Ross Gardner

Ross Gardner (born 15 February 1985) is an English footballer. He spent four years in the Football League, playing for Nottingham Forest and Port Vale. He later moved into non-league football with Ilkeston Town, Eastwood Town, and Shildon. He was also named in the England squad for the 2002 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.

Ross Gardner
Personal information
Full name Ross Gardner[1]
Date of birth (1985-02-15) 15 February 1985
Place of birth South Shields, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Nissan
Whitburn & Cleadon
Stella Maris
2002–2003 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2006 Nottingham Forest 28 (0)
2006–2007 → Port Vale (loan) 7 (1)
2007 Port Vale 9 (1)
2007–2008 Ilkeston Town 46 (12)
2008–2010 Eastwood Town 29 (4)
2010–2011 Shildon 5 (0)
2011–2012 Eastwood Town
Total 124 (18)
National team
2000–2005 England Youth 43 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Gardner started his career with Newcastle United as a youth team player. He made the switch to Nottingham Forest with Newcastle youth teammate James Beaumont after a bust-up with academy coach Peter Beardsley.[3] The pair accused Beardsley of bullying, however an FA inquiry later cleared him of any wrongdoing.[4]

He made his debut for Forest under Paul Hart in the 2003–04 campaign, replacing Andy Reid 78 minutes into a 6–0 win over Wimbledon at the City Ground. He played one further game in the First Division under new manager Joe Kinnear, before he made his mark on the first team during the late stages of the 2004–05 season, as an 18-year-old, playing 14 Championship games during Forest's relegation season. He featured 15 times in 2005–06 under new boss Gary Megson, starting six League One games. He did not feature in new manager Colin Calderwood's first team plans in the 2006–07 campaign, and in November 2006, he joined Port Vale on loan, before the deal that was made permanent two months later.[5]

He played twenty games for Martin Foyle's "Valiants" in the 2006–07 season, and scored two League One goals: the first came in a 2–0 win over Gillingham at Vale Park on 5 December, and the second came in a 2–1 defeat to Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road on 3 February. Gardner was released by Vale in May 2007.[6]

Gardner joined Ilkeston Town of the Northern Premier League Premier Division in the summer of 2007. Despite being offered a new one-year deal, he decided to join Eastwood Town in June 2008. A highly influential player for Town,[7] they won the Northern Premier Division in 2008–09, and were promoted into the Conference North. However, after the 2009–10 season he was released in May 2010.[8] In 2010, he signed a contract to Northern League Division One side Shildon.[9] He played just five games for the club.[10] He returned to Eastwood Town in December 2011.[11] The "Badgers" finished bottom of the Conference North in 2011–12, winning just four games all season. He injured his hernia in February 2012.[12]

Statistics

Source:[13]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nottingham Forest2003–04First Division20000020
2004–05Championship1400000140
2005–06League One1202020160
Total 2802020320
Port Vale2006–07League One1612020201

Honours
Eastwood Town

References
  1. "Ross Gardner". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2006/07". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. "Toon academy in bullying row". BBC News. 9 April 2003. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  4. "Beardsley cleared of bullying". BBC News. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  5. "Port Vale sign Forest's Gardner". BBC Sport. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  6. "Vale boss Foyle clears the decks". BBC Sport. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  7. "Profile". eastwoodtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  8. "Stevenson, Hawes sign for Eastwood as retained list is revealed". Nottingham Post. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  9. "Ross Gardner". clubwebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  10. "Ross Gardner". clubwebsite.co.uk/shildonafc01. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  11. "Gardner Makes Badgers Return". nonleague.pitchero.com. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  12. "Ramshaw waits on Eastwood future". Nottingham Post. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  13. Ross Gardner at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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