Stuart James Nelson (born 17 September 1981) 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 plays 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 ...

most recently for Cirencester Town.

Career

Born in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, Nelson started his career at Cheltenham youth club FC Battledown. He also played for the

Cirencester College Cirencester College is a sixth form college based in the town of Cirencester in the South Cotswolds. It is a specialist sixth form provider serving communities in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Cirencester Co ...

Football Academy team, Millwall and Cirencester Town. County Cup success led to him being spotted by

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

side Hucknall Town after a 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 ...

Brentford

Nelson joined

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

from Hucknall in February 2004 for a fee of £10,000. He was sent off on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion. He completed his first full season with Brentford in 2004–05, maintaining 21 clean sheets and helping the team into the promotion play-offs. He signed a new two-year contract in August 2005. Nelson was appointed club captain for the 2006–07 season and scored the decisive penalty in a League Cup first round

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

win over

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. However, a ligament injury picked up in October meant that he was unable to play again until 2007. He returned and played 6 games towards the end of the season. He was released by Brentford on 16 May 2007.

Leyton Orient

Nelson signed for Leyton Orient in summer 2007, but left less than a year later by mutual consent due to relocating issues. On 1 August 2008, Norwich City confirmed the signing of Nelson after he impressed Glenn Roeder while on trial at Carrow Road. He was released at the end of his one-year contract the following summer having made no first team appearances.

Aberdeen

On 27 July 2009, Nelson signed a one-year contract with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

team

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. In May 2010 Nelson turned down an offer of a new contract.

Notts County

On 23 June 2010, Nelson signed a two-year contract with League One team

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 ...

. Upon his signing for Notts County, he became the first choice goalkeeper; a position he retained in the 2011–12 season. However, on 9 May 2012, he was released by Notts County along with 12 of his teammates.

Gillingham

On 20 July 2012, Nelson signed for

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

side Gillingham on a free transfer, on a two-year deal. He made his debut for Gillingham on 18 August 2012 against Bradford City. In his first season with the club Nelson won the League Two title and was runner up at the Player of the Season awards. He received the club's player of the year award for the 2013–14 season. In May 2014, Nelson signed a new two-year contract, and in June 2016 signed a further two-year contract with the club. He was named Vice-Captain for the 2016–17 season. He made his 200th start for the team in December 2016. On 5 December 2017, Nelson made his 223rd competitive appearance for Gillingham which took him to 3rd on all time appearances for a goalkeeper for the club. Only Ron Hillyard (1st) and John Simpson (2nd) have played more times in goal for the club. The following month, however, Nelson left Gillingham having agreed the termination of his contract.

Yeovil Town

On 20 February 2018, Nelson signed for League Two side Yeovil Town until the end of the season. He signed a new contract with Yeovil at the end of the 2017–18 season. He was released at the end of the 2019–20 season as a result of budget cuts.

Crawley Town

On 7 November 2020, Nelson signed for League Two side

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

on a three-month deal. On 12 January 2021, Nelson signed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Dorking Wanderers

On 8 October 2021, Nelson signed for

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 Dorking Wanderers. On 8 December 2021, it was confirmed that Nelson had left the club.

Sutton United

On 15 January 2022, Nelson signed for League Two side Sutton United. Nelson was released at the end of the season having made two appearances for the club.

Dover Athletic

On 18 June 2022, Nelson agreed to join recently relegated National League South club Dover Athletic.

Personal life

Nelson played rugby as a youngster and represented Gloucestershire.

Career statistics

Honours

Gillingham *

: 2012–13 Sutton United *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2012–13 League Two * Gillingham Player of the Season: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Stuart 1981 births Living people People from Stroud English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Cirencester Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Hucknall Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Dorking Wanderers F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Folkestone Invicta F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Premier League players Southern Football League players Isthmian League players Footballers from Gloucestershire 21st-century English sportsmen