Steven Brian Istead (born 23 April 1986) 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 ...

who plays for

Buxton F.C. Buxton Football Club is a football club based in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Silverlands. History The club was established in autumn 1877 as an offshoot of the local cricket club, playing thei ...

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 ...

and is their club captain.

Career

Born in South Shields, Istead began his career with the youth team of Newcastle United. He left without making a first-team appearance, and signed for

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

in 2002, where he held the record for the youngest player to ever play for Hartlepool United until it was beaten in 2004 by striker David Foley. He also became the youngest player to score for Hartlepool, aged 17 years and 112 days old, when he scored in a 2–2 draw against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

in the

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 ...

in 2003, however, this record was broken in 2012 by Luke James. Despite making his senior debut in 2002, Istead didn't sign his first professional contract with Hartlepool until June 2005. However, he was released from his contract less than a year later, in May 2006. During his four seasons with Hartlepool, Istead made a total of 64 appearances 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 ...

. Istead later played for non-league clubs Gateshead and Consett, before moving to Scottish side

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

in 2007, where he made 24 appearances in the

Scottish Football League Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

alongside his former Hartlepool boss

Neale Cooper Neale James Cooper (24 November 1963 – 28 May 2018) was a Scottish football player and coach. He played as a midfielder during the 1980s and 1990s, most prominently for the Aberdeen team managed by Alex Ferguson, and later played for Aston ...

. After one season in Scotland, Istead returned south of the border to play for Ilkeston Town. On 10 June 2009, Istead signed for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

. On 1 December 2009, Istead joined

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfr ...

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 month-long loan deal. After being released by Mansfield at the end of the 2010–11 season, Istead signed for

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 ...

in June 2011. He took temporary charge of Eastwood Town for three games while a new manager was being appointed in October 2011. Istead joined Buxton at the beginning on the 2013–14 season and was named as the club captain.

References

;General *
Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Istead, Steven 1986 births Living people English men's footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Consett A.F.C. players Peterhead F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Mansfield Town F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Eastwood Town F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players Northern Football League players Footballers from South Shields Men's association football midfielders Buxton F.C. players