Elliott Thomas Frear (born 11 September 1990) is an English professional
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 ...
, who plays for
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
side
Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...
, as a
winger.
Career
Frear signed for
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
at the age of 11 and progressed through the club's Centre of Excellence sides,
but after three seasons he was released from the club's youth system. Having spent two seasons playing local club football Frear was invited to a trial with Exeter in partnership with
Exeter College and was offered a two-year placement on the College Football Academy programme.
Following Frear's impressive 2008–09 season for the youth team scoring 15 goals from the left side of midfield Frear was offered a professional contract in March 2009.
In October 2009, Frear was sent out on loan to
Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
side
Tiverton Town initially on a month's loan later extended until the end of the season.
Frear made his professional début for Exeter in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
against
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is t ...
as an 83rd-minute substitute for
Daniel Nardiello
Daniel Antony Nardiello (born 22 October 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in England, he is the son of former Wales international Donato Nardiello, and made three appearances for the Wales national team ...
in a 1–1 draw. The following week Frear made his Football League début against
Yeovil Town playing the final 26 minutes in a 2–2 draw. On 23 November 2011, Frear scored his first professional goal in an FA Cup replay against Walsall having come on as a second-half substitute. Frear made his first professional start the following weekend against
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
in a 3–0 victory.
Frear signed a new contract with
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
in May 2012.
In late October 2012 he joined
Conference South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the ...
side
Salisbury City on a one-month loan deal and made an immediate impact. He linked up well with the team and in late November it was announced he would remain at Salisbury for another month.
On 18 May 2013, Frear was released by
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
after he was not offered a new contract. He later signed at
Salisbury City on a permanent basis.
On 25 June 2014, he joined
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
on a two-year deal. He made his debut for the club on 9 August 2014 in a 1–0 away win over
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
. He scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and ...
on 4 October 2014. On 18 November 2014, he played the full 90 minutes for
England C
The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non-league level.
Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it f ...
in an
International Challenge Trophy
The International Challenge Trophy, originally known as the European Challenge Trophy, is an international association football competition. It is open to national teams featuring semi-professional U-23 footballers who have not yet won senior inter ...
fixture against the Estonia under 23s squad.
On 7 February 2015, he scored his second goal for Forest Green in a 2–1 home win over
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
. He helped the club to the
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
play-offs for the first time in May 2015, although he couldn't prevent
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
from earning a semi-final win.
On 7 November 2015, he scored Forest Green's winning goal in a stoppage time giant killing 2–1 win over
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...
side
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane.
The cl ...
. He was then a part of the Forest Green side that made it through to the
National League 2015–16 play-off final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
on 15 May 2016, which ended in a 3–1 defeat against
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
.
On 26 January 2017, Frear signed for
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
on a -year contract. He made his debut for Motherwell on 28 January 2017, as a substitute, against
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
. He left the club in July 2019, having turned down the offer of a new contract.
On 18 October 2019, Frear signed for
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
for a second time, agreeing a short-term contract until January 2020.
On 27 August 2020, Frear signed a one-year deal with Scottish club
Heart of Midlothian.
On 23 July 2021, Frear returned to England to join
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
side
Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...
.
[ ]
Career statistics
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frear, Elliott
1990 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Exeter
Footballers from Devon
English footballers
Association football wingers
England semi-pro international footballers
Exeter City F.C. players
Tiverton Town F.C. players
Salisbury City F.C. players
Forest Green Rovers F.C. players
Motherwell F.C. players
Heart of Midlothian F.C. players
Bath City F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Southern Football League players
Scottish Professional Football League players