Leon Charles Constantine (born 24 February 1978) is an English former

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 ...

who played as a striker. A

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

of lower league English football, he had 21 separate spells at 19 different clubs within the space of just 12 years. A latecomer to the professional game, he found a Football League club at age 22, and was a regular first-team player for the first time at age 23. Beginning his career as a

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 ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

following an impressive spell at

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

Edgware Town, in 2002 he joined Brentford. He was unimpressive however, and moved on to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

the following year, where he proved to be a goal-ever-other-game revelation. In 2004, he enjoyed a short spell with

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

before

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

broke their club record in signing him. Again he disappointed, and in 2005 moved on to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

. With Vale he was once more prolific, scoring 32 goals in 72 league games. In 2007

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

were persuaded to sign him, though he fared poorly before

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

ring to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

the following year. He spent the 2009–10 season at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

, followed by a spell with

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. He left York in 2011 for brief spells at Braintree Town, Lewes, Tooting & Mitcham United,

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 ...

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Hitchin Road. History The club was established ...

Brimsdown Brimsdown is a neighbourhood of eastern Enfield in the London Borough of Enfield, north London, on the west side of the mid-to-lower Lea Valley. Geography The east of Brimsdown, that is, east of the eastern Lea Valley line is one of the borough ...

and then Enfield Borough. In addition to all of these clubs he has also had

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

spells with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

, Partick Thistle, Torquay United,

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

, and

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 ...

over the years.

Career

Early career

Born in Hackney, London, Constantine played for Edgware Town before joining

on 31 August 2000 for a £6,000 fee. He made his debut for Millwall on 30 September, coming on as a late substitute for

Paul Ifill Paul Everton Ifill (born 20 October 1979) is a footballer who plays as a forward and manages Christchurch United. He spent most of his career playing as a right winger or a right midfielder, often described as an “old fashioned winger”. ...

in a 4–1 win away to

. He had

spells with

and Partick Thistle, before moving to Wally Downes's Brentford on a free transfer in August 2002. He struggled to establish himself at Griffin Park and in August 2003 joined

, initially on non-

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

terms, signing a permanent deal the following month. He finished as the club's top-scorer in the 2003–04 season with 25 goals in 53 appearances. He helped Southend to reach the 2004 Football League Trophy Final at the Millennium Stadium, where they were beaten 2–0 by Blackpool. He turned down the offer of a new two-year contract from Southend and joined

on a two-year contract in May 2004, scoring his first and what turned out to be only goal for the club against

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

on 7 December. In October 2004, he joined

on loan and in December 2004 moved to Torquay for a club record fee of an initial £75,000, which depending on additional clauses could have risen to £100,000 and included a sell-on fee of 25%. Despite scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 3–1 win at former club Brentford on 26 December, his form was disappointing for Torquay. He scored just seven times in 38 appearances, and was

-listed in October 2005 by Torquay

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Leroy Rosenior Leroy De Graft Rosenior (born 24 August 1964) is a football coach and pundit. He is a former footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (for whom he appeared as a substitute in the 1986 League Cup Final), Bristol City and Wes ...

, along with Darren Garner, Mamadou Sow, Carl Priso,

Morike Sako Morike Sako (born 17 November 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Born in Paris, Sako began his career in France with US Ivry, leaving in 2004 to join Swiss side SR Delémont. To ...

and Nick Skinner.

Port Vale

Constantine moved to

on loan on 4 November 2005, with the transfer becoming permanent for a fee of £20,000 in January 2006. On 8 November 2006, he opened the scoring against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

tie at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

, though Spurs went on to win the game 3–1 in extra time. In the 2006–07 season he broke a record, becoming the only Port Vale player to score more than 17 goals before Christmas. This happened when he scored twice against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on 23 December 2006. He was set to move to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Barnsley in the January 2007

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, Vale agreeing a fee of £200,000 plus

Marc Richards Marc John Richards (born 8 July 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is now, upon retiring, a first-team coach at Northampton Town. A youth team player at Hednesford Town, he turned professional at Blac ...

. However, the deal fell through when neither club could agree terms. In January 2007 Brighton offered Vale £150,000 for the striker, but Constantine insisted he was happy at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

. Despite finishing the season with 26 goals in all competitions for Port Vale (38 in 18 months for the club) he was never a fan favourite at Vale Park, and instead picked up a vocal minority of detractors who condemned his relaxed attitude on the pitch as proof of him being "lazy".

Leeds United

Constantine had been linked with a number of

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

clubs throughout pre-season, however, he agreed a contract in principle with

when they were in

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, paying out of his own pocket to take part in the pre-season programme. Leeds later completed the signing of Constantine on a two-year contract on 7 August 2007. Constantine started his first game for Leeds in the 2–1 defeat to

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 ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

where he scored in the 8th minute. His career at Leeds was blighted by injury, however, leading to him only making a handful of appearances for the club. Constantine scored his first league goal for Leeds in their 3–1 home defeat at the hands of

on 1 January 2008. However, he was hit by injury again, breaking his arm in this same game after scoring, leading to a two-month lay-off. In March, Constantine was sent to Oldham on loan to help him re-gain match fitness, scoring twice in seven appearances.

Northampton Town

On 2 July Constantine completed a free transfer move to League One side

after falling out of favour with

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...

. After only scoring three goals for Northampton and receiving boos from the club's own fans, he joined League One rivals

on a one-month loan on 20 March 2009. He returned to Northampton on 20 April after scoring one goal against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

in six matches.

Hereford United

Having been released by Northampton, Constantine signed for

one a one-year contract on 29 June 2009, becoming the first striker signed by new

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

John Trewick John Trewick (born 3 June 1957) is an English association football, football coach and former midfielder. He was first team coach at Hereford United F.C., Hereford United from 2004 to 2009. After the relegation of Hereford United to League Two, T ...

following his clear out of club's playing staff. He was released at the end of the season following a disappointing year.

York City

He joined

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

on a contract until the end of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season on 3 September 2010, teaming up with his former manager at Port Vale,

Martin Foyle Martin John Foyle (born 2 May 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club St Mirren. In his 20-year playing career he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took ...

. The next day he made his debut, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory over

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 ...

. Constantine scored on his first start for York with the second goal in a 2–0 victory over Hayes & Yeading United on 18 September. Having finished the season with eight goals in 29 appearances he was released by York on 23 June 2011 after being told he could find another club.

Later career

Constantine had an unsuccessful trial with

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 ...

club

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

in July and played in a pre-season friendly against Peterborough. He then went on trial with newly- promoted Conference Premier side Braintree Town and recorded a goal and an

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

in a game against

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

. Constantine completed a permanent move to Braintree after training with them in pre-season and made his debut when he appeared as a second-half substitute in Braintree's 5–0 win over

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. Constantine failed to make a further appearance for Braintree and was released in October. He signed with Isthmian League Premier Division side Lewes, for whom he made one league appearance against

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...

on 8 October. This was followed by a spell with fellow Isthmian League Premier Division side Tooting & Mitcham United, playing one game against Metropolitan Police on 19 November. He then signed for

of 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 Syst ...

on a contract until the end of the 2011–12 season, making his debut as a substitute in the side's 4–2 Boxing Day victory at home to

Eastwood Town Eastwood Town Football Club was an English football club based in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. The club last participated in the Northern Premier League Division One South, the eighth tier of English football. A new club, Eastwood C.F.C., was f ...

. He was released by the club on 11 March 2012 having scored one goal in two starts and eight substitute appearances. He later had spells in the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

playing for

and Enfield Borough. He went on to work as a football consultant at a sports agency company and opened his own football academy.

Career statistics

Honours

Southend United *

runner-up: 2004 Individual * Football League One Player of the Month: August 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine, Leon 1978 births Living people Footballers from Hackney Central English men's footballers Black British sportsmen Men's association football forwards Edgware & Kingsbury F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players York City F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players Brimsdown F.C. players Enfield Borough F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Scottish Football League players Association football agents