Benjamin Matthew Garrity (born 21 February 1997) 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 le ...
who plays for club
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 o ...
.
He began his career playing non-League football at
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
-based clubs NSC Junior, Oyster Martyrs,
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.
Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...
and
Lower Breck, winning Lower Breck's Player of the Season award in 2016–17. He joined
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English 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 One West and Divisio ...
Premier Division side
Warrington Town in 2018 and impressed enough to win a move to
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in January 2020, turning professional in the
English 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 Engl ...
shortly before the age of 23. He spent the 2020–21 season on loan at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
and was sold on to Port Vale in June 2021. He helped the club to win promotion out of
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 ...
via the play-offs in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
and was also named as
the club's Player of the Year.
Career
Early career
Garrity spent his early career with NSC Junior, playing for the club in the Walton & Kirkdale Junior Football league from 2004 to 2013.
He then moved on to Oyster Martyrs, a
Sunday league team in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. In October 2013, Garrity began a short spell at
North West Counties Football League
The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...
side
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.
Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...
.
Despite only making seven appearances, he played in four different competitions; league,
Liverpool Senior Cup
The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas.
It is the County Cup competition of ...
,
NWCFL League Challenge Cup,
and the NWCFL First Division Trophy. He then moved to
Lower Breck in the
Liverpool County Premier League
The Liverpool County Premier League is a football competition based in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 2006 as a merger of the Liverpool County Football Combination and the I Zingari League.
The league has three divisions, the Premier D ...
.
He made 29 appearances for Lower Breck in the 2016–17 season, scoring eight goals and making eight assists, and was named as the club's Player of the Season.
He scored seven goals and made five assists from 28 appearances in the 2017–18 campaign.
Warrington Town
Garrity was signed by
Warrington Town in 2018.
He signed a new two-year deal with the club in June 2019 despite attracting interest from higher level clubs and was described as "irreplaceable" by manager
Paul Carden
Paul Andrew Carden (born 29 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and coach, who is currently manager of Nantwich Town.
While playing at Cambridge United, Carden was also the club's assistant manager. He previously played fo ...
. He spent 18 months with Warrington in the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English 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 One West and Divisio ...
Premier Division, scoring 17 goals in 54 league and cup games for the club, including two goals in their 'super play-off' defeat to
King's Lynn Town at the end of the
2018–19 season.
He missed just two league games during his time at Cantilever Park and was the club's top-scorer mid-way through the
2019–20 campaign.
Upon leaving the club he said that he loved his time at Warrington and was disappointed not to have helped them achieve promotion.
He became the first Warrington player to move directly into the
English 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 Engl ...
in more than 20 years.
Blackpool
Garrity turned professional with
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
on 31 January 2020, signing an 18-month contract, after Blackpool paid an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £25,000. The transfer saw him move up four divisions to join the
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. Manager
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Indian Super League club Bengaluru.
As a player, he was a right back, but he was also utilised in m ...
said the club had tracked Garrity for several months. He scored on his debut for the club, in a friendly game 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 ...
.
He was allowed to leave
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 ...
on loan after telling manager
Neil Critchley
Neil Critchley (born 18 October 1978) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League First Division for Crewe Alexandra. He was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
He has previously ...
he was desperate to play first-team games. On 2 September 2020, Garrity moved on loan to
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic ...
for the
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season after spending two weeks on trial at
Boundary Park
Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively.
Bound ...
. He made his debut for the club three days later in the
EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
, opening the scoring in a 3–0 victory over
Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
, heading home a
Bobby Grant free-kick. On 17 October, he scored his first
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 ...
goal in a 2–1 win away at
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. He added further goals against
Hampton & Richmond Borough in the
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 competi ...
and
Barrow in the league, leading him to be described as a "lucky charm" for the club by the ''
Warrington Guardian
The ''Warrington Guardian'' is a local newspaper that has been published in Warrington, England, since 1853, originally published weekly on Saturdays.''The Literary and Educational Yearbook for 1859'', p. 287 In 1856 it was bought by Alexander Ma ...
's'' Matt Turner.
By January he was one of seven loan signings made by manager
Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F ...
, which left him at a disadvantage as EFL rules meant only five loanees could be named in matchday squads and four of the loanees were seen as key players. He also missed two months of the season due to injury, but was praised by new manager
Keith Curle
Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is the current manager of League Two side Hartlepool United.
He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for ...
for his work-rate upon his return to action in early April. Garrity ended his loan spell with the "Latics" with four goals in 38 appearances across all competitions.
Though Garrity never made a competitive appearance for Blackpool, the club took an option to extend his contract shortly before his sale to
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 o ...
.
Port Vale
![Ben Garrity running](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Ben_Garrity_running.jpg)
On 4 June 2021, it was announced that Garrity would join League Two side Port Vale for an undisclosed fee. Manager
Darrell Clarke
Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who played in the English Football League. He is the manager of club Port Vale.
A box-to-box midfielder, Clarke began his career with ...
described him as a "young, hungry and ambitious footballer with great energy and fitness levels". He scored his first goals for the "Valiants" on 11 September, his brace securing a 2–1 victory away at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
; Clarke praised Garrity for his serious professionalism after the match, pointing out that "he has tests to make sure he is getting the right food into his system". He went on to score the only goal of the game against
Scunthorpe United and was nominated for September's
Player of the Month award. On 7 December, he was played as a forward after Vale suffered an injury crisis that left them short of recognized strikers, and scored two goals to secure a 2–1 win at
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
. He was nominated for March's Player of the Month award after "driving Vale forward in the absence of captain
Tom Conlon", scoring three goals and creating another. He started in the
play-off final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
as Vale secured promotion with a 3–0 victory over
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
; Michael Baggaley of ''
The Sentinel'' wrote that "
arritynever stopped running, as has been the case all season... a huge threat in the attacking midfield role".
At the club's end of season awards, Garrity was named as
Fan's Player of the Year, Player's Player of the Year and Supporter’s Club Player of the Year.
Garrity was linked with a move to League One rivals
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 ...
in August 2022. He remained an ever-present for Vale in the first quarter of the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, playing in a deeper defensive role which restricted his opportunities to get forward and score goals. He maintained his consistence into February, providing an assist for
Ellis Harrison
Ellis Wade Harrison (born 29 January 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for club Port Vale. He represented Wales at under-21 level, scoring three goals in fourteen games.
Harrison began his career at Brist ...
to score the opening goal of a 2–1 defeat at
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. However he was sidelined with a calf injury at the beginning of March. He signed a two-year contract extension in May;
David Flitcroft
David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the director of football at club Port Vale. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry ...
, the club's
director of football
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
said that he "epitomises our core values. His appetite for continual improvement in every aspect of his life and his game makes him an outstanding leader and a pivotal member of the group".
Style of play
Garrity is an attacking box-to-box
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
with good energy and fitness levels.
He has a strong aerial presence, scoring many of his goals from headers.
He has stated that "I am not as good as other people so I know I need to work harder than them, and then over time I will get better".
Personal life
Garrity worked as an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
for five years before becoming a professional footballer in 2020.
Career statistics
Honours
Individual
*
Lower Breck F.C. Player of the Season: 2016–17
*
Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year
The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited t ...
:
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Port Vale
*
EFL 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 ...
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
:
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrity, Ben
1997 births
Living people
Footballers from Liverpool
English footballers
Formby F.C. players
Lower Breck F.C. players
Warrington Town F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Men's association football midfielders
North West Counties Football League players
Northern Premier League players
English Football League players
English engineers