Stuart Robert Sinclair (born 19 November 1987) 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 le ...

who played 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 ...

Career

Bristol Rovers

Sinclair joined newly relegated

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 ...

club

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 ...

in the summer of 2014. During the 2014–15 season, he helped the club to gain an instant

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

back to

the 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 ...

. On 8 August 2015, Sinclair made his Football League debut in a 1–0 home defeat 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 ...

. During Sinclair's third Football League appearance, he netted a late winner against

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 August 2015. Sinclair continued to perform well, picking up various Man of the Match awards. His second and final goal of the season was during a 1–1 draw away to

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. After picking up an injury which required surgery and saw him out of action for over six weeks, he missed the end of the 2015–16 season, including a dramatic match against

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

on the final day, which ended in a 2–1 win, after a 92nd-minute winner earned Sinclair and the club back to back promotions. Sinclair made his first appearance of 2016–17 on the opening day of the season in a 3–1 defeat away to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. His first goal of the season came in a 2–0 victory away to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

on 4 March 2017. Sinclair was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in a 3–0 defeat away 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 ...

on 14 March after being booked twice for simulation. Sinclair was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2018–19 season having become a strong fan-favourite during his time with the club, earning cult hero status. Stuart Sinclair

Walsall

Sinclair signed for

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 ...

, who were newly relegated to

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 ...

, on 21 May 2019 on a contract of undisclosed length, effective from 1 July. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2019–20 season as Walsall won 1–0 away to Northampton Town. Towards the end of the 2020–21 season, with Walsall having a limited backroom coaching staff, Sinclair stepped up to help coach some of the younger players in the squad. At the end of the season, after two seasons at the club, Sinclair was one of eight players to not be offered a new contract and would leave Walsall upon the expiration of his contract.

Retirement

Following his departure from Walsall, Sinclair moved to Canada. In 2023, during a short spell back in England, he joined Spartan South Midlands Division One club Real Bedford, managed by brother Rob.

Personal life

Sinclair's brother, Rob Sinclair, also became a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Honours

Arlesey Town * Southern League Division One Central:

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. I ...

Salisbury City *

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 ...

play-offs:

2012–13 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. I ...

Bristol Rovers *

runner-up: 2014–15 *Conference Premier play-offs: 2014–15

References

External links

Profile
at the Walsall F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Stuart 1987 births Living people People from Houghton Conquest English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Luton Town F.C. players Cambridge City F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players Dunstable Town F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Real Bedford F.C. players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Spartan South Midlands Football League players Footballers from Bedfordshire