Gary Ian King (born 27 January 1990) 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 as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. King notably played in 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 ...

with both Lincoln City and Accrington Stanley, as well as spending time on loan with

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

. He has since been a journeyman in non-league football and has played for Hinckley United, Louth Town, Stamford,

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

, Worksop Town, Grantham Town,

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...

Spalding United Spalding United Football Club is a football club based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Sir Halley Stewart Field. History The club was established in 1905 when Fulney Institute and Vic ...

Brigg Town Brigg Town Football Club CIC is a football club based in Brigg, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. Established in 1864, they are one of the oldest football clubs in the world. History The club w ...

, Coalville Town, Deeping Rangers, Holbeach United,

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since thei ...

, Skegness Town and Frickley Athletic.

Career

Early career

King started his journey in Lincoln City's U9's team. He went up through the ranks for ten years. He also played for East Coast Juniors as a young kid once scored 50 goals from midfield in one season. King signed his first professional contract on 19 April 2008. Later that day, he made his first start for Lincoln and scored against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in the 39th minute of the game. Lincoln later went on to win this match 3–1. He joined

on loan on 8 January 2009 till mid-March. He joined Accrington prior to the 2009–10 season. Gary enjoyed his first goal for Accrington against the team from where he was born, Grimsby Town.

Non-League

On 7 June 2010 he signed for Hinckley United. On 12 November 2010 he signed non-contract terms with Louth Town, marking his debut for the club by scoring a last minute winner in the 2–1 victory at Appleby Frodingham in the

Northern Counties East League Division One The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English association football, football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football lea ...

clash on 13 November 2010. After two further appearances for the club, one in the league one in the cup, he moved on, joining Stamford at the beginning of December 2010. However, with inclement weather preventing any competitive football for the club, a seven-day notice for King's services was put in by

shortly before Christmas and he duly linked up with the

Football Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League (English football), National League in England, immediately below the National League (division), National League division. Along with the National Leag ...

club. King was released from

on 13 May 2011 after his contract was not renewed for the new season. In July 2011 it was announced that he had rejoined Stamford. He returned to Stamford in January 2012 On 18 February 2012, he agreed to join

on a dual-registration deal with Grantham Town. In May 2012, he agreed a deal to rejoin Stamford. He moved on to join

, marking his debut by scoring twice in a 2-1

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

4th Round victory at Ely City on 29 January 2013. He returned to former club

in March 2013, joining the club on a dual-registration deal. In August 2013 he joined

but swiftly departed to join Grantham Town, making a goalscoring debut in the club's opening day 2–1 defeat at

Ashton United Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. History The club was founded in 1878 as Hurst Football Club and the earliest known match ...

on 17 August 2013. On 9 December 2013, he moved on to join Coalville Town However, his spell with the club was short and he returned to Grantham Town in January 2014. In April 2014 he was on his travels again, joining Deeping Rangers for whom he would score twice for in their 4–5 defeat to Huntingdon Town in the United Counties League Cup Final on 5 May 2014. He agreed to join Holbeach United ahead on the 2014–15 season and, after completing a whole season with the club, agreed new terms for the 2015–16 season. In December 2015 he moved on to join

. In January 2017 he joined Stamford but was quickly on the move again, joining Cleethorpes Town ahead of their

quarter final tie at Southall which the club would win 5–2 with King debuting as a substitute. On 18 March 2017, his first-minute lob secured the club's place at Wembley Stadium as they went through to the

Final with a 1–0 home victory, and 2-1 aggregate score, over Bromsgrove Sporting. He joined

for a second spell in May 2017, remaining with the club until the beginning of November 2018. In January 2019, he rejoined

, debuting in the club's 5–0 defeat at

Marske United Marske United Football Club is a football club based in Marske-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mount Pleasant. History The club was established in 1956 by members of Marske Cricket Club.

on 19 January 2019. Following a two-year spell at Skegness Town, King moved to West Yorkshire side Frickley Athletic in October 2021.

References

External links

*
Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive ProfileUnofficial Gary King Profile
a
The Forgotten Imp
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Gary 1990 births Living people Footballers from Grimsby English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Lincoln City F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Hinckley United F.C. players Louth Town F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Worksop Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Spalding United F.C. players Brigg Town F.C. players Coalville Town F.C. players Deeping Rangers F.C. players Holbeach United F.C. players Lincoln United F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players United Counties League players