Stefan Steve Payne (born 10 August 1991) is an English footballer 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 Faversham Town. He began his career in

non-league football 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 de ...

with

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles sout ...

before joining

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 ...

, and made his professional debut for Gillingham in

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 ...

in 2010. He did not maintain a first-team place at Gillingham and dropped back into non-league between 2012 and 2016, moving clubs frequently. After two prolific seasons in the

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-profess ...

for

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

he signed for

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 Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, where he did not feature frequently. Payne then played for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

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 ...

, initially on loan, and was their top scorer in the 2017–18 season as they reached the finals of the

EFL 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 ...

and League One play-offs. He subsequently signed for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

, and after a brief loan back at Shrewsbury,

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

Career

Early career

Payne played for the

youth team during the 2008–09 season and broke into the first team towards the tail end of the campaign and impressed

officials during a Southern Youth League cup final against them. In the summer of 2009, Payne signed a contract with Sutton for the 2009–10 season. He made an immediate impact, scoring a hat-trick in the club's first league game of the season, a 4–0 win over

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. He quickly attracted attention from

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 ...

scouts. In September 2009,

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

offered Payne and Sutton a contract. It was thought to be worth a six-figure-sum for Sutton. Although Fulham could not officially sign a player outside the transfer window, Payne joined the reserve squad in October. He played many games for the reserve team but did not break into the first team.

Gillingham

During the 2010 close-season, Gillingham manager

Andy Hessenthaler Andrew Hessenthaler (born 17 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at club Gillingham. He began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at ...

revealed his eagerness to sign Payne, and the striker joined Gillingham on a free transfer in June 2010, signing a two-year contract. He made his professional debut in the first league game of the

season on 7 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw with

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 syst ...

. In February 2011, Payne went to

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

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 Sy ...

on a one-month loan, and scored a hat-trick in his second appearance to help beat

Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Winklebury Sports Complex. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'Never a step backward' ...

5–2. Payne scored his first goal for Gillingham to conclude the 6–1 away win over

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 'The ...

on 17 September 2011, nine minutes after coming on as a substitute for

Frank Nouble Frank Herman Nouble (born 24 September 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for League Two club Colchester United. Nouble started his career with the youth team at Chelsea before signing for West Ham United. Whil ...

. His only other goal for the Gills was on 22 November 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 ...

first round replay at home to

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

, when he came on at half time for

Chris Whelpdale Christopher Mark Whelpdale (born 27 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League South side Eastbourne Borough. Career After playing local football in Brentwood, Whelpdale was recruited by ...

and scored the 3–2 winner. He totalled 37 appearances for the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

-based club, but only three as a starter.

Aldershot Town and return to non-league

On 27 January 2012, Payne signed for

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...

of League Two for the rest of the season, having rescinded his Gillingham contract by mutual consent. He made his only appearance the following day in a 2–1 win at

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

, replacing

Adam Mekki Adam Rhys Mekki (born 24 December 1991) is an English football midfielder of Welsh descent who plays for club Walton & Hersham. Playing career Club Mekki spent his youth at the Reading academy, before switching to Aldershot Town in 2006. He ...

for the final ten minutes. However, days later Aldershot stated on their website that Payne had been sent out on loan to

in the

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 ...

until the end of the season, as manager

Dean Holdsworth Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional football player and manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majority ...

said that he needed to play regular football. The ''Sutton Guardian'' announced that Payne's contract at Aldershot had been cancelled and that Sutton had got the player for nothing. In January 2013, Payne stepped up to the

by signing for

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

. Again, he was limited to one ten-minute appearance for the Silkmen, in a 2–1 loss at

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

on 15 January replacing

Amari Morgan-Smith Amari Aaron Morgan-Smith (born 3 April 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Kidderminster Harriers. He has previously played for Crewe Alexandra, Alsager Town, Stockport County, Ilkeston Town, Luton Town, Ma ...

. Before the end of the month, he switched to struggling

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 from ...

of the same division for the rest of the campaign. He scored twice in 13 matches for the eventually relegated Fleet, and received two straight-red cards including one in the first half of a 2–0 loss at

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

on 18 April. Payne signed in August 2013 for

AFC Hornchurch Hornchurch Football Club is a football club based in Upminster, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hornchurch Stadium. History 1881 club The first Hornchurch Football Club was founded in October 1881. Based at Grey Tow ...

in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

, scoring twice on his debut away at

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

. He totalled 31 goals in 46 games for the Urchins. On 3 June 2014, Payne signed for newly promoted

of the Conference on a free transfer. He was the club's top scorer in both of his seasons with the Kent club, and was named Players' Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season.

Return to Football League

On 18 May 2016, Payne signed for

on a two-year contract with the option to extend for another year, on a free transfer. He made his

debut on 6 August in a 4–2 opening day loss at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, playing the final 17 minutes in place of Tom Bradshaw. He totalled 12 goalless appearances for Barnsley across all competitions, all as a substitute. He signed on loan for

in League One for the remainder of the season on 30 January 2017 and debuted five days later by starting in a 2–1 home win over

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 ...

. On 8 April he scored his first goal, the only one against

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 ...

at the

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5 road (Great Britain) ...

to pull the Shrews out of the relegation zone. Six days later he struck again to ensure a 1–1 draw at local rivals

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. After Shrewsbury secured their place in the third tier, Payne signed a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee in August 2017. He was the club's top scorer with 54 total games and 14 goals in a season in which they lost two finals at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

– the

2018 EFL Trophy Final The 2018 EFL Trophy Final was a football match that took place on 8 April 2018 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 2017–18 EFL Trophy, the 34th edition of the EFL Trophy, a competition for the 48 clubs in EFL League One an ...

to Lincoln City and the 2018 EFL League One play-off final to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

. On 9 August 2018, after starting in Shrewsbury's first match of the new season, Payne signed an undisclosed contract for

of the same division. He made his debut two days later, starting up front alongside fellow former Shrew Alex Rodman and scored a late equaliser in a 2–1 home loss to

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

. In October, he was fined for making offensive gestures towards the club's own fans after they lost at Barnsley. Payne returned to Shrewsbury on 31 January 2019, signing on loan for the remainder of the season. He made five appearances, all but one as a substitute, and did not score. After cancelling his Bristol Rovers contract by mutual consent, Payne signed a two-year deal at

on 28 June 2019, who had just been promoted to League One. Payne captained Tranmere in the

third round tie against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

under-21, where he scored, but eventually lost the match 2–1. On 25 January 2021, Payne joined

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 ...

on a deal until the end of the season, under former Shrewsbury 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 ...

. Five days later on his debut at home to

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

, he came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Ira Jackson Jr and scored an added-time equaliser, though the team still lost 2–1. On 10 April, in a 1–0 loss at

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 was sent off for headbutting teammate

Filipe Morais Filipe Alexandre Major Morais (born 21 November 1985) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger. Morais began his career at Chelsea, progressing through the youth system before signing a professional deal in 2005. H ...

. Grimsby then removed both players from the first team squad. On 12 May 2021 it was announced that he would leave Grimsby at the end of the season, following the expiry of his contract.

Return to non-League football

On 2 July 2021, Payne agreed to return to the National League to sign for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. On 4 February 2022, Payne joined

National League 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 ...

side

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the 20 ...

on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season. Payne was released at the end of the 2021–22 season. On 4 July 2022, Payne signed for

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

. On 6 July 2023, Payne joined fellow National League South club Tonbridge Angels. He departed the club however after just five matches on 31 August, joining Southern Counties East Premier Division club Faversham Town the following day.

Career statistics

Honours

Shrewsbury Town *

runner-up: 2017–18

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Stefan 1991 births Living people Footballers from Lambeth English men's footballers Croydon F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Faversham Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Southern Counties East Football League players England men's semi-pro international footballers Men's association football forwards