Asa Edmund Charlton (born 7 December 1977) is an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for

Walsall Wood Walsall Wood is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands county, England. It is located middway between the towns of Aldridge and Brownhills, as well as Walsall and Lichfield. History In the late-18th century and ...

Playing career

A trainee at

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

, Charlton failed to make the grade at Aggborough and joined local side Willenhall Town. His form soon attracted the attentions of bigger clubs in non-league football, with the youngster joining Telford United before the start of the 1997–98 season. He made only a handful of appearances at the Buck's Head, before leaving at the end of the season to move to America, where he took a break from football to study computer science at the

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

under a football scholarship. After a year in the States, he returned to the UK, continuing his computer science studies at the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

. He continued to play football, turning out for the

British Universities Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Deg ...

team for a spell. He returned to the non-league ranks with short spells at Rushall Olympic and Stourport Swifts, before signing for

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...

side

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

on the eve of the 2002–2003 season. Used mainly as a substitute, Charlton made only four starts at St. Georges Lane, before joining fellow Southern League side Halesowen Town in January 2003. His stay with the Yeltz was to be the longest of his career to date, as he became a popular figure at the Grove. He was named club captain the following season after their relegation to Southern League West, but fell out of favour at the start of the 2004–2005 season, and moved to newly promoted

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side Redditch United. He enjoyed two years of success at the Valley, making seventy appearances for United as they established themselves at step two in English non-league football. His form for Redditch had caught the eye of a number of clubs, but it was a surprise to all when it emerged that at 29 years old, Charlton was to be given his first chance of professional football at League Two

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. He signed for the Stags in November 2006, but made only a handful of appearances as they only just avoided relegation to non-league football. Released at the end of the season, he moved back to the Bucks Head, to join newly promoted AFC Telford United. He became a popular figure in the 2007–08 season, as the Bucks immediately settled into their new surroundings of Conference North. He started the 2008–09 season suspended, and put himself further down the pecking order when he injured himself after dropping a beer barrel on his foot. After recovering, he was sent out on loan to local sides Shifnal Town and

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

to gain match practice. The left-back left the

side Redditch United in 2010 and signed with Corby Town. His next move was to re-join former club

. This was followed by a switch to Leamington in October 2011 where he made his debut on 4 October against Chippenham Town.

Hinckley United

In June 2013, it was announced that Charlton had joined Hinckley United ahead of the 2013–14 Southern Football League season, under the new management of

Stuart Storer Stuart Storer (born 16 January 1967) is an English former footballer, who played as a winger and is manager of Bedworth United. Stuart Storer has legendary status amongst Brighton and Hove Albion supporters. His pace and crosses from the rig ...

and Andy Penny.

Return to Halesowen

Charlton returned to former team Halesowen Town for the 2013–14 Northern Premier League season and extended his contract for the

2017–18 Northern Premier League The 2017–18 season was the 50th season of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and the eleventh and last season of the Division One North and South. The league sponsors for 2017–18 were Evo-Stik. Premier Division Team changes The ...

season.

Rushall Olympic

Following on from his release by Halesowen Town, Charlton joined Southern League Premier Central rivals Rushall Olympic on 28 December 2018. In August 2022, Charlton returned to Halesowen Town as an ambassador of the club where he would still be training with the first-team as well as supporting the owners off the field. In June 2023, Charlton joined AFC Wulfrunians. He joined

in October 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Asa 1977 births Living people English men's footballers Willenhall Town F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Rushall Olympic F.C. players Stourport Swifts F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Redditch United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players AFC Telford United players Shifnal Town F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Leamington F.C. players Hinckley United F.C. players Sutton Coldfield Town F.C. players A.F.C. Wulfrunians players Walsall Wood F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Midland Football League players Northern Premier League players Men's association football defenders People from Cosford, Shropshire Footballers from Shropshire