Scott Malcolm Partridge (born 13 October 1974) is an English retired 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 ...

who 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 ...

in 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, most notably for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

. In a nomadic league career, he also played for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

, Scarborough and

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

. He was described as "an immensely skilful little striker with a wonderful first touch", while "rarely getting the goals his contribution deserved".

Career

Early years

, Partridge began his career in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

, before moving to

and signing his first professional contract in July 1992. He made just five first team substitute appearances for the Bantams, before moving to First Division club

on a free transfer on 18 February 1994. He made something of a breakthrough at Ashton Gate, making 66 appearances and scoring eight goals over the course of three seasons, but was forced to spend time away on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

during the 1995–96 season. Partridge joined Third Division club

for a £50,000 fee in February 1997, but after 13 months in which he was mainly utilised as a Winger, he departed

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

in March 1998, having made 41 appearances and scored just two goals.

Torquay United

On 26 March 1998, Partridge returned to Third Division club

(with whom he had previously had a loan spell during the 1995–96 season) on a free transfer. Despite failing to score in each of his five appearances at the end of the 1997–98 season, Partridge finally found his goalscoring touch during 1998–99, scoring 14 goals in 35 matches before departing

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of ...

in February 1999.

Brentford

Partridge joined high-flying Third Division club

for a £100,000 fee on 19 February 1999. Paired with

Lloyd Owusu Lloyd Magnus Owusu (born 12 December 1976) is a retired professional footballer who last played for Hakoah Sydney City East in the NSW State League Division One, Sydney, Australia. After a move from non-League Slough Town, his career took off a ...

in attack, he showed excellent form in what remained of the 1998–99 season, scoring seven goals in 14 matches to help the Bees to the Third Division title after victory over the eventual runners-up

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

on the final day. Back in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, Partridge scored four goals in an eight-match spell between late August and early September 1999, but scored just twice more to finish a mid-table season with 47 appearances and six goals. Partridge began the 2000–01 season on the bench, but regained his starting place under

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

Ray Lewington Raymond Lewington (born 7 September 1956) is an English retired footballer. He was most recently assistant manager of Watford. Born in London, he started his playing career in the city at Chelsea. He went on to play for Vancouver Whitecaps, Wi ...

in December 2000. Paired again with Lloyd Owusu, he scored 9 goals between December and the end of the season, to finish with 47 appearances and 10 goals. The 2000–01 season was memorable for Brentford's run to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

, though despite playing the full 90 minutes at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national ru ...

, the Bees were beaten 2–1 by

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

. New manager

Steve Coppell Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player. As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and ...

's signing of forward

Ben Burgess Benjamin Kieron Burgess (born 9 November 1981) is an English-born Irish retired footballer best known for his time playing for Hull City and Blackpool. He was capped by the Republic of Ireland at U18 and U21 level. Club career Early career i ...

on loan in August 2001 heralded the beginning of the end of Partridge's time at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

and after two early 2001–02 season appearances, he departed the club in September 2001. During two-and-a-half seasons with Brentford, Partridge made 110 appearances and scored 23 goals.

Rushden & Diamonds

Partridge dropped back down to the Third Division to join newly promoted

on a free transfer on 14 September 2001. Aside from a spell of five goals in 12 matches between late October and late December 2001, Partridge failed to recapture any goalscoring form, but did help the team to the 2002 Third Division play-off Final, which was lost 3–1 to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

. He was utilised almost exclusively as a substitute in the early months of the 2002–03 season, before being

transfer-list The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell t ...

ed in December 2002. Partridge departed

Nene Park Nene Park was a sports stadium situated at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England, along the bank of the River Nene, which could accommodate 6,441 spectators, with 4,641 seated and 1,800 standing. It formerly hosted football matches but a ...

on 26 March 2003 and made 52 appearances and scored five goals for the club.

Exeter City (loan)

On 31 December 2002, Partridge joined Third Division club

on a one-month loan. He scored in each of his first two matches and made four appearances before his loan expired, despite attempts by manager

Neil McNab Neil McNab (born 4 June 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who played in the midfield position. Playing career McNab began his career in 1972 with Greenock Morton where he made 14 appearances before 1974, becoming the club's youngest ever p ...

to persuade him to stay.

Shrewsbury Town

On 27 March 2003, Partridge joined Third Division club

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 ...

on a contract running until the end of the 2002–03 season. He made just four appearances before his contract expired.

Non-League football

Weymouth

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Steve Claridge Stephen Edward Claridge (born 10 April 1966) is an English football pundit, coach and former professional player. He was a pundit for BBC Sport football shows including ''Football Focus'' and '' The Football League Show'', until 2014 when he be ...

made Partridge his first signing of the 2003–04 season and he signed a three-year contract. He scored 11 goals in 30 appearances before being allowed to join Southern League Premier Division rivals

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

on a free transfer on 9 January 2004. Partridge went on to have a successful four-and-a-half season spell at

Twerton Park Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C. ...

, with a pinnacle being the title-winning 2006–07 season, which secured promotion to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the ...

. After recovering from a neck injury, he played on until March 2008, before departing the club to look after his mother. Partridge joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, 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 ...

First Division South club

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

in 2008, but moved back up to the Conference South to join

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmi ...

on 31 December 2008 and made 9 appearances before retiring at the end of the 2008–09 season.

Personal life

Partridge's father, Malcolm, was also a professional footballer. As of January 2004, he was living in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

Honours

Brentford *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

: 1998–99 Rushden & Diamonds *Conference Shield: 2001 Weymouth * Southern League Premier Division second-place promotion: 2003–04 Bath City * Southern League Premier Division: 2006–07 Individual *

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 ...

Player of the Round: Third qualifying round, 2004–05 * Team of the FA Cup: 2004–05

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, Scott Living people 1974 births Association football forwards Association football wingers Bradford City A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players Sheffield F.C. players Southern Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Footballers from Leicester English footballers