Christopher Mark Whelpdale (born 27 January 1987) 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 le ...

who plays 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

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 Eastbourne Borough.

Career

After playing local football in Brentwood, Whelpdale was recruited by

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

's youth academy. Whelpdale later moved to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

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 ...

before being released. Whelpdale began his senior career at Maldon Town, after not being offered a scholarship by Ipswich, before moving shortly to

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

Peterborough United

In 2007 Whelpdale signed for

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

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

, rejecting

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 ...

side

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, who had just been relegated from the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

Gillingham

He joined Gillingham on loan in the 2010–11 season and scored three goals in four games for the

team. He joined Gillingham on a permanent basis in July 2011. Whelpdale was part of the Gillingham side that won the 2012–13 League Two title.

Stevenage

He rejected a new deal from Gillingham and signed for

side

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 ...

on 30 June 2014.

AFC Wimbledon

On 28 June 2016 Whelpdale signed for

side

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 ...

. He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in a 3–2

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

loss against

on 9 August 2016.

Stevenage

On 28 July 2017, Whelpdale re-signed for Stevenage. Whelpdale made 27 League Two appearances, starting 19 times, scoring once, before departing the club.

Chelmsford City

On 10 August 2018, Whelpdale signed for

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

. On 27 August 2018, Whelpdale scored his first goal for the club in a 5–3 away win against

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pl ...

. On 30 January 2020, Whelpdale was confirmed as assistant to interim manager

Robbie Simpson Robbie Simpson (born 15 March 1985 in Poole, Dorset) is an English semi-professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward. Simpson is currently manager at National League South club Chelmsford ...

alongside Michael Spillane following the sacking of Rod Stringer.

Eastbourne Borough

On 29 July 2020, Whelpdale left Chelmsford to join fellow

club Eastbourne Borough.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1987 births Living people English footballers Association football midfielders Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Chelmsford City F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players Chelmsford City F.C. non-playing staff {{England-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub