Trevor Junior Benjamin (born 8 February 1979) is a former 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 ...

and manager who played as a forward. He is famed for being a prime example of a journeyman footballer, having represented 29 teams in his career, and making over 350 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

between 1995 and 2008. He also holds the record for the most league clubs played for, which is 16. He most notably spent time in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, who he joined in 2000 from

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

. He was capped by

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is the national under-21 association football team of England, under the control of the Football Association. It is considered to be the feeder team ...

but went on to feature for

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

as a full international, where he earned two caps. Benjamin has also played as a professional in the Football League for Crystal Palace,

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, Gillingham,

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 F.C., Ket ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

, Coventry City,

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

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 ...

, Boston United,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. At the age of 28, Benjamin dropped out of the professional game and firstly signed for

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. He went on to play for

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

, Wellingborough Town, Kidsgrove Athletic, Tamworth, Harrogate Town and

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 ...

. In 2010, he briefly joined Australian semi-pro side Sunshine George Cross, but failed to make an appearance and returned the English

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

where he went on to feature for Bedlington Terriers,

Wroxham Wroxham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Wroxham has an area of 6.21 square kilometres, and in 2001, had a population of 1,532 in 666 households. A reduced population of 1,502 in 653 household ...

and Morpeth Town. Having initially been on loan at Morpeth from Bedlington, he was later appointed player-manager of the club in November 2010 and managed the club until the end of the 2010–11 season.

Playing career

Cambridge United

Benjamin grew up in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, supporting

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 ...

with

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English media personality and former professional footballer. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal as a forward, spending six years with the former and seven year ...

as his idol. His first club was Wellingborough Colts where he excelled as a striker, gaining representative honours with

. His potential was recognised and he played a friendly for Kettering Town, with his brother Richard. Trevor played in their youth team then started scoring regularly for the reserves. He then signed as a trainee for

where he made his professional début as a 16-year-old, against Gillingham in a 0–0 draw, during his time there he scored 46 goals in 146 appearances. He also scored both goals (one in the first leg and one in the second leg) as Third Division Cambridge knocked Premier League

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

out of the League Cup 2–1 on aggregate in September 1998. He also scored as Cambridge knocked second tier Crystal Palace out of 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 ...

in December 1999.

Leicester City

Following some impressive displays for

, Benjamin signed for

(where his work rate and goal celebrations saw him become something of a cult figure). He was signed for a fee of £1.3 million by manager Peter Taylor, who snapped up Benjamin as a replacement for the departed

Emile Heskey Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978) is an English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women. Playing as a striker, he made more than 500 appearances in the Foo ...

who had joined

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He made his debut for

, as a substitute, in a 0–0 draw with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, on 1 October 2000. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win at

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 18 November 2000, however this proved to be his only goal that season. Benjamin then went on loan to three clubs in the 2001–02 season. His first loan spell was at Crystal Palace, where he scored once against

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 ...

in six league appearances. He then joined

making six appearances again before joining

, where he scored on his debut against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and helped them get promoted to the

. Benjamin spent the whole of the 2002–03 season back at Leicester. His next loan spell was at Gillingham in September 2003, where he scored on his debut against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. In November 2003 he was loaned out to

, scoring once against Port Vale. His next loan was at

in January 2004. At Brighton he scored five goals in ten league appearances and manager

Mark McGhee Mark Edward McGhee (born 25 May 1957) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. A former forward, McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and had spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, ...

was keen to extend his loan to the end of the season. However he returned to his parent club in March 2004 and Brighton were promoted in his absence. In January 2005 new

manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...

made the decision to cancel Benjamin's contract.

Northampton Town and Coventry City

Benjamin joined

permanently on 19 January 2005, after a few weeks on loan to the club. Trevor was later signed up by

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

manager

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 43 ...

(under whom he had played at Leicester) until the end of the season, scoring once against

Peterborough United and Hereford United

In the summer of 2005 Benjamin was released again and later signed for

on a three-year deal, stating his main motivation was to gain first team football. Benjamin later made loan appearances for

, Boston United and

. Benjamin went on to sign for

on 1 August 2007. He made his début for the club in a 0–0 draw against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on 11 August 2007. His first goal followed a week later, from the penalty spot, in a 2–1 win away at Barnet. He continued his impressive form in the first half of the season and became something of a fans favourite at Edgar Street, scoring his share of goals. However he did not start another match for the Bulls after the defeat to Cardiff at the end of January, which coincided with the arrival of Gary Hooper on loan.

Non-league

On 19 May 2008, Benjamin was released from Hereford United, being told his services will not be needed in the following season, despite being the club's third top goalscorer that season. He joined

club

on non-contract terms in August 2008, a week later after joining

, the Lincolnshire Echo revealed the player had also been training with

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, ...

. Despite this Trevor was released by a 'disappointed' Steve Charles after just three appearances for

, with the Blues noting that the Jamaican International had under performed in his games. Benjamin had trials with Cheltenham Town, Gillingham and

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

at the start of the 2008–09 season, but failed to earn a contract at any of the three clubs. Bournemouth manager Jimmy Quinn said of the player, "He's not what I'm looking for, he's probably past his sell-by date." On 10 October 2008, Benjamin signed for

, but was released three weeks later as part of cost-cutting measures. He then made one appearance at

in the

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

, after a few games for the club he was released. A couple of weeks later, Benjamin moved further down the non-league ladder to sign for his home town club Wellingborough Town in the

United Counties Football League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of northern Bedfordshire, northern Buckinghamshire, m ...

. He scored on his debut in the 2–2 Boxing Day draw with Raunds Town. Recent speculations have linked him, like in the summer of 2008, to Chester City. However, Benjamin moved on to Kidsgrove Athletic in the

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

, making his debut in a 5–2 win against

Brigg Town Brigg Town Football Club CIC is a football club based in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. Established in 1864, not only are they are officially the 7th oldest football club in the world, ...

on 14 February 2009. He made 12 league appearances during the 2008–09 season, and another two appearances in the

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

, helping them win the final on 22 April 2009. But Benjamin has recently stated that he would like a return to league football after fully recovering from his eye infection. He is currently on trial with Rushden & Diamonds in a bid to earn a contract for the new season. On 7 August 2009, Trevor Benjamin signed for

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

newcomers Tamworth, following a successful trial period with the club. He made his debut the following day in a

away fixture against

Stevenage Borough 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 ...

, Benjamin came on as a 79th-minute substitute for

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 ...

Tom Shaw. The game finished in a 1–1 draw. He moved on to Harrogate Town in the Conference North, making his debut and scoring two goals in a 3–2 loss against

on 3 October 2009. In his second appearance, against

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

, he scored again with a stunning free-kick in the last few minutes of the game. He departed in November after his rolling month-to-month contract was not renewed. He made his debut for

in a 6–0 win against St Albans City 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 ...

competition, on 21 November 2009. After another two games for the Cards, he was released prior to 5 December 2009 match against

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 ...

. He joined Bedlington Terriers in Northern League Division One on a free transfer in February 2010. The next month he joined

in Eastern Counties League Premier Division for a short loan spell. In September 2010 he was loaned out again, to Terrier's local rivals Morpeth Town. After two goalless appearances, the 3–0 home defeat by Marske United and the 2–1 away defeat by

Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act 1946, New Towns Act of 1946, the town is to the north of Darlington and to the south of Durham, England, Durham. It is the ...

, he was appointed the club's

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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

following the departure of previous manager Tom Wade. Shortly after his release he signed for Seaton Delaval Amateurs.

International career

Benjamin was selected for the England under-21s, making his only appearance as a substitute against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

on 24 May 2001. He made his international début for

on 20 November 2002 against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Personal life

After retiring from competitive football Benjamin has launched his own brand of goalkeeping gloves called Locust UK. Two of Benjamin's sons are following in their fathers footsteps, Zac who had a short spell at Premier League Club Burnley and currently playing semi- professional at Bedlington Terriers FC and Theo, who signed for the Newcastle United under 14 football team at the end of the 2023/24 season.