Rene Alexander Steer (born 31 January 1990) is a retired 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 ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He previously played for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Gillingham, Oldham Athletic,

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C.'',''Staines Albany F ...

, St Neots Town,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. They are currently members of and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously ...

, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Hemel Hempstead Town.

Career

Arsenal

Steer began his career in the

Arsenal Academy The Arsenal Academy was a military academy in Columbia, South Carolina, originally established in 1842 as an independent school by the state of South Carolina. In 1845, the academy became a component of the South Carolina Military Academy (now Th ...

, joining the club at age 13. In the 2006–07 season, he made 11 appearances for the Arsenal Reserves. During the 2007–08 season, he made 12 appearances for the reserves, and another 11 appearances for the Under-18 team. He signed a professional contract with the club on 10 September 2007. He received his first first-team call-up on 2 December 2008 as an unused substitute in

's 2–0 League Cup defeat to

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 ...

, as well as two appearances in the

Premier Reserve League The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons) was the reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league was split into a northern and a southern ...

in the first half of the 2008–09 season. During his time for the club's reserves, he also made several appearances in the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

, including a good performance in a 2–2 draw versus

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, before making a decisive shot in the penalty shootout. He was included in the first team in October 2008 in the Premier League for nine matches.

Gillingham

On 22 January 2009, Steer was loaned out to Gillingham for four months. On 7 February, he made his debut for the club as he came on as a substitute in the 78th minute, in a 2–0 loss to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

. He made his first start for the club in a 4–4 draw versus Aldershot Town on 18 February. He returned to Arsenal in April 2009 following the end of his loan, but was released by the club in June.

Oldham Athletic

Steer signed a 12-month contract with League One club Oldham Athletic on 24 June 2009, following a successful trial. On 17 August, he was sent to hospital following a training session, during which time he received an elbow to the face. Later that day he underwent a successful operation on his jaw at North Manchester General Hospital to repair and correct "serious damage" to his teeth. Steer was released at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Non-league

After his release by Oldham, Steer dropped into non-League and signed for

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club

and then in September 2011, he joined St Neots Town in the Southern League Division One Central. In February 2013 he signed forms for

, but a serious injury kept him out of football for most of that season. His only appearance for the Cards came in the

Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...

exit against Godalming Town on 4 March 2013. In August 2013 he re-signed for St Neots Town. In September 2013, he scored from 40 yards in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

tie against

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, 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 ...

. Steer then joined

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 ...

before signing for

in the summer of 2015. After five seasons, Steer left the Magpies at the end of the 2019–20 season. He joined Hampton & Richmond Borough on 20 August 2020, before departing in November after being unable to hold down a starting spot. Steer joined Hemel Hempstead Town in February 2021.

Career statistics

References

External links

* *
Rene Steer at Aylesbury United
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steer, Rene 1990 births Living people Footballers from Luton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Staines Town F.C. players St Neots Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Boston United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Maidenhead United F.C. players Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players