Sam Deering (born 26 February 1991) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Saffron Walden Town.

Playing career

Deering spent time as a youth team player with Chelsea and

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

before joining

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 ...

's academy in 2006. He was promoted to the first team in 2008 and went on to make his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut against Weymouth on 12 August of that year. Deering scored twice in December 2008 before breaking his leg against Salisbury City. He was fined and warned about his future conduct later that week after making racist comments on a social networking website. In a club statement, the Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas said: "We take this issue very seriously. I have spoken to Sam personally and he has been made aware that we will not tolerate such comments." Thomas added: "Knowing Sam and his background I am confident he is not a racist. He must understand he is a role model and even his throwaway comments have an impact on people's lives." Upon returning to action in September 2009, Deering joined Newport County on loan for a month, making four league appearances during his stay with the club. He made his first appearance for Oxford in ten months against

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

on 31 October, and scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...

on 13 February 2010. Deering signed a new contract in March 2010, and helped the club win promotion back to 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 ...

in the 2010 Conference play-off final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, most notably by setting up the final and third goal. In November 2010, he rejoined Newport County on loan. He returned to Oxford on 4 January 2011, having made three appearances whilst on loan. In February 2011, he was loaned to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

for the remainder of the season, where he helped them avoid relegation. The move was made permanent at the end of the season. Deering joined

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 5 July 2012, spending two years at

Whaddon Road Whaddon Road, known as the EV Charger Points Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing ...

before moving to

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 ...

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 ...

in 2014. Deering was named in the

team of the season for 2014–15 alongside teammates Nick Arnold and Lee Hills. Shortly after Steve King's departure as manager at

, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, Deering joined

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

for an undisclosed fee in March 2016. Deering joined Billericay Town for the 2017–18 season.Aylesbury United FC – Sam Deering
/ref>Soccerway – Sam Deering
/ref> On 14 November 2019, he went back full-time when he signed for

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 ...

side

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 a two-year deal. He was released by Dagenham along with five others in June 2021 following the expiration of his contract. Deering joined Farnborough in July 2021. He went on to win the 2021–22 Southern League Playoffs with Farnborough, scoring the winner in the 86th minute to make it 2–1 against

Hayes & Yeading United Hayes & Yeading United Football Club is an association football club based in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. The club was formed in 2007 from a merger of Hayes Football Club (founded in 1909) and Yeading Football Club (f ...

in the playoff final, earning Farnborough promotion to the

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 ...

. On 2 February 2023, Deering signed for

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 10 August 2023, Deering signed for Brentwood Town. Six days later,

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

announced Deering had joined the club on a dual registration deal. At the end of that season, he helped Romford win the

2024 FA Vase final The 2024 FA Vase Final was the 50th final of the Football Association's cup competition for teams at levels 9–11 of the English football league system. The match was contested between Great Wakering Rovers and Romford, both of the Essex Seni ...

, scoring the second goal in a 3-0 win over Great Wakering Rovers at

. Deering signed for Saffron Walden Town on 23 June 2024, later becoming player/assistant manager at the club.

Career statistics

Honours

;Romford *

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deering, Sam 1991 births Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Stepney Living people English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers Men's association football midfielders Oxford United F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Whitehawk F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Brentwood Town F.C. players Romford F.C. players Saffron Walden Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Essex Senior Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen