Kevin Ellison (footballer)

For other people named Kevin Ellison, see Kevin Ellison (disambiguation).

Kevin Ellison

Ellison in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Kevin Ellison [1]
Date of birth	(1979-02-23) 23 February 1979 (age 45) [2]
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [2]
Position(s)	Winger, Striker
Team information
Current team	Vauxhall Motors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1997	Southport	4	(0)
1997–1998	Chorley	4	(0)
1998–1999	Conwy United	37	(7)
1999–2001	Altrincham	51	(23)
2001	Leicester City	1	(0)
2001–2004	Stockport County	48	(2)
2004	→ Lincoln City (loan)	13	(0)
2004–2005	Chester City	24	(9)
2005–2006	Hull City	39	(2)
2006–2007	Tranmere Rovers	34	(4)
2007–2009	Chester City	75	(19)
2009–2011	Rotherham United	62	(11)
2011	→ Bradford City (loan)	7	(1)
2011–2020	Morecambe	352	(81)
2020–2022	Newport County	33	(3)
2022	Warrington Rylands	2	(0)
2022–2023	City of Liverpool	27	(5)
2023–2024	Runcorn Town	9	(1)
2024–	Vauxhall Motors	18	(8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:38, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Kevin Ellison (born 23 February 1979) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a forward for Northern Premier League Division One West club Vauxhall Motors. ^[3]

He has represented fourteen clubs during his career, making in excess of 550 appearances in the Football League; including 350 games for Morecambe. Ellison also played once in the Premier League for Leicester City. He also played in the Football League for Stockport County, Lincoln City, Chester City, Hull City, Rotherham United, Bradford City and Newport County. He has featured semi-professionally for Southport, Chorley, Conwy United, Altrincham and Warrington Rylands.

During the 2019–20 season, Ellison briefly acted as a coach for Morecambe.

Career

Early career

Born in Liverpool, Ellison started his career in non-league football, playing for Southport, Chorley, Conwy United and Altrincham. In February 2001 he joined Leicester City for a £50,000 fee. ^[4] At Leicester he made his only appearance as a late substitute against Manchester United at Old Trafford. ^[5] He later joined Stockport County. In 2004, he was loaned out to Lincoln City. ^[6] In August 2004 he was transferred to Chester City. ^[7]

Ellison signed for Hull City in January 2005 for a £100,000 fee. ^[8] Despite a solid work rate he often struggled for form and was regularly in the shadow of Stuart Elliott, the Tigers' most outstanding left winger of recent times. Ellison did score an individual goal away at Southampton in a 1–1 draw and was part of the 2004–05 team that gained promotion from the third tier to the Championship. In June 2006, Hull accepted £100,000 for the player from Scunthorpe United, ^[9] though Ellison refused the move. ^[10] Instead he joined Tranmere Rovers for an undisclosed fee. ^[11] In June 2007 he moved on to Chester City for £150,000, signing a three-year contract. ^[12]

His first league game back at Chester was a goalless draw with Chesterfield on 11 August 2007. In January 2008 Wrexham put in a five-figure offer for the player, ^[13] though he did not make the move. Stockport County also attempted to win his signature, ^[14] but were also unsuccessful.

In the 2008–09 Football League Two campaign, Ellison scored a hat-trick for Chester in a 3–1 victory over Grimsby Town on 13 September 2008. He scored 12 other league goals during the season, which still ended with the club being relegated from The Football League.^{[ citation needed ]} On 11 August 2009, he scored the winning goal as Rotherham upset Championship side Derby County 2–1 in the first round of the Football League Cup.

In February 2011, Ellison was loaned to Rotherham's fellow League Two side Bradford City, with Omar Daley moving in the opposite direction. ^[15] He scored the only goal of a 1–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers in his Bradford debut.

Morecambe

Ellison was released by Rotherham at the end of the 2010–11 season. On 31 May 2011, Ellison signed for Jim Bentley's Morecambe on a one-year contract.

On 1 January 2012, Ellison signed an extension to his Morecambe contract, which would keep him at the Globe Arena for a further 18 months.^{[ citation needed ]}

In June 2018 Ellison publicly talked about his struggles with depression, giving advice to fellow professionals. ^[16] In November 2018, a club-released YouTube video featuring Ellison challenging his online gaming speed stat gained notoriety when it was featured on the sports website Deadspin. ^[17]

He signed a new one-year contract with Morecambe in June 2019. ^[18] Following Jim Bentley's departure as manager on 28 October 2019, Ellison assumed the role of caretaker player-manager, alongside Barry Roche. ^[19] Ellison's only match in charge was the 1–0 home win against Leyton Orient in League Two on 2 November 2019. ^[20] Derek Adams was appointed Morecambe team manager on 7 November 2019. ^[21] In June 2020, Ellison was released by Morecambe after 352 league appearances during nine years with the club and having scored 88 goals. ^[22]

Newport County

On 4 September 2020, Ellison joined fellow League Two side Newport County on a one-year deal. ^[23] For the 2020–21 season, Newport County appointed Ellison as their 'mental health ambassador'. ^[24] He made his debut for Newport on 6 October 2020 in the starting line up for the 5–0 EFL Trophy defeat against Norwich City Under 21s. ^{[25] [26]} His first goal for Newport was the 96th minute winner in a 1–0 League Two win against Port Vale on 21 November 2020. ^{[27] [26]}

When he came on as a substitute in the second leg of Newport's play-off semi-final against Forest Green Rovers on 23 May 2021, he became the oldest outfield player in play-off history. ^[28] He scored a goal in the 70th minute, thus also becoming the oldest goal scorer in the play-offs. ^[28] Ellison played for Newport in the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 2021 which Newport lost to his former club, Morecambe, 1–0 after extra time. ^[29]

On 26 July 2021, Ellison signed a new one-year deal to stay at Newport through the 2021–22 season. ^[30] As part of the deal, he would also take up a coaching role with the club's development squad. ^[30] He was released by Newport at the end of the 2021–22 season, stating his decision to continue playing. ^[31]

Non-League

In August 2022, Ellison signed for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Warrington Rylands. ^[32] On 23 September 2022, Ellison joined City of Liverpool. On his debut, he contributed two assists and a goal. ^[33]

In September 2023 Ellison signed for North West Counties League Division One North club Runcorn Town and scored on his debut - a 2–2 draw against Garstang.

Career statistics

• Correct after match played 27 October 2024.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^{[34] [35]}

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Southport	1996–97 [36]	Football Conference	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	0
Chorley	1997–98 [37]	NPL Premier Division	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	0
Conwy United	1997–98 [38]	League of Wales	9	2	—		—		—		9	2
	1998–99 [39]	League of Wales	28	5	—		—		—		28	5
	Total		37	7	—		—		—		37	7
Altrincham	1999–00 [40]	Football Conference	37	14	3	1	—		9	1	49	16
	2000–01 [41]	NPL Premier Division	17	9	1	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	20	8
	Total		54	23	1	0	—		2	1	57	24
Leicester City	2000–01 [42]	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2001–02 [43]	Premier League	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Stockport County	2001–02 [43]	First Division	11	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
	2002–03 [44]	Second Division	23	1	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	24	1
	2003–04 [45]	Second Division	14	1	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	16	1
	Total		48	2	1	0	1	0	2	0	52	2
Lincoln City (loan)	2003–04 [45]	Third Division	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
Chester City	2004–05 [46]	League Two	24	9	3	1	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	1	30	11
Hull City	2004–05 [46]	League One	16	1	—		—		0	0	16	1
	2005–06 [47]	Championship	23	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	25	1
	Total		39	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	41	2
Tranmere Rovers	2006–07 [48]	League One	34	4	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	38	4
Chester City	2007–08 [49]	League Two	36	11	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	39	11
	2008–09 [50]	League Two	39	8	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	1	42	9
	Total		75	19	2	0	2	0	2	1	81	20
Rotherham United	2009–10 [51]	League Two	39	8	2	1	2	1	4 [lower-alpha 3]	1	47	11
	2010–11 [52]	League Two	23	3	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	1	27	4
	Total		62	11	3	1	3	1	6	2	74	15
Bradford City (loan)	2010–11 [52]	League Two	7	1	—		—		0	0	7	1
Morecambe	2011–12 [53]	League Two	34	15	1	0	2	1	1 [lower-alpha 2]	1	38	17
	2012–13 [54]	League Two	40	11	3	1	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	1	46	13
	2013–14 [55]	League Two	42	10	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	45	10
	2014–15 [56]	League Two	43	11	1	0	1	0	0	0	45	11
	2015–16 [57]	League Two	44	9	2	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	50	9
	2016–17 [58]	League Two	45	8	1	0	2	1	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	50	9
	2017–18 [59]	League Two	40	9	1	1	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	44	10
	2018–19 [60]	League Two	43	7	2	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 4]	0	49	7
	2019–20 [61]	League Two	21	1	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	1	24	2
	Total		352	81	12	2	12	2	15	3	391	88
Newport County	2020–21 [26]	League Two	23	2	3	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 5]	1	30	3
	2021–22 [62]	League Two	10	1	1	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	15	1
	Total		33	3	4	0	2	0	6	1	45	4
Warrington Rylands	2022–23 [63]	NPL Premier Division	2	1	1	0	—		0	0	3	1
City of Liverpool	2022–23 [64]	NPL Division One West	27	5	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	28	5
Runcorn Town	2023–24 [65]	NWCFL Division One North	9	1	—		—		5 [lower-alpha 7]	1	14	2
Vauxhall Motors	2023–24 [35]	NPL Division One West	6	2	0	0	—		0	0	6	2
	2024–25 [66]	NPL Division One West	12	6	2	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 8]	2	16	8
	Total		18	8	2	0	—		2	2	22	10
Career total			843	177	34	5	23	3	54	13	954	196

1. Appearance(s) in NPL League Challenge Cup
2. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
3. One appearance in Football League Trophy, three appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs
4. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
5. Two appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances and one goal in League Two play-offs
6. Appearance(s) in Liverpool Senior Cup
7. Two appearances in FA Vase, two appearances and one goal in NWCFL Challenge Cup, one appearance in Liverpool Senior Cup
8. One appearance in FA Trophy, one appearance and two goals in Cheshire Senior Cup

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Newport County" (PDF). English Football League. p. 45. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84596-474-0.
3. https://x.com/vmfc_/status/1771220448585367658?s=61&t=uxWLO8id8nu1tuCALylVfw ^{[ bare URL ]}
4. "Foxes capture Ellison". BBC Sport. 6 February 2001. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
5. "Manchester United v Leicester". Premier League. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
6. "Imps extend Ellison loan". BBC Sport. 14 April 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
7. "Ellison joins Chester". BBC Sport. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
8. "Ellison agrees switch to Tigers". BBC Sport. 12 January 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
9. "Hull accept Iron's Ellison offer". BBC Sport. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
10. "Ellison rejects Scunthorpe move". BBC Sport. 13 June 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
11. "Ellison and Stockdale join Rovers". BBC Sport. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
12. "Chester sign Tranmere's Ellison". BBC Sport. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
13. "Wrexham bid for Chester's Ellison". BBC Sport. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
14. "Ellison set for Stockport return". BBC Sport. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
15. Parker, Simon (10 February 2011). "Bradford City winger Daley completes Rotherham switch as Ellison arrives at Valley Parade". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
16. "Morecambe winger offers depression help". BBC Sport. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
17. Ley, Tom (16 November 2018). "Jolly Old Soccer Man Sets The Record Straight About His FIFA Ratings". Deadspin.
18. "Kevin Ellison: Morecambe forward, 40, signs new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 18 June 2019.
19. "Club statement". www.morecambefc.com. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
20. "Morecambe 1–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 2 November 2019.
21. "Derek Adams named as new Shrimps manager". www.morecambefc.com. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
22. "Morecambe release the second oldest player in the EFL, at the age of 41". BBC Sport. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
23. "Done Deal: Kevin Ellison joins Exiles on one-year deal". www.newport-county.co.uk. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
24. Michael Pearlman (9 October 2020). "Ellison keen to talk mental health". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
25. "EFL Trophy (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
26. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
27. "Newport County 1–0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
28. "League Two play-offs". BBC Sport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
29. Michael Pearlman (31 May 2021). "League Two play-off final: Morecambe 1–0 Newport County" . Retrieved 12 December 2023.
30. "Kevin Ellison extends stay with Exiles". Newport County. 26 July 2021.
31. "Dom Telford: League Two top scorer to leave Newport County". BBC Sport. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
32. Kirwan, Chris (10 August 2022). "Kevin Ellison signs for Warrington after Newport exit". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
33. "Kevin Ellison joins the Purps". www.cityofliverpoolfc.co.uk. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
34. Kevin Ellison at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
35. "Vauxhall Motors | Appearances | Kevin Ellison | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
36. "Player Details". 9 November 2016.
37. "865 Kevin Ellison – on Cloud Seven".
38. https://web.archive.org/web/20120214115233/http://www.welsh-premier.com/index.php/component/playersearch/detail/313/player/10624 ^{[ bare URL ]}
39. https://web.archive.org/web/20120214115233/http://www.welsh-premier.com/index.php/component/playersearch/detail/313/player/10624 ^{[ bare URL ]}
40. "Altrincham FC Results". www.lusaweb.co.uk.
41. "Altrincham FC". www.lusaweb.co.uk.
42. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
43. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
44. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
45. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
46. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
47. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
48. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
49. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
50. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
51. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
52. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
53. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
54. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
55. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
56. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
57. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
58. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
59. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
60. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
61. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
62. "Games played by Kevin Ellison in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
63. "Warrington Rylands | Appearances | Kevin Ellison | 2022-2023 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
64. "City of Liverpool | Appearances | Kevin Ellison | 2022-2023 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
65. "Runcorn Town FC Official Website". runcorntown.co.uk.
66. "Vauxhall Motors | Appearances | Kevin Ellison | Football Web Pages".

External links

• Kevin Ellison at Soccerbase
• Welsh Premier League stats