Ben Wharton is an English semi-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 ...

. He plays as striker and is currently attempting a comeback after struggling with injury. By November 2023, Wharton was onto his fourth club of the season, after failed efforts with Bury, Avon, and Cheadle Town, resulted in a now ageing and overweight striker dropping down to Stockport Town.

Early career and Football League appearance

He started out at Stockport County's youth academy and came through the ranks. After he was released at the age of 16 by Stockport he signed a YTS for Rochdale. He came off the bench against Accrington Stanley, in the 90th minute, to make his debut. Wharton didn't play another minute for the club that season and was released at the end of the 2007-08 season.

Non-league football career

Mossley

He then made two appearances for

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...

, both as substitute.

Northwich Victoria

He was signed by

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

in October 2008.

Buxton

A move to

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

followed in November 2008.

Atherton Collieries

Between September 2008 and February 2009, Ben represented Atherton Collieries, scoring 3 goals in 16 appearances.

Radcliffe Borough

He joined Radcliffe Borough in March 2009, but left in 2013.

Warrington Town

His next club was Warrington Town. His time at the club included being part of the FA Cup victory against Exeter City in November 2014. He left the club in January 2016.

Ashton United

In January 2016 he moved to Ashton United.

Colne

His next move was to

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

Bamber Bridge

His next move was to

Bamber Bridge Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 at ...

Brighouse Town

His next move was to Brighouse Town. He left the club in January 2017.

Droylsden

His next move in July 2017 took him to

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre 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 ...

Curzon Ashton

In August 2017 he moved to

Curzon Ashton Curzon Ashton Football Club is an association football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1963 and nicknamed "The Nash", the club is affiliated to the Manchester Football Association and currently compete ...

Radcliffe

He returned to his former club in 2018, remaining for two seasons. In his two spells with the club he made 263 appearances scoring 87 goals.

Runcorn Linnets

Wharton joined

Runcorn Linnets Runcorn Linnets F.C. are an English football club based in Runcorn, Cheshire. The club currently plays in the , and is a full member of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club is run by a trust which is a registered society under t ...

in January 2020

Stalybridge Celtic

In December 2020 he signed for

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

but never appeared for the club.

Widnes

In July 2021 he signed for

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

Bury

In September he moved to

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 ...

. He was awarded the

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 ...

First Division player of the month award for October. On 27 March 2022, Wharton scored the second goal in a 4–0 thrashing of St Helens Town that saw Bury crowned champions of the NWCFL North Division. During the 22/23 season Wharton scored eight goals in open play from 47 appearances, with a further two goals being scored as penalties.

Avro

In September 2023 he signed for Avro FC after Bury decided to refresh their forward line with quicker players of a higher calibre. In the comments under the tweet announcing the news Bury fans cited his lack of goals for the club as a reason to move on.

Style of play

A lower league write up in 'When Saturday Comes' likened Wharton's appearance and playing style to

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

Honours

Bury * NWCFL Division One North: 2021–22

References

External links

* 1990 births Living people Men's association football forwards English men's footballers English Football League players Footballers from Stockport National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Ashton United F.C. players Atherton Collieries A.F.C. players Bamber Bridge F.C. players Brighouse Town F.C. players Bury F.C. players Buxton F.C. players Colne F.C. players Curzon Ashton F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Runcorn Linnets F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Widnes F.C. players {{notelist