Ross Daniel Flitney (born 1 June 1984) 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 for Wimborne Town 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 ...

Career

Born in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

, Flitney started as a youth player at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

before moving to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in 2003 where he was cover for senior keepers such as

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...

and

Mark Crossley Mark Geoffrey Crossley (born 16 June 1969) is a football coach and former Wales international footballer. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1988 until 2011 and he has previously played for numerous clubs in England's top flight, notably fo ...

, but never made a first-team appearance despite making the bench on several occasions in the 2004–05 season. He did however have two loan spells with Brighton & Hove Albion and a further loan spell 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 ...

. In March 2005 he 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 ...

side

Yeading Yeading ( ) is a settlement in west London, forming part of the London Borough of Hillingdon, having been developed after the Second World War. Etymology Yeading is very early Saxon and was originally ''Geddingas'' or ''Geddinges'', meaning " ...

on loan. He was released by Fulham in May 2005, joining Barnet the following month. On 26 October 2005, he became the recipient of the quickest

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

in the history of

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. In a League Cup match for Barnet against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, he was sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty area, only 80 seconds into the game. It was his first touch in the match, and Barnet went on to lose 4–1. The red card was later rescinded on appeal. During the 2005–06 season, he lost his place to Lee Harrison who had rejoined Barnet as a player-coach in the summer. He was told he could leave Barnet in November 2006, but was finally released at the end of the season, joining

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

in June 2007. Flitney signed for Croydon Athletic on loan in December 2008, and just one month later he was transfer listed by Grays, with financial pressures and manager Wayne Burnett's plans being cited as the reason. A fortnight later, Flitney had his contract with the Essex side terminated by mutual consent, and signed a contract to stay with Croydon Athletic until the end of the season. In January 2010, Flitney signed for

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

club Dover Athletic. Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler said; "He's a keeper I've had my eye on. He brings something different to the table in that he is 6ft 3in and kicks the ball a mile!". Flitney made his debut for Dover in the 2–0 defeat to

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

on 23 January. He was signed by Hessenthaler again, when he joined Gillingham in July 2011, and made his debut for Gillingham in the 1–0 win over

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on 6 August 2011. In October 2012 he joined

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

on an initial loan period of one month. After his loan at Eastleigh finished in January 2013, and his subsequent release by Gillingham, he rejoined Eastleigh on a permanent basis in February 2013. Flitney played the first nine games of the 2016–17 season for

but then signed for Brighton-based

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

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 ...

, rejoining his former manager Richard Hill and making his debut in a 3–0 away win at

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

on 8 October. Flitney was sent off after the final whistle in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

first round against

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

on 14 November for protesting to referee Robert Whitton, who had just blown for full-time with the ball in play, seconds before Javier Favarel scored a 30-yard volley which would have been the winning goal. On 14 January against

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. The ...

in the

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 ...

second round, with his side leading 1–0, Flitney came off the bench to replace Hawks' injured keeper Tom Stewart in the 65th minute and went on to concede four times as well as give away and then save a penalty in the time remaining. Flitney left the Hawks at the end of January 2017, his last game being a 1–3 defeat at Hungerford Town on 23 January, a game in which he conceded a penalty after just four minutes. On 16 February 2017, Flitney joined

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

on a short-term deal for the remainder of the campaign. Following 14 league appearances, in which he helped the club to a 10th-place finish, Flitney departed Bromley at the end of the season to eventually rejoin Eastleigh. On 20 June 2023, Flitney joined Wimborne Town.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flitney, Ross 1984 births Living people English men's footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Croydon Athletic F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Whitehawk F.C. players Footballers from Hitchin 21st-century English sportsmen