Scott Walter Canham (born 11 November 1974) is an English former 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 ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

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 ...

, Brentford and

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 ...

. He went on to play for several years in non-League football.

Career

Canham was born in

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

, London, and was associated with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

from the age of nine. As a young professional he spent a month on loan at

in late 1995, where he made his debut in

, and in January 1996, joined Brentford on loan for the remainder of the season, in which he played 14 league games. West Ham offered him a new two-year contract, which he turned down; so, in August 1996, Canham returned to Brentford on a permanent basis for a fee of around £25,000, potentially rising to £60,000 depending on appearances. He was the subject of scrutiny at a fans forum where fans questioned then manager Harry Redknapp as to why he was allowed to leave and

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

was allowed to stay. He played 35 league games for Brentford, 11 of which were as a substitute, scoring only once before being released after Brentford's relegation in the summer of 1998. On 10 August 1998 he joined

, but the form of the other midfielders at Brisbane Road limited his chances and he joined Isthmian Premier League side Chesham United for a month's loan on 22 December. On his return to Orient, he failed to reappear in their first team, and in August 2000 was released to join Chesham United. Such was his form for Chesham the following season, that Orient manager

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

, who had released him a year before, brought Canham back to Brisbane Road for the 2001–02 season. He earned a contract extension, but then fell out of favour, and joined Conference club Woking on loan in March 2003. After helping them avoid relegation, he joined the club on a free transfer at the end of the 2002–03 season. In February 2005 he moved to

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

, where he spent some time as joint manager alongside Gerry Murphy, but moved nearer his

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

home at the end of the 2005–06 season when he linked up with his former Farnborough manager

Frank Gray Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Darlington, while he also represented Scotland 32 times. Gray has managed Darlington, ...

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

. Released after a couple of months without having appeared for the first team, he then moved to neighbours

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

. In May 2008, Canham became assistant manager to his former Leyton Orient teammate Carl Griffiths at

Brentwood Town Brentwood Town Football Club is a football club based in Brentwood, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Brentwood Centre Arena. History A Brentwood Football Club was established in the 19th century, and played ...

, but the pair left the club before the 2009–10 season.

Personal life

As of July 2012, Canham was running his own car repair business.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canham, Scott 1974 births Living people English footballers Association football midfielders West Ham United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Chesham United F.C. players Woking F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Footballers from West Ham Brentwood Town F.C. players