had only made the bench on three occasions in the National League, although he did make an appearance in the Cheshire Senior Cup in a 10–1 win over Winsford United in November.[52]

Returning to his home town of Bradford, Gordon signed for National League North side Bradford Park Avenue in March 2016.[53] He made his debut as a substitute in the 3–1 win over Harrogate Town on 28 March.[54]

On 27 July 2016, after a successful trial, Gordon joined National League side Woking on a one-year deal.[55] On 6 August 2016, Gordon made his Woking debut in a 3–1 home defeat against Lincoln City, being replaced in the 78th minute by fellow new signing Max Kretzschmar.[56]

On 21 September 2016, after failing to impress under manager Garry Hill, Gordon made the switch back to the National League North to join Boston United.[57] Three days later, Gordon made his Boston United debut in their 1–0 away victory against Altrincham.[58] On 20 December 2016, Gordon scored his first goal for Boston in their 3–1 home victory against Curzon Ashton, netting the Pilgrims' equaliser in the 15th minute.[59] After appearing twenty two times and scoring once for Boston in all competitions, Gordon was released at the end of the 2016–17 campaign.[60]

On 1 September 2017, it was announced that Gordon had signed for Boston's country-rivals Gainsborough Trinity.[61] However, after only featuring twice for Gainsborough, Gordon was released a month later.[62]

On 5 June 2018, Gordon re-signed for Gainsborough Trinity.[63]

On 21 August 2020, Gordon joined Pontefract Collieries following a season-long spell with Matlock Town.[64]