Ian Robert Stonebridge (born 30 August 1981) is an English former 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 ...

. He played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. He represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at Under–18 level.

Playing career

Stonebridge was born in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and began his career as a trainee with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. He failed to make the grade at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition ...

and moved to

on a free transfer in July 1999. His league debut came on 7 August 1999 in a 2–1 defeat away to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. In the 2001–02 season he helped Plymouth to the

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

title and with it promotion to Division Two. After a season of consolidation, Stonebridge then helped Argyle to the Division Two title in 2004, but left at the end of the season to join

after learning that he would not be a regular in the higher division. He was a regular in his first season with Wycombe, but lost his place in the 2005–06 season, joining

on loan in November 2005 and scoring on his debut 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 ...

draw with

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

. He returned early from his loan spell due to injury. When he returned to fitness, he scored twice in two games and put in some good performances. After missing pre-season through ankle problems, Stonebridge returned to form with a 35-yard winner against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

in October 2006. Due to a persistent joint injury named

reactive arthropathy Reactive arthritis, also known as Reiter's syndrome, is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in response to an infection in another part of the body (cross-reactivity). Coming into contact with bacteria and developing an infection can t ...

, Stonebridge announced his premature retirement from professional football in March 2007 at the age of just 25. He made a brief comeback for Cornish Southern League club

Truro City Truro City Football Club ( kw, Klub Peldroes Truru) is an English football club based in Truro, Cornwall. They currently play in the Southern League, at the seventh tier of the English football league system. They are the highest ranked clu ...

in the 2008–09 season, but it now seems like his playing days are over.

International career

Having joined

in the summer of 1999, Stonebridge made his debut for England Under–18's against Switzerland, less than a month after making his first-team debut. He went on to be capped three more times during the qualifying rounds of the Under–18 European Championships, scoring two goals.Argyle First-team In 2000
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Coaching

Since retiring from playing, Ian has gained a degree in Applied Sport Science and Coaching at Plymouth Marjon University and an MSc in Sport Coaching at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, whe ...

. Ian is now a lecturer in Sports Coaching at Plymouth Marjon University for courses includin
BA (Hons) Sport, Coaching and Physical Education
and
BA (Hons) Football Development and Coaching
Ian is also a PhD student at

Honours

;Plymouth Argyle Third Division * Winner (1): 2001–02 Second Division * Winner (1): 2003–04

References

External links

*
Greens on Screen

Argyle Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonebridge, Ian 1981 births Footballers from Lewisham Living people Association football forwards English footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Truro City F.C. players English Football League players