James Alan Kenneth Caton (born 4 January 1994) 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 an attacking midfielder. He has played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Early life and career

Caton was born in

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

, where he attended

Wade Deacon High School Wade Deacon High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Widnes, Cheshire, England. Admissions Wade Deacon has a Public Admissions Number of 300 per year and is oversubscribed. It is situated on ''Birchfield Road'' ...

. As well as football, he played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

at school, and was a member of his

Year 10 Year 10 is the tenth year of compulsory education in schools in many countries including England, Australia, India, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Wales. It is the tenth or eleventh year of compulsory education. It is approximately equivalent ...

team that reached the

Champion Schools The Champion Schools tournament (known as the Carnegie Champion Schools due to sponsorship) is a full contact knock-out rugby league football competition open to every secondary school in England, Scotland and Wales and is the largest rugby leag ...

final at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

in 2009. Caton played football for boys' team Widnes Wolves before joining

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

as a nine-year-old schoolboy. He was a part of the England U16s setup that won the Victory shield and turned professional with Bolton in 2010, but was released in the summer of 2012. After a trial with

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 ...

, Caton scored against Everton in

Keith Southern Keith William Southern (born 24 April 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He made 376 appearances in the Premier League and the Football League, most notably representing Blackpool between 2002 a ...

's testimonial match as part of a successful trial with

Club career

Blackpool

Caton signed a two-year contract with

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

club Blackpool, with the option of a third year, in August 2012. He said his move to Blackpool was motivated by the club's playing style. Named twice on the bench in his first year, against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and

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 ...

, his senior debut came on 31 August 2013, as a late substitute for

Nathan Delfouneso Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso (born 2 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. Having graduated from Aston Villa's academy Delfouneso broke into their first team in 2008, mainly being an impact substitute over th ...

in a 1–0 win against Watford. He joined League Two club

on a month's loan in October 2013, and made his debut in a 2–1 loss against

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 ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Nicky Hunt Nicholas Brett Hunt (born 3 September 1983) is an English former footballer. He is a coach for Warrington Rylands 1906. He is best known for his spell at Bolton Wanderers at the beginning of his career. Originally a right-back, he converted to ...

in the 59th minute. However, his loan was cut short due to injury. In March 2014, he went on loan again, to

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

club

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

until the end of the season. He scored on his debut, having come on as a half-time substitute against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, but made no more appearances for the club. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Caton was released.

Shrewsbury Town

Following his release by Blackpool, Caton joined

on a free transfer in June 2014. He made his league debut as a 57th-minute substitute for Ashley Vincent in a 2–1 win over

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

on 16 August 2014. Having only been on the fringes of the first-team squad, he went on loan to

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

in January 2015. After returning to his parent club, he captained a young Shrewsbury side to victory over local rivals

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

in the

Shropshire Senior Cup The Shropshire Senior Cup is a county cup football competition that is open for professional and non-professional senior football teams in the English county of Shropshire. The competition is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world, and ...

final, also scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 win. Just prior to the start of the following season, Caton joined League Two club

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 ...

on a one-month loan, during which he made a single appearance in the League Cup. In November 2015, he signed for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

on loan until January. On his return to Shrewsbury, he made another loan move, to another National League club, Lincoln City, for the rest of the season. Caton was released by Shrewsbury Town when his contract expired.

Non-league career

Caton joined up once again with Lincoln City in the following pre-season with a view to earning a permanent deal, but was unable to agree terms. He signed a six-month contract with National League club

in August 2016. His 23 league appearances produced two goalsa consolation in a 4–1 defeat to Barrow, and the winning goal at

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

,and his contract was not renewed. Caton joined National League rivals Dover Athletic on 2 February 2017 for what remained of the season. He played twice, in the quarter-final and semi-final of the

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football knock-out competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association (KCFA). History Now known as the Kent Senior Cup it was originall ...

, and scored in each match, but made no league appearances.
Following his release from Dover, Caton signed a two-year contract with

National League 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 League (English footb ...

club

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

on 17 July 2017. In the 2018–19 season, he spent time on loan to

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

clubs Warrington Town and

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

. He left Darlington by mutual consent in January 2019, and finished the season with

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 ...

. Alongside his football career, Caton studied for a

BA degree A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in football coaching and management with

UCFB UCFB (University Campus of Football Business) is a higher education institution offering undergraduate and postgraduate university degrees and executive education in the football and wider sports industries. UCFB is a college of the University of ...

, which he completed in 2021. He then rejoined Dover Athletic. Caton was released after one season following relegation. On 3 September 2022, Caton joined National League North club

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

; he was released three months later, subsequently joining Nantwich Town. He joined Northern Premier League promotion hopefuls

Bamber Bridge Bamber Bridge is a large village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". People who live in Bamber Bri ...

in March 2023, and moved on to divisional rival

Ashton United Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. Having been founded as Hurst in 1892, they folded in 1892, before being reformed in 1909. ...

for the 2023–24 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caton, James 1994 births Living people Footballers from Widnes English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Chester F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Nuneaton Town F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Hereford F.C. players Nantwich Town F.C. players Bamber Bridge F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen