Samuel Alan Stubbs (born 20 November 1998) is an English professional

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 most recently played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for side

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 loan from club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

Club career

Wigan Athletic

Stubbs joined

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

in 2013, after progressing through the Everton youth ranks. On 8 August 2017, Stubbs made his Wigan debut during their

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against

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 ...

, which resulted in a 2–1 victory for the Latics.

Crewe Alexandra

On 29 August 2017, Stubbs joined

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

on a six-month loan deal, and made his League debut at

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on 16 September 2017. At the end of his loan spell in January 2018, Stubbs returned to Wigan, before joining

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

for a month-long loan.

Middlesbrough

He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2017–18 season, and subsequently joined

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 1 July 2018. On 31 January 2019, Stubbs joined League Two strugglers

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on loan until the end of the season. In August 2019, he signed on loan for Scottish club

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

. Middlesbrough ended the loan in January 2020, with the intention of sending Stubbs to Dutch club

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

Fleetwood Town

On 9 September 2020, Stubbs joined League One side Fleetwood Town on a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for Fleetwood in a 4–1 win against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 9 October 2020.

Exeter City

On 21 January 2021, Stubbs signed for League Two side

. He scored his first goals for City on 26 March 2022, a brace in a 2–1 win over

Stevenage FC Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

. Stubbs won promotion with Exeter City to

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

in the 2021–22 season.

Bradford City

In January 2023, he signed for

. Stubbs' first goal for the Bantams came on 15 April 2023, the opener in a 3–0 away victory against Rochdale AFC. At the end of the 2023–24 season, he triggered a contract extension. In August 2024, Stubbs joined fellow League Two side

on a season-long loan. He was released by Bradford City at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Personal life

Stubbs is the son of former

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 ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and Everton defender

Alan Stubbs Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wande ...

Career statistics

Honours

Exeter City *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Individual * Cheltenham Town Football Club Player Of The Year: 2024-25

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, Sam 1998 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Wigan Athletic F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players AFC Fylde players Middlesbrough F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Professional Football League players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century English sportsmen