Ashley "Ash" Martin Eastham (born 22 March 1991) 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 ...

who last played as a defender for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club Salford City. Eastham began his career at Blackpool. He made only three appearances for Blackpool, but enjoyed his first run of senior football after moving on loan 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 ...

midway through the 2009–10 season. Loan spells with Carlisle United and Cheltenham Town again followed in 2010–11, before Eastham spent the whole of the next season helping

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

to a mid-table finish in League One. Brief stints at

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

gave Eastham more experience in 2012, before he returned to Bury for their hapless fight against relegation from League One in 2012–13. In 2013, Eastham made a permanent transfer to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, and in 2016, Eastham signed for

, where he would make over 150 appearances before signing for Salford, where he is the club captain.

Club career

Early career at Blackpool; Loan move to Hyde United

Born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, Eastham is a product of the Blackpool

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 t ...

. He attended Carr Hill High School,

Kirkham, Lancashire Kirkham (originally Kirkam-in-Amounderness) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston ( west of Preston) and adjacent to the smaller town of Wesham. It owes its existence to ...

. He signed his first professional contract in May 2009, then in July he played for the first team in the pre-season South West Challenge Cup held in North Devon, including playing in the 5–0 win over Barnstaple Town. In August 2009 he joined

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

side

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Stafford Rangers at

Ewen Fields Ewen Fields in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, is the home ground of Hyde United F.C. and has also hosted Manchester City Reserves, Manchester United F.C. Reserves, Stockport County Reserves and Oldham Curzon Ladies. The stadium holds 4,250 ...

. On 17 August he scored Hyde's second goal in a 3–2 home victory over

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

. He made a total of eleven league appearances for ''the Tigers'', scoring one goal, before being recalled by Blackpool on 21 September.

Back at Blackpool – first team debut

The following day, in his first year as a professional, Eastham made his debut for ''the Seasiders'' in a 4–3 defeat to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side Stoke City at the

Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

of the 2009–10

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Eastham signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool. Four days later Eastham made his league debut, in a 2–0 home win over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

, when he replaced the injured

Neal Eardley Neal James Eardley (born 6 November 1988) is a former Wales international footballer who last played for Cymru Premier champions Connah’s Quay Nomads. He represented Wales at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before winning the fir ...

in the 18th minute. On 11 August 2011, Eastham was sent off in Blackpool's League Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Eastham contract was activated after the club exercised their contract, until 2013. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Eastham was released by the club despite the club was keen to keep him, but Eastham wanted to leave the club, so he earn a first team place.

Cheltenham Town loan move

On 26 November 2009, Eastham joined

side

on an initial one-month loan deal until 2 January 2010. Blackpool manager

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...

said of the move: "This is a great move for Ash. It is another step up for him, he did extremely well when he went to Hyde at the start of the season and this will be another challenge for him both on and off the field." ''The Robins'' caretaker manager

John Schofield John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served ...

said: "It's great to have a bright young prospect from a Championship club made available to us. Hopefully we can offer him some first team experience for the next stage of his development as a player." Five days later he was an unused substitute in a 0–3 defeat to

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 ...

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 E ...

. His debut came on 5 December in a 2–2 draw with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

Whaddon Road Whaddon Road, known as the Completely-Suzuki 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 ...

. After four appearances, Eastham signed a one-month extension to the loan deal on 31 December. He made a total of five appearances for ''the Robins'', then on 7 January 2010 was recalled by Blackpool from his loan spell to cover for suspensions. He was included in the Blackpool squad that travelled to South Wales to take on Cardiff City on 9 January, and was an unused substitute in the game. On 15 January he returned to Cheltenham Town, on loan until the end of the season. Two days later he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

after receiving two

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

in a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

at Blundell Park. He received a one-game suspension, missing the next game, a 1–4 home defeat to League Two leaders

. Following his performance in the 2–0 home win over Morecambe on 20 February 2010, he was named in the League Two "Team of the Week".

Loan spells at Carlisle United and Cheltenham Town

On 25 November 2010, Eastham joined

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side Carlisle United on loan, until 3 January 2011. He only made one appearance for the club, only in the FA Cup campaign, in a 3–2 win over Tamworth, playing 90 minutes. On 4 January 2011, Eastham then returned to the club, following his loan came to an end. 48 hours later, on 6 January 2011, Eastham joined

on an initial one-month loan deal, for the second time in his career. Eastham's first game after signing for the club on a loan spell, for the second time in his career, came on 8 January 2011, in a 1–1 draw against

. After his debut, Manager Mark Yates praised Eastham and Phil Walsh. Having made five appearances, his loan spell was extended for another month in February, followed up another loan spell extended for another month in March. On 4 April 2011, Eastham then returned to the club, following his loan came to an end.

Bury (loan)

Eastham joined

on 25 August 2011 for one month. He made his debut for the club, in a 2–1 loss against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

two-day later. After the move, Eastham express "happy" with the loan move. Since then, his loan has been extended a further two times and he will remain at

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, G ...

until the end of the 2011–12 season. During the season, he played a pivotal part in Bury's League One campaign, including winning the Champagne Moment of the Season award for his 90th-minute equaliser as Bury fought back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 with Huddersfield Town. At the end of the season, Eastham's loan spell with Bury came to an end.

Loan move to Fleetwood Town, Notts County and Bury

On 29 August 2012, Eastham joined Blackpool's

Fylde coast The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...

neighbours

on a one-month loan deal, together with teammate

Tom Barkhuizen Thomas John Barkhuizen (born 4 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays a forward for EFL League One club Derby County. Career Blackpool Born in Blackpool, Barkhuizen played junior football on the Fylde coast with Blackpool R ...

who joined on loan for six months. His debut came six days later in the Football League Trophy, First round defeat to

Spotland Stadium Spotland Stadium, known as the Crown Oil Arena for sponsorship reasons, in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, is home to Rochdale A.F.C. and Rochdale Hornets R.F.L.C. and has a capacity of 10,249. History Spotland was original ...

. Soon after, Eastham loan spell had ended despite Fleetwood Town's progress to extend his loan. On 5 October, Eastham joined

on loan following his Fleetwood Town loan spell came to an end. While at Notts County, Eastham made four appearances before returning to Blackpool. On 21 January 2013, Eastham returned to Bury on loan for a second time, until the end of the season. Five days later, Eastham made his second debut for the club, in a 0–0 draw against

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 mo ...

. Like his first spell at Bury, Eastham maintained his first team status. However, this season was overshadowed by financial problems, which led the club to their relegation.

Rochdale

On 20 June 2013, Ashley agreed a two-year deal with

following his release from Blackpool. By the time he was released by the club, Eastham attracted interests from host of clubs. Upon joining the club, Eastham was given number five shirt. Eastham made his debut in the opening game of the season, in a 3–0 win over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

. However, he find his first team opportunities limited in the defence and went on to make 15 appearances in his first season. In his second season at Rochdale, Eastham was recalled to the starting line-up against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

to make his first appearance of the season after stayed on the substitute bench for the first two matches. Eastham then scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–0 win over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

on 16 September 2014. Not only that, Eastham earned a place for the Football League's Team of the Week, as result of his performance. A week later, Eastham received a straight red card in the 30th minute, in a 3–2 win over

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

on 27 September 2014. Despite this, Eastham continued to be in the first team by the first half of the season and on 9 January 2015, Eastham signed a one-year contract extension with the club. Eastham later scored, in a 3–2 loss against Walsall on 10 February 2015. In his second season at Rochdale, which saw Eastham established himself in the first team, as well as, helping the club finish eighth place, he made forty-nine and scoring two times in all competitions.

Fleetwood Town

On 20 May 2016, Eastham joined fellow league one side Fleetwood Town from Rochdale, after penning a two-year deal. On the day of signing, Eastham said, "One of the biggest factors in me coming here was the ambition from the chairman and manager. I felt it was something I wanted to be a part of". Having been named the clubs' player of the season, Fleetwood exercised a one-year contract extension for him at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Salford City

On transfer deadline day, 31 January 2020 he joined Salford City. Eastham was immediately appointed team captain by then manager Graham Alexander. In March 2021, Eastham captained Salford at Wembley as they beat League One side Portsmouth in the (EFL) Football League Trophy final, the first major trophy in the clubs history. In May 2022, Eastham signed a new one year deal upon the expiry of his previous deal.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Salford City * EFL Trophy: 2019–20 Individual *

Player of the Year: 2017–18

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastham, Ashley 1991 births Living people Footballers from Preston, Lancashire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Blackpool F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Bury F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Salford City F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players