Daniel Spiller (born 10 October 1981) is an English 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 ...

Career

Spiller began his professional career with Gillingham. A product of the club's youth system, he signed his first professional contract in 2000 but saw his first season ravaged by injury and did not make his league debut in the 2001–02 season. In January 2002, he joined

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

Premier Division side

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

on loan along with Richard Rose. Spiller came to the fore during the 2003–04 season when he was player of the season after a string of man-of-the-match performances. He finished the season by signing a contract keeping him at

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

until 2007. In 2004 West Ham tabled a bid of £750,000 for Spiller which was subsequently turned down by the Gillingham board. Gillingham chairman Paul Scally was quoted as saying "anything under a million is an insult". Predominantly a

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 ...

, Spiller has also played as a striker, and

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, although his preferred position is in

central midfield 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 ...

. On 11 June 2007, it was announced that Spiller had agreed terms to join

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

on 1 July 2007. After struggling with injuries, Spiller only managed 10 appearances for Millwall, scoring one goal in a 1–0 home victory over

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 ...

. On 27 May 2009, Spiller was released from his contract at Millwall. Spiller signed on non-contract terms with

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

for a month during August 2009, before leaving the club to sign for

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

on 4 September 2009. After making one appearance and spending 6 days with Welling, Spiller joined

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 ...

side Dagenham & Redbridge on a contract until January 2010. His debut for Dagenham & Redbridge came on 12 September when he came on as a substitute for Danny Green in a 2–1 home win against

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. When

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

re-joined Gillingham as manager, he brought Spiller in on trial, and signed him on a five-month contract. He made his second debut for Gillingham in a 1–1 home draw against

on 7 August 2010, and the contract was extended for a further year and a half in December 2010. Spiller signed a two-year contract with

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...

side

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

on 17 June 2012 after his release from Gillingham. He injured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

shortly after signing and did not play a single game for the club throughout the 2012–13 season. After numerous unsuccessful operations, Luton terminated Spiller's contract in July 2013, stating that the long-term prognosis of his injury was "showing little signs of improvement". On 12 February 2015, Spiller signed for

Isthmian League Division One South The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

side

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local governmen ...

. Three days later he netted the second goal in a 2-0 derby victory against

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

Honours

Individual

* Gillingham Young Player of the Season: 2002–03 * Gillingham Player of the Season: 2003–04

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spiller, Danny 1981 births Footballers from Maidstone Living people Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Gillingham F.C. players Longford Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players League of Ireland players Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland