Mason Thomas Springthorpe (born 1 November 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 ...

who plays for Shrewsbury Up & Comers as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting ...

. He joined Everton for £125,000 from

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...

in February 2011 but never played a competitive match, spending a month on loan at

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in January 2014. After being released that May, he had a brief stint at

Ellesmere Rangers Ellesmere Rangers Football Club is a association football, football club based in Ellesmere, Shropshire, Ellesmere, Shropshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Beech Grove. History The club was established in 1969 followi ...

before returning to the professional game by signing for

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

in January 2015, being released at the end of the season. He went on to play for a series of non-league clubs.

Early life

Born in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

, Springthorpe played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

as a child, but at the age of nine his father converted him to be a goalkeeper. He attended

Meole Brace School Meole Brace School is a coeducational secondary school in the suburb of Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, England. It is one of two state-funded secondary schools in South Shrewsbury and serves a wide catchment area which includes Meole Brace, areas of ...

. As a youth, Springthorpe studied the style of play of

Joe Hart Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) known professionally simply as Joe Hart is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury ...

, another goalkeeper from Shrewsbury who left his local team when he was signed by a top-flight club, in Hart's case

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two ...

Career

Everton

On 14 February 2011, when still in

's youth team, he was signed by

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club Everton for £125,000. He told

BBC Radio Shropshire BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC's local radio station serving Shropshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Boscobel Drive in Shrewsbury. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 61,000 ...

"The price tag means nothing to me. The regime at Everton will be something else, but if that's what it takes to get to the next level then I'll grab it with both hands". He believed that Everton would progress his career, due to the contracts they had given to young players

Jose Baxter Jose Baxter (born 7 February 1992) is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Born in Bootle, Baxter began his career with his home town club of Everton, where in 2008 he became the Premier League's t ...

and

Jack Rodwell Jack Christian Rodwell (born 11 March 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays for Sydney FC as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Rodwell joined Everton's academy at the age of seven, and made his debut in 2007. He spent fiv ...

. He was first included in an Everton matchday squad on 2 March 2013, remaining an unused substitute as they defeated reigning

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

2–1 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpo ...

. Tim Howard was injured, so Springthorpe deputised for

Ján Mucha Ján Mucha (born 5 December 1982) is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Everton In January 2010, Mucha signed a pre-contract deal with English Premier League club Everton to join them on 1 July. O ...

. A week later he was again on the bench as they lost 0–3 at home to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

in the sixth round of 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 ...

. On 16 March, his last call-up of the season, he was an unused substitute in a 2–0 home win over reigning league champions

. After his first season, Springthorpe toured the United States with Everton. He was only in one matchday squad in the following season, a 2–1 home win over

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

on 29 December. On 20 January 2014, he was loaned to

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 ...

team

for a month. He made his competitive debut the following day, in a 0–1 defeat to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. On 25 January he played the only other game of his loan, a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since the ...

. In May 2014, Springthorpe, who had been a regular for Everton's Under-21 team, was released by manager

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zarago ...

Ellesmere and Fleetwood

On 6 August, Springthorpe returned to his native

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, signing for West Midlands League club

on the day before the start of their season. He returned to the professional game on 3 January 2015, when he was signed for

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

by manager

Graham Alexander Graham Alexander (born 10 October 1971) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell F.C., Motherwell. In a lengt ...

. On the same day, he was an unused substitute for their 2–2 draw 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 ...

Highbury Stadium Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nickna ...

. On 7 May, having not made an appearance, Springthorpe was one of 14 players released by the Lancashire club.

Return to non-league

Springthorpe then returned again to his home county, signing a one-year deal at

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sys ...

club

A.F.C. 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, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, the ...

on. He moved to

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

of the

Northern Premier League Division One North The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

on loan in September 2015, having not yet featured for his parent club that season. He transferred to them on a permanent basis the following month. On 5 December, he featured for them in the second round of the

away to

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 ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

, conceding three goals in the final seven minutes of a 3–2 loss. In November 2016 he joined

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 ...

on dual registration terms, and having made two first-team appearances he was released by the club in March 2017. In June 2017 he joined

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

on a one-year contract. In August, he signed for Sutton Coldfield Town on loan, which was extended for a second month in September. He was released by mutual consent by Alfreton in October 2017. After spells at A.F.C. Wulfrunians and Market Drayton Town, on 27 February 2019, Springthorpe joined

North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...

Division One South club F.C. Oswestry Town. After the club went out of business, Springthorpe signed for

Shropshire County League The Shropshire County Premier Football League was an English association football league based in the county of Shropshire. The league, usually known as the Shropshire County League, was founded in 1950 and in the final season had two divisions w ...

side Shrewsbury Up & Comers, whom Springthorpe spent his youth career as a child with.

References

External links

Profile
at Fleetwood Town * {{DEFAULTSORT:Springthorpe, Mason 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Shrewsbury English footballers Association football goalkeepers Everton F.C. players Woking F.C. players Ellesmere Rangers F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players AFC Telford United players Northwich Victoria F.C. players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Southport F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Sutton Coldfield Town F.C. players A.F.C. Wulfrunians players Market Drayton Town F.C. players F.C. Oswestry Town players