Joseph Elliott Bunney (born 26 September 1993) 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, on loan from

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. He has previously played professionally 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 ...

for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, Northampton Town,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

and Grimsby Town as well as at Non-league level for

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

, Kendal Town, Stockport County,

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 ...

, Matlock Town,

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 ...

, Warrington Rylands and

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 ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Bunney worked his way through

's youth system and broke into their first team during the 2011–12 season as the club competed in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Division One North, whilst studying sports science at Myerscough College in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

Rochdale

Bunney made his début as a professional at

on 27 April 2013 as a substitute in a 1–0 victory against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, on the final day of the 2012–13 season with Bunney scoring the winning goal with a header after a cross from another débutante,

Scott Tanser Scott Tanser (born 23 October 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club St Mirren. He made his senior debut for Rochdale in April 2013 and made a total of 57 league and cup appearances for the club before ...

. On 1 July 2014, Bunney signed a new two-year contract at Rochdale.

Northampton Town

On 16 January 2018, Bunney signed for Northampton Town for an undisclosed fee. On 25 June 2018, Bunney signed for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on loan. On 31 January 2019, Bunney's loan at

was cut short and then loaned out to his former club

until the end of the season. He was one of 3 transfer-listed by Northampton at the end of the 2018–19 season; a further 8 were released.

Bolton Wanderers

On 2 September 2019, Bunney signed for

on a free transfer from Northampton Town on a contract until the end of the season. The following weekend he was involved in a road traffic collision on the M55 motorway that left him with broken ribs and a broken collarbone. On 26 June it was announced Bunney would be one of 14 senior players released at the end of his contract on 30 June.theboltonnews "Bolton announce retained list with 14 players out of contract"
/ref>

Matlock and Hartlepool

On 19 October 2020, Bunney signed for Matlock Town. He played two matches for the club, registering an assist in both games. A month later he signed for

on 30 November. He left on 26 January 2021 as he wanted to return to playing in the

English 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 Engl ...

Grimsby Town

On 1 February 2021, Bunney 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 Grimsby Town on a contract until the end of the 2020–21 season. Bunney had already played for Matlock and Hartlepool in the 2020–2021 season, usually meaning he wouldn't be able to sign for a third team as players can only play for two teams in one season – however

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

changed the rules for that season to allow players to play for three teams, to alleviate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on football. On 18 March 2021, it was announced by manager

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, ba ...

that Bunney had played his final game for the club after he was taken to hospital hours after a game against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

, and would effectively be leaving the club because of an unreported medical condition.

Back to Non League

On 25 August 2021, Bunney signed a contract for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

. On 8 October 2021, it was announced Bunney had signed for Warrington Rylands. On 2 June 2022, Bunney joined

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

on trial and played in a 3–2 pre-season defeat against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Bunney signed with

ahead of the 2022–23 season. In December 2022, Bunney joined

on a three month loan. In February 2023, he signed for

on loan until 1st April.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

Personal life

Bunney is in a relationship with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

women's footballer

Ella Toone Ella Ann Toone (born 2 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester United and England. Toone has previously played for Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, and has re ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunney, Joe English footballers English Football League players Northern Premier League players Lancaster City F.C. players Kendal Town F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Warrington Rylands 1906 F.C. players Macclesfield F.C. players Ashton United F.C. players Living people Association football forwards Footballers from Manchester 1993 births