James Oates (born 19 March 1991) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a defender.

Career

Early career

Oates began his career with Manly United, before signing for the Central Coast Mariners youth team in 2010. He joined up with the side for the 2010–11 pre-season, making his debut against Riverina U23s – coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal. Oates impressed during his first season, and was handed a trial with League One side Sheffield United, but returned to Central Coast Mariners for the start of the 2011–12. In his second season with the Mariners, Oates captained the side to glory in the National Youth League, earning himself a one-year professional contract with the senior Central Coast Mariners side for their 2012–13 campaign. An ankle injury sustained during pre-season meant he was unable to break into the first team and, following further setbacks, Oates was released from his contract early. After his release from Central Coast Mariners, Oates returned to Manly United. A teammate of his persuaded him to apply to Hartpury College, England, to study, play football, and see a world outside of Australia.

Hereford

In 2015, Oates signed for the newly-formed

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, a phoenix club setup by fans following the demise of Hereford United. Following a successful first season, in which the Australian played 41 times for the club as they won the Midland Football League Premier Division title and reached the final of the

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 ...

, Oates signed on with Hereford for the 2016–17 season. Oates was named captain for the 2017–18 season. He signed a new deal with Hereford ahead of the 2018–19 season. During his 3 seasons with Hereford, Oates made 136 appearances in all competitions.

Exeter City

On 24 July 2018, following a trial period, Oates was formally announced as an Exeter City player. Oates had previously worked alongside his new manager, Matt Taylor, while studying at Hartpury College. He made his debut for the club in a 0–2 defeat away to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

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 ...

. On 24 January 2019, Oates rejoined Hereford on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. On 12 March 2019, Oates was re-called from Hereford with immediate effect, due to a number of injuries in Exeter City's squad. He was released by Exeter at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Return to Manly

Oates returned to Manly United in the

2020 National Premier Leagues The 2020 National Premier Leagues was the eighth season of the Australian National Premier Leagues football competition. The league competition was played by eight separate state and territory member federations, namely the ACT, NSW, Northern N ...

season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oates, Jimmy 1991 births Living people Soccer players from Sydney Australian soccer players Association football defenders Manly United FC players Central Coast Mariners Academy players Central Coast Mariners FC players Hereford F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players English Football League players Australian expatriate soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England