James Matthew Spencer (born 11 April 1985) 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 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 ...

Playing career

Stockport County

Born in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, Spencer started his senior career with his local side

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

, where he came through the club's Centre of Excellence youth system, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over

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 ...

in 2002, aged just 16. Since his debut in 2002, Spencer played regularly for the Stockport first team, linking him with moves to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. However, Spencer lacked first-team opportunities during the 2006–07 season.

Rochdale

In the summer of 2007 he signed a two-year contract with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, however he lacked first team opportunities when a double hernia and stress fracture of the hip in April 2008 kept him out due to injury he was replaced by Sam Russell and subsequently Rochdale brought Premiership keeper Frank Fielding in on a loan deal. On 9 April 2009, Spencer joined Chester City on an emergency loan, following an injury to regular goalkeeper John Danby. He played in the final five matches of the season but was unable to prevent City being relegated out of

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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

. At the end of the season, Spencer was released by Rochdale,

Non-League

After his release from Rochdale, he joined non-league side Northwich Victoria in August 2009, but after two successful seasons with the club, he was released in 2011, to cut the playing budget. He was then signed by

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home m ...

in July 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, James 1985 births Living people Footballers from Stockport English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Stockport County F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players F.C. United of Manchester players Northern Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen