Gareth Jonathan Seddon (born 23 May 1980) is an English
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 ...
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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
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 ...
.
Career
Early career
Seddon was a
fitness instructor
Fitness may refer to:
* Physical fitness, a state of health and well-being of the body
* Fitness (biology), an individual's ability to propagate its genes
* Fitness (cereal), a brand of breakfast cereals and granola bars
* ''Fitness'' (magazine), ...
in the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
when he came close to joining
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
in 2001. When he failed to win a deal with the Berkshire club Gareth still chose to quit the forces in order to begin a football career at
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 ...
. While at Bury he scored the club's 6000th goal. He was Bury's leading scorer in the 2001–02 season with eight goals but made just a handful of appearances in the next season, and joined
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 ...
on loan in January 2003. After three seasons at Bury, in the last of which he again finished as leading scorer, he rejected a new deal and instead joined
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., Ke ...
on a Bosman free transfer in 2004. However Seddon was plagued by the onset of
reactive arthritis
Reactive arthritis, also known as Reiter's syndrome, is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in response to an infection in another part of the body (cross-reactivity). Coming into contact with bacteria and developing an infection can ...
, a condition brought on by the rigours of full-time training. He never gained fitness to play for his new team and doctors advised him to retire from the professional game.
During his time out of the game he also taught football part-time at
St Theodore's RC High School
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school located in Burnley, Lancashire, England.
History
The school opened in 2006 as part of ambitious plan to replace all of the district's 11 to 16 schools, fun ...
in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, a school which he himself had attended. In 2005, he returned to football and completed an entire season with
North West Counties 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
Padiham
Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...
. This extended break from the professional game allowed Seddon to recuperate and by March 2006 the illness had left his system. He joined up with his former Bury manager
Andy Preece
Andrew Preece (born 27 March 1967) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Chorley.Worcester City
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane.
Worcester City's ...
and played one match for the team on a non-contract basis in April 2006, scoring in a 3–2 win against Stalybridge Celtic. He was set to sign for the Midlands team and agreed personal terms but baulked at the distance he would have to commute from his
Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
home.
Hyde United
Despite interest from several fully professional
Conference National
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-profes ...
clubs such as
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
, Seddon chose to continue his recuperation at part-time level and joined
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. Seddon has gained a reputation for scoring spectacular goals and on 1 January 2007 scored 5 goals in a 7–3
local derby
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
win away at Stalybridge Celtic. This achievement won him the ''Hyde United Magic Moment of the Season'' award along with the ''Fans' and Players' Player of the Season'' titles during his first year with the club.
During the summer of 2007 Gareth was called up to the England National Game squad for the Four Nations Tournament. He won his first cap against the Republic of Ireland, then scored twice in a 3–0 win over Wales. Seddon scored 62 goals in 87 appearances for Hyde over the two seasons, winning the
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 Sy ...
golden boot in both.
Kettering Town
In July 2008 he joined
Conference National
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-profes ...
side
Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...
on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Seddon was leading scorer with 21 goals in his first season.
Fleetwood Town
In September 2009, Seddon signed for
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 Sy ...
outfit
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 ...
becoming a regular first team player and helping the club gain promotion to the
Conference National
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-profes ...
in 2010. After promotion Seddon was key in helping the club gain a play-off spot in their first season in the top-flight non-league league where they lost to play-off winners
AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...
in the semi-finals. In 2011–12 Seddon became one of Fleetwood's top scorers, being a super-sub after scoring several goals from coming on as a substitute. During his time at Fleetwood Seddon played with now England international
Jamie Vardy
Jamie Richard Vardy (''né'' Gill; born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Leicester City. Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Vardy is known for his prolific goalscoring aided ...
. He was released by the club in May 2012.
FC Halifax Town
In the summer of 2012, Seddon signed for
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 Sy ...
side
F.C. Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 seaso ...
, opting to turn part-time and focus on his modelling career instead of going full-time with
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 ...
or
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
. In a game against Bradford Park Avenue, Seddon scored in the club's 1–1 draw in the West Yorkshire derby, however he was also awarded a red card for an off the ball incident. In the First Round of the FA Trophy Seddon set a new record the fastest hat-trick in an FA Competition, recorded at 2 minutes and 37 seconds. The hat-trick included a fine solo run past the
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
defence. Seddon scored his second hat-trick for the club away 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 ...
in February 2013 in a 6–0 victory.
Chester
In May 2013 he moved to
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
.
Salford City
In the summer of 2014 he moved to Salford City. In his first league match for the club he scored a hat-trick . In October 2015 Seddon appeared in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
series ''Class of '92: Out of Their League''.
Ramsbottom United
After his departure from Salford City, Seddon signed for
Ramsbottom United
Ramsbottom United Football Club are an English association football, football club based in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester. Nicknamed "The Rams", they currently compete in the and play their home matches at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadi ...
in June 2016. He made his competitive debut for Ramsbottom on the opening day of the season, at home in a 3–1 win against
Goole
Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire.
According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...
on 13 August 2016. Seddon scored his first goal for the club the following game, in a 2–1 away defeat to Kendal Town 3 days later.
Post-playing career
Since retiring as a player Seddon has begun working as football agent.