Stuart James Nelson (born 17 September 1981) 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 as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Dover Athletic.

Career

Born in Stroud,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Nelson started his career at Cheltenham youth club FC Battledown. He also played for the Cirencester College Football Academy team,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

and Cirencester Town. County Cup success led to him being spotted by Northern Premier League side Hucknall Town after a spell with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

Brentford

Nelson joined Brentford from Hucknall in February 2004 for a fee of £10,000. He was sent off on his debut against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. He completed his first full season with Brentford in 2004–05, maintaining 21 clean sheets and helping the team into the promotion play-offs. He signed a new two-year contract in August 2005. Nelson was appointed club captain for the 2006–07 season and scored the decisive

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

in a

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 ...

first round

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

win over

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. However, a ligament injury picked up in October meant that he was unable to play again until 2007. He returned and played 6 games towards the end of the season. He was released by Brentford on 16 May 2007.

Leyton Orient

Nelson signed for

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 ...

in summer 2007, but left less than a year later by mutual consent due to relocating issues. On 1 August 2008, Norwich City confirmed the signing of Nelson after he impressed

Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Watfo ...

while on trial at Carrow Road. He was released at the end of his one-year contract the following summer having made no first team appearances.

Aberdeen

On 27 July 2009, Nelson signed a one-year contract with Scottish Premier League team

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. In May 2010 Nelson turned down an offer of a new contract.

Notts County

On 23 June 2010, Nelson signed a two-year contract with

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 ...

team

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. Upon his signing for Notts County, he became the first choice goalkeeper; a position he retained in the 2011–12 season. However, on 9 May 2012, he was released by Notts County along with 12 of his teammates.

Gillingham

On 20 July 2012, Nelson signed for

Football 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 ...

side Gillingham on a free transfer, on a two-year deal. He made his debut for Gillingham on 18 August 2012 against

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. ...

. In his first season with the club Nelson won the

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 ...

title and was runner up at the Player of the Season awards. He received the club's player of the year award for the 2013–14 season. In May 2014, Nelson signed a new two-year contract, and in June 2016 signed a further two-year contract with the club. He was named Vice-Captain for the 2016–17 season. He made his 200th start for the team in December 2016. On 5 December 2017, Nelson made his 223rd competitive appearance for Gillingham which took him to 3rd on all time appearances for a goalkeeper for the club. Only

Ron Hillyard Ronald William Hillyard (born 31 March 1952) is an English former football goalkeeper. He spent seventeen years playing for Gillingham, for whom he holds the record for the most matches played in all competitions. Career Born in Brinsworth, H ...

(1st) and John Simpson (2nd) have played more times in goal for the club. The following month, however, Nelson left Gillingham having agreed the termination of his contract.

Yeovil Town

On 20 February 2018, Nelson signed for

side

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

until the end of the season. He signed a new contract with Yeovil at the end of the 2017–18 season. He was released at the end of the 2019–20 season as a result of budget cuts.

Crawley Town

On 7 November 2020, Nelson signed for

side

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

on a three-month deal. On 12 January 2021, Nelson signed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Dorking Wanderers

On 8 October 2021, Nelson signed for National League South side Dorking Wanderers. On 8 December 2021, it was confirmed that Nelson had left the club.

Sutton United

On 15 January 2022, Nelson signed for

side

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 so ...

. Nelson was released at the end of the season having made two appearances for the club.

Dover Athletic

On 18 June 2022, Nelson agreed to join recently relegated National League South club Dover Athletic.

Personal life

Nelson played rugby as a youngster and represented Gloucestershire.

Career statistics

Honours

Gillingham *

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 ...

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2012–13 League Two * Gillingham Player of the Season: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Stuart 1981 births Living people People from Stroud English footballers Association football goalkeepers Cirencester Town F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Hucknall Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Dorking Wanderers F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Premier League players Sportspeople from Gloucestershire