Samuel James Aiston (born 21 November 1976) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder and made over 200 appearances in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, particularly for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, Chester City,

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He finished his career in Non-League football and turned out for Stafford Rangers,

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

and

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

Career

Aiston began his career at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in 1994 but made no appearances for the club before joining

in 1995, where he made over 20 first-team appearances, most as substitute. He was loaned to Chester City,

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

and

, before joining Shrewsbury for a £50,000 transfer fee in the summer of 2000. Aiston made 165 league appearances for Shrewsbury, scoring seven goals, helping the club to promotion from the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

at the end of the 2003–04 season. Whilst at

Aiston endeared himself to the Shrewsbury faithful owing to his style of play. He was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2004–05 season and initially agreed a two-year deal with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, with the official website initially announcing the signing. He then did a u-turn and joined

in July 2005, where he made over 40 league and cup appearances in the 2005–06 season. He was released by Tranmere at the end of the season, and joined

. Injuries meant he struggled to command a regular first team place and he dropped into the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

for a loan spell with

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

. In November 2007, Aiston joined

on loan, having previously played for Wrexham manager

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

. Aiston made his debut in a 2–2 draw with Chester City three days later. In January 2008, Aiston's move to Wrexham was made into a permanent signing. He was transfer listed by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the

. Aiston went on to play for Stafford Rangers and

before joining

in February 2010. He was released in May 2011.

Personal life

After retiring from playing football Aiston became a primary school teacher, working initially at Bicton primary school near Shrewsbury. He got married in August 2012 to Hollie Adams at

St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury is traditionally understood to have been founded in Saxon times. Offa of Mercia, King Offa, who reigned in Mercia from 757 to 796 AD, is believed to have founded the church, though it is possible it has an earlier ...

. At the time he was teacher at Newdale Primary School in

Telford, Shropshire Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near the River Severn. Th ...

. In December 2021 Aiston, along with his ex

teammates Dave Edwards and Gavin Cowan, launched the podcast, In The Stiffs. In November 2022, he was head teacher at

Broseley Broseley () is a market town in Shropshire, England, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census and an estimate of 5,022 in 2019. The River Severn flows to its north and east. The first iron bridge in the world was built in 1779 across the ...

C.ofE. Primary School, when he was named to take up his next appointment as first head teacher at Bowbrook Primary School, Shrewsbury, in 2023.

Career statistics

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

and

Football League play-offs The English Football League (EFL) play-offs are a series of play-offs, play-off matches contested by four association football teams finishing immediately below the automatic Promotion and relegation, promotion places in the second, third and four ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiston, Sam 1976 births Living people English men's footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Schoolteachers from Tyne and Wear Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne