Donovan Ashton Simmonds (born 12 October 1988 in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

) 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 last played for Kingstonian. He plays as a striker. Simmonds began his youth career with London side

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, before moving to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

where he failed to make any appearances. He spent two spells on loan with Gillingham and in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, before being released in 2009. He spent a short spell with Maltese club

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

, before returning to the United Kingdom to sign for

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

in the

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

. Simmonds signed for

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 ...

club

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club that was based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It withdrew from Southern League Premier Division Central on 18 January 2024 due to financial problems and faces liquidation. In 1889, Nuneaton S ...

in September 2010, and for

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the , the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1983 afte ...

two months later. He later signed for Chelmsford City in September 2012.

Playing career

Coventry City

Simmonds joined

on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal following his release from the

academy at the end of the 2006–07 season. Simmonds had impressed while on trial, playing in two friendly matches and a testimonial match against

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club that was based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It withdrew from Southern League Premier Division Central on 18 January 2024 due to financial problems and faces liquidation. In 1889, Nuneaton S ...

, in which he netted in a 5–0 win. He was one of a number of Coventry signings to have previously worked with manager

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

during their brief time together at Charlton.

Gillingham

On 28 March 2008, it was announced that Simmonds had joined Gillingham on loan until the end of the season, where he was given the number 2 (a number usually associated with right-backs). Simmonds made his ''Gills'' debut in a 2–1 home win against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on 1 April.

Kilmarnock

On 13 August 2008 Simmonds joined

on a loan deal set to last until 5 January 2009. Simmonds scored his debut ''Killie'' goal with a late header against

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

after coming on as a sub. In December, Kilmarnock announced that his loan deal had been extended until the end of the season.

Floriana

On 19 August 2009, it was confirmed that Simmonds had joined

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

side

, following his release from Coventry. Simmonds scored his first goal since joining ''the Greens'' in the 1–0 win over Hamrun Spartans on 4 October 2009. After leaving Floriana, Simmonds trained with

, playing two trial matches to try to win a deal.

Greenock Morton

Simmonds signed for

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

side Morton on 27 February 2010, until the end of the season. He was released by Morton at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Rushden & Diamonds

Simmonds signed a contract with Rushden & Diamonds on 6 August 2010.

Nuneaton Town

He then signed for

outfit

on 20 September 2010 and played his debut less than 24 hours later in Nuneaton's 3–0 defeat of

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Harrogate Hotspurs were fou ...

Dover Athletic

Simmonds returned to

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

for his third club in less than half a season, joining

in December 2010 and scoring on his début against

Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. Affiliated to the Berks & Bucks FA, they are currently members of the . The club were established in October 1870 and have played at ...

. He was released in May 2012 by the club.

Chelmsford City

Simmonds signed for

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

club

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

in September 2012. He scored two goals and made an assist in an FA Cup 1st round tie with local rivals

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, which Chelmsford won 3–1.

Tilbury

In November 2013, Simmonds signed for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

club,

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

and featured regularly in their starting lineup, before leaving the club at the end of the season.

Tamworth

On 2 August 2014, Donovan joined

side Tamworth following a successful trial period, and was joined on the same day by

Brendon Daniels Brendon Daniels may refer to: * Brendon Daniels (footballer) * Brendon Daniels (actor) {{hndis, Daniels, Brendon ...

and George Grayson.

Bishop's Stortford

Simmonds joined

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

in October 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmonds, Donovan 1988 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Waltham Forest People from Walthamstow Men's association football forwards English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Charlton Athletic F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Floriana F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Nuneaton Town F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players Tilbury F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players VCD Athletic F.C. players Kingstonian F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Malta Black British sportsmen 21st-century English sportsmen