Cameron Belford

Cameron Belford

Belford in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Cameron Dale Belford [1]
Date of birth	(1988-10-16) 16 October 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Nuneaton, England
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Stafford Rangers
Youth career
0000–2006	Coventry City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2007	Coventry City	0	(0)
2006	→ Tamworth (loan)	1	(0)
2007–2013	Bury	78	(0)
2007–2008	→ Worcester City (loan)	22	(0)
2012	→ Southend United (loan)	13	(0)
2012	→ Southend United (loan)	4	(0)
2012–2013	→ Accrington Stanley (loan)	5	(0)
2013–2014	Tamworth	46	(0)
2014	Mansfield Town	0	(0)
2014–2015	Rushall Olympic	25	(0)
2015	Swindon Town	1	(0)
2015–2016	Wrexham	19	(0)
2016	→ Stranraer (loan)	16	(0)
2016–2018	Stranraer	58	(0)
2018	Forest Green Rovers	0	(0)
2018	Chorley	2	(0)
2018–2020	Nuneaton Borough	34	(0)
2019–2020	→ FC United of Manchester (loan)	20	(0)
2020–2022	Radcliffe	37	(1)
2022–	Stafford Rangers	78	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:04 (UTC),28 May 2024

Cameron Dale Belford (born 16 October 1988) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Stafford Rangers.

Playing career

Early career

Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Belford started his career at Coventry City and had a brief loan spell at Conference National side Tamworth during the 2006–07 season playing one game against Morecambe, where Tamworth lost 1–0, his father Dale was on the substitutes' bench as back up goalkeeper. ^[2] Belford returned to Coventry soon after the match and was assigned squad number 43, but was released by City in May 2007, without having made a first team appearance. ^[3]

Bury

Belford warming up for Bury in 2008

In August 2007, Belford joined League Two side Bury on a one-year contract after a short trial at Kettering Town. ^[4] With a lack of first team opportunities at Gigg Lane, Belford joined Conference North team Worcester City on loan for a month on 30 November, becoming one of Richard Dryden's first signings. ^[5] He made his City debut on 2 December against Barrow at St George's Lane; the game was drawn 1–1. ^[6] After impressing in the following games his loan spell with Worcester was extended until the end of the season. ^[7] His impressive form continued for City and he won the club's player of the month award for March. ^[8] In April 2008, Bury manager Alan Knill offered Belford a contract for the 2008–09 season. ^[8] and he was recalled from his loan spell at the same time. ^{[8] [9]} He appeared in 22 league and 2 cup games for Worcester City. ^[10]

On 3 May 2008, Belford made his debut as a 75th-minute substitute against Accrington Stanley at the Crown Ground replacing Jim Provett with Bury winning the game 2–0. ^[11] In October 2009 Belford impressed many against Rotherham United when he came on after 27 minutes into the first half when first team goalkeeper Wayne Brown came off injured. He made a number of fine saves and denied Ian Sharps from scoring a late equalizer. He kept the score down to 2–1 to Bury.

In the 2010–11 season he had established a number one goalkeeper spot after some fine performances in the latter part of the season before.

Belford scored his first goal for Bury in a penalty shoot out in a EFL Trophy tie against Shrewsbury Town after calmly saving a Danny O'Donnell spot kick and slotting home the next kick himself. The shootout finished 6–5 to Bury. On 23 October 2010 during a League Two game against Southend United Belford suffered a serious facial injury in a collision with an opposition forward. The injury was a fractured cheek bone so manager Alan Knill brought in Owain Fon Williams to replace Belford. On 25 April 2011, Belford played and helped Bury gain promotion to League One in a 3–2 win at Chesterfield, during which he was victim of an assault on his problem cheekbone from a Chesterfield youth during a pitch invasion after Chesterfield's equalising second goal. ^[12] On 3 March 2012, Belford joined League Two side Southend United on a one-month loan as cover for Glenn Morris. During that spell he helped the Shrimpers reach the League Two play-offs but was unable to help them progress beyond the semi-final stage. ^[13]

On 14 August 2012, Belford returned to Southend for a second loan spell. ^[14] He was brought in as Southend had no first choice goalkeeper prior to their League Cup fixture against Peterborough United. However, he made only 3 appearances after Southend signed Paul Smith to be their first choice goalkeeper. Once his loan spell finished, he returned to Bury, but ironically the next week Smith was injured in a match against Gillingham. ^[15] Belford declined the opportunity to return to Southend for a third loan spell. ^[16]

In late-December, Belford joined Accrington Stanley on a seven-day emergency loan deal, following Ian Dunbavin's injury and a cover for Paul Rachubka. ^[17]

On 27 March 2015 Belford announced on social media website Twitter that he had joined Swindon Town for the remainder of the 2014–15 season. ^[18] He only made 1 appearance for Swindon, being substituted on 3 May 2015 after his brother, Tyrell Belford, was sent off. ^[19]

Wrexham

On 27 May 2015, Belford signed a one-year deal with Wrexham. ^[20] After making 19 appearances for Wrexham, Belford lost his place to on loan goalkeeper Rhys Taylor, after the Dragons were knocked out of the FA Cup by National League North side Gainsborough Trinity ^[21] In January 2016, Belford moved on loan to Scottish League One side Stranraer in order to gain regular football. ^[21] His first appearance for the Blues came in a 2–0 league victory against Cowdenbeath. ^[22]

Stranraer

After being released by Wrexham, Belford returned to Stair Park to sign a permanent contract with Stranraer in June 2016. ^[23]

Forest Green Rovers

Belford returned to England in January 2018, signing for EFL League Two club Forest Green Rovers on short-term deal until the end of the 2017–18 season. ^{[24] [25]}

He was released by Forest Green at the end of the 2017–18 season. ^[26]

Chorley

He then joined Chorley. He played in the opening two league matches of the season but left the club in search of first team football after losing his place. ^[27]

Nuneaton Borough

He later signed for Nuneaton Borough. ^[28]

On 21 September 2019, he joined FC United of Manchester on loan for one month. ^[29] The loan was extended until the end of November ^[30] and again until the end of January 2020. ^[31]

Radcliffe

On 16 June 2020, Belford joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Radcliffe, linking up once again with manager Lee Fowler, who he had worked with at Nuneaton. ^[32] He made his league debut for the club on 19 September in a 4–2 defeat against Buxton. In October, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, semi-professional leagues across the United Kingdom were curtailed. Prior to the season being curtailed, Belford made 11 appearances in all competitions for Radcliffe.

Stafford Rangers

In June 2022, Belford joined Stafford Rangers. ^[33]

Club statistics

As of match played 12 March 2022.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Coventry City	2006–07 [34]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tamworth (loan)	2006–07 [34]	Conference National	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
Bury	2007–08 [35]	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2008–09 [36]		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2009–10 [37]		8	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	9	0
	2010–11 [38]		39	0	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	41	0
	2011–12 [39]	League One	23	0	1	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	27	0
	2012–13 [40]		7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		79	0	1	0	3	0	3	0	86	0
Southend United (loan)	2011–12 [39] |	League Two	13	0	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	15	0
Southend United (loan)	2012–13 [40]		4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
Accrington Stanley (loan)	2012–13 [40]		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Tamworth	2013–14 [41]	Conference Premier	46	0	3	0	—		4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	53	0
Mansfield Town	2014–15 [42]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rushall Olympic	2014–15	NPL – Premier Division	25	0	0	0	—		0	0	25	0
Swindon Town	2015–16 [43]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Wrexham	2015–16 [43]	National League	19	0	0	0	—		0	0	19	0
Stranraer (loan)	2015–16 [43]	Scottish League One	16	0	0	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 4]	0	20	0
Stranraer	2016–17 [44]		36	0	2	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 5]	0	43	0
	2017–18 [45]		22	0	1	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	27	0
	Total		74	0	3	0	4	0	5	0	70	0
Forest Green Rovers	2017–18 [45]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Radcliffe	2020-21 [46]	Northern Premier League Premier Division	8	0	2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	11	0
	2021-22 [47]		29	1	3 [lower-alpha 6]	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	36	1
	Total		37	1	5	0	0	0	5	0	47	1
Career total			304	1	12	0	8	0	23	0	347	1

1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in the League Two play-offs
3. Appearances in the FA Trophy
4. Appearances in the Scottish Championship play-offs
5. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
6. Appearances in the FA Cup Qualifying rounds

Personal life

He is the son of Tamworth goalkeeper Dale Belford and the brother of former Swindon Town goalkeeper Tyrell Belford. ^[48]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Tamworth 0–1 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 30 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
3. "The Championship form guide". BBC Sport. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
4. "Bury snap up Richardson & Belford". BBC Sport. 12 August 2007. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
5. "New City boss adds reinforcements". BBC Sport. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
6. "City 1 Barrow 1". Worcester News. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "Keeper Belford extends City stay". BBC Sport. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
8. "Belford returns to Bury". Worcester News. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. "Danks prepared to leave Worcester". BBC Sport. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
10. "Worcester City Player Cameron Belford". The Worcester City FC Archive. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
11. "Accrington Stanley 0–2 Bury". BBC Sport. 3 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
12. "Arrests after Bury goalkeeper assault". BBC News. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
13. "Southend bring in Bury goalkeeper Cameron Belford". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
14. "Belford returns on loan". Southend United Official Website. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
15. "Southend United sign Cameron Belford on loan from Bury for second time". Southend Standard. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
16. "Southend United's Daniel Bentley pleased with his 'perfect day'". Southend Standard. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
17. "Accrington Stanley sign Bury's Cameron Belford on loan". BBC. 29 December 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
18. "Delighted to put pen to paper @Official_STFC till the end of the season.. Looking forward to the promotion push #GreatToBeBack #STFC". Twitter. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
19. "Swindon Town 2-2 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
20. Wrexham AFC. "Wrexham AFC sign Lee Fowler and Cameron Belford". Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
21. "Keeper Heads Out on Loan". wrexhamfc.co.uk. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
22. "Cowdenbeath 0–2 Stranraer". BBC Sport. 23 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
23. "Belford Is Back". stranrearfc.org. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
24. "FGR sign new goalkeeper". Forest Green Rovers FC. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
25. "Belford exit". Stranraer FC. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
26. "Forest Green Rovers: Isaiah Osbourne offered new deal as 12 players depart". BBC Sport. 7 May 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
27. "Urwin is Magpies No.1 choice after Belford's exit". Chorley Guardian. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
28. "Former Wrexham goalkeeper Cameron Belford lifts the lid on plight at Nuneaton Borough". The Leader. 14 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
29. "Former Wrexham goalkeeper Cameron Belford lifts the lid on plight at Nuneaton Borough". FC United of Manchester. 21 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
30. "Cameron Belford Extends Loan". Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
31. "Cameron Belford Loan Extended". Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
32. Lord, Adam (16 June 2020). "Ex-Bury goalkeeper signs up to be Radcliffe's new No.1". Bury Times . Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
33. "Belford's at the Double". www.staffordrangersfc.co.uk. 11 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
34. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
35. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
36. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
37. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
38. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
39. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
40. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
41. Cameron Belford at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
42. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
43. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
44. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
45. "Games played by Cameron Belford in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
46. "Radcliffe – Appearances – Cameron Belford – 2020-2021". Footballwebpages.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
47. "Radcliffe – Appearances – Cameron Belford – 2021-2022". Footballwebpages.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
48. "How Tamworth keeps on producing great 'keepers". This is Tamworth. 25 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

External links

• Cameron Belford at Soccerbase