Jack Elliott Bonham (born 14 September 1993) is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for club

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 ...

. A product of the

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

academy, Bonham spent time on loan at Harrow Borough, before transferring to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in June 2013. After failing to break into the team, he spent much of his later career with the club away on loan, before transferring to Gillingham in 2019. Following two seasons as the Gills' first-choice goalkeeper, he transferred to Stoke City in 2021. Although born in England, Bonham represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

U17 U17 or U-17 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , various vessels * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Cessna U-17 Skywagon, an American utility aircraft * Nonconvex great rhombicuboctahedron In geometry, the nonconvex g ...

level.

Club career

Watford

2010–2012

Bonham signed a scholarship deal with

in June 2010, but quickly signed his first professional contract three months later, having just turned 17. Due to first team goalkeeper

Scott Loach Scott James Loach (born 27 May 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Loach played for Ipswich Town, Watford and Hartlepool United. He had also spent loan spells with non-League Stafford Rangers and Y ...

incurring a

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...

, Bonham won his maiden call up to the first team squad on 26 November 2011, when he was an unused substitute during a 0–0

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

draw with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

. Bonham was an unused substitute on 12 occasions during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season. On 17 February 2012, Bonham joined

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 ...

Premier Division club Harrow Borough on a one-month emergency

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

. He made the first senior appearance of his career the following day, conceding two goals in a 2–2 draw with

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...

. On 14 March, the loan was extended by a further month. He returned to Watford in April after he broke a bone in his hand during a 4–3 defeat to

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

. He made 9 appearances for the club and failed to keep a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

2012–13

Bonham made his only appearance for Watford on 4 May 2013, when he came on as a substitute for injured goalkeeper Jonathan Bond after 24 minutes of the final game of the season against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. He was only included in the squad due to an injury sustained in the warm up by first-choice goalkeeper

Manuel Almunia Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over two seasons with Recr ...

and was at fault for both Leeds' goals in the 2–1 defeat, which cost Watford the chance of automatic promotion to 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 ...

. After the match, Watford manager

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football executive, Manager (association football), manager, and former Association football, footballer who played predominantly as a Forward (association football), forward. He is currently v ...

refused to blame Bonham for his actions. Bonham was not called into the matchday squads during Watford's unsuccessful playoff campaign. On 7 June 2013, Watford announced that Bonham's contract would not be renewed and he was released by the club.

Brentford

2013–14 and loan to Arlesey Town

On 12 June 2013, Bonham signed a two-year contract with

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

club

on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club in a League Cup first round tie at home to

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

on 6 August, in which Brentford ran out 3–2

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

winners. His second appearance came in the following round away to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, in which he endured a torrid evening as the home side cruised to a 3–0 lead before half time, eventually winning 5–0. Bonham made his league debut on 7 September, coming off the bench against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

after starting keeper

David Button David Robert Edmund Button (born 27 February 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Reading. A product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, Button came to prominence at Brentford in 2013. He earned 31 caps ...

was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

. Described as a 'nightmare afternoon' in press reports, he conceded four goals as Brentford lost 4–0. Bonham spent much of the remainder of the 2013–14 season away on loan at Southern League Premier Division club

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at New Lamb Meadow. History The club was establishe ...

. Joining on 15 November 2013, he made his debut the following day in a 2–0

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

third qualifying round victory over Marlow. He endured another nightmare afternoon in the following round, conceding five goals in a 5–1 defeat to

Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originall ...

on 30 November. After four successive defeats and conceding 12 goals, Bonham helped Arlesey to three consecutive league wins in December. At the end of the month, his loan was extended until the end of the 2013–14 season. Bonham was recalled on 8 February 2014, after making 19 appearances.

2014–15

Following Brentford's promotion to the Championship, a persistent shoulder injury suffered by Richard Lee saw Bonham serve as backup to David Button through the 2014–15 season. He signed a new year contract on 2 January 2015 and celebrated his signing the following day with his only appearance of the season with a start in an FA Cup third round match versus

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. He conceded two late goals as Brentford were knocked out after suffering a 2–0 defeat, though winning the club's

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award proved to be a consolation.

2015–2017

Bonham had a nightmare start to the 2015–16 season, conceding four goals on his sole appearance against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

in the League Cup first round on 11 August 2015. He again served as David Button's backup throughout the campaign. Despite the departure of Button on 19 July 2016, Bonham entered the 2016–17 season as second-choice behind new signing Dan Bentley. He made his first appearance of the season in a 1–0 EFL Cup first round defeat to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on 9 August 2016. Having failed to make an appearance in nearly five months, Bonham revealed in late December 2016 that it was "frustrating" to be denied the chance to move away on loan. He made his second and final appearance of the season with his first Brentford start in a 1–1 draw versus

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 17 April 2017 and won the club's man of the match award for his performance.

2017–18 and loan to Carlisle United

Bonham signed a one-year contract extension in June 2017, which would keep him at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

until the end of the 2018–19 season. He spent the entire 2017–18 season away on loan at League Two club

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. Bonham's performances in January 2018 saw him nominated for the PFA League Two Fans' Player of the Month award and he finished the season with 49 appearances.

2018–19 and loan to Bristol Rovers

On 27 August 2018, Bonham joined League One club

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. He had an impressive start to his time with the club and was reported on 15 October 2018 to have "the best save percentage of any first-choice goalkeeper in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

so far this season, with 91.5%". Bonham finished the season with 46 appearances. Bonham departed Brentford when his contract expired at the end of the 2018–19 season, after making just seven appearances during six seasons at Griffin Park.

Gillingham

On 4 June 2019, Bonham signed a two-year contract with League One club Gillingham on a free transfer, effective 1 July 2019. He made 89 appearances during two mid-table seasons with the club and departed Priestfield after rejecting a new contract at the end of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season.

Stoke City

2021–22

On 28 June 2021, Bonham signed a two-year contract with Championship club

. He failed to win a call into a matchday squad until 20 November 2021, when he was promoted to the substitutes' bench due to first-choice goalkeeper Josef Bursik suffering a torn thigh muscle. Bonham backed up second-choice goalkeeper Adam Davies until January 2022, when he assumed the starting role. After Davies' transfer away from the club in January 2022 and Bursik's return from injury one month later, Bonham largely held the starting spot through to the end of the 2021–22 season and finished the campaign with 17 appearances.

2022–2025

Bonham improved his tally to 28 appearances during the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season and the one-year option to extend his contract was exercised at the end of the campaign. Bonham signed another one-year contract extension in November 2023. Behind successive loan signings

Mark Travers Mark Travers (born 18 May 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AFC Bournemouth. He has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth international level up until under-21 level as well as the Republic of ...

and Daniel Iversen in the pecking order, Bonham made 16 appearances during a mid-table 2023–24 season. Despite the presence of

Viktor Johansson Viktor Tobias Johansson (born 14 September 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Stoke City and the Sweden national team. A product of the Hammarby and Aston Villa academies, Johansson spent two year ...

restricting Bonham to just two cup appearances during the 2024–25 season, he signed a further one-year contract extension in May 2025.

International career

Bonham won five caps for the Republic of Ireland

team in 2009 and 2010. In October 2018, it was reported that the full

team were considering calling up Bonham, due to his club form at Bristol Rovers.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Jack Bonham
at soccerscene.ie
Jack Bonham
at fai.ie
Jack Bonham
at stokecityfc.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham, Jack 1993 births Living people Footballers from Stevenage Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers English men's footballers English people of Irish descent Men's association football goalkeepers Watford F.C. players Harrow Borough F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players Southern Football League players Carlisle United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Irish sportsmen