Mark Shelton (footballer)

Mark Shelton

Shelton warming up for Hartlepool United in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Mark John Shelton [1]
Date of birth	(1996-09-12) 12 September 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Nottingham, England [2]
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [3]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Barnet
Number	19
Youth career
	Nottingham Forest
0000–2015	Burton Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Burton Albion	0	(0)
2016	→ Loughborough Dynamo (loan)
2016	Ilkeston	21
2016–2017	Alfreton Town	22	(2)
2017–2020	Salford City	45	(4)
2019	→ Woking (loan)	3	(1)
2019–2020	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	14	(3)
2020–2023	Hartlepool United	82	(5)
2023–2024	Oldham Athletic	35	(2)
2024–	Barnet	22	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:52, 25 January 2025 (UTC)

Mark John Shelton (born 12 September 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League club Barnet.

Shelton came through the ranks at Burton Albion, signing his first professional contract in May 2015. He continued his career in non-League, initially with Ilkeston and Alfreton Town. He signed for Salford City and won two back-to-back promotions with the Ammies. In his third season, Shelton had loan spells with Woking and Hartlepool United. After impressing with Hartlepool, he signed a permanent deal with them. In his first full season with the club, he won promotion via the play-offs. In January 2023, Shelton moved to Oldham Athletic. At the end of his second season with Oldham, Shelton moved to Barnet.

Career

Burton Albion

Shelton came through the youth teams at Burton Albion before being awarded a professional contract with the club in May 2015. ^{[4] [5]}

In January 2016 he joined Loughborough Dynamo on loan until the end of the season. ^[6] On his return from the loan he was released by the club. ^[7]

Non-League

He then joined Ilkeston in June 2016. ^[8]

In November 2016 he joined Alfreton Town. ^[9]

Salford City

In June 2017 he joined Salford City after the clubs agreed a fee. ^[10] In a 3–1 win against Boreham Wood, Shelton scored a goal which would later be voted as Salford's goal of the season. ^{[11] [12]} On 11 May 2019, Shelton was a substitute in the 68th minute for Salford in their 3–0 play-off final win against AFC Fylde at Wembley. ^[13] After two seasons helping the club to successive promotions to the English Football League, he made his league debut for the club on 3 August 2019 in the club's first game in the league against Stevenage. ^[14]

Woking and Hartlepool United loans

On 11 October 2019, Shelton returned to the National League, to join Woking on a three-month loan. ^[15] A day later, he went on to score on his debut during a 2–2 draw with Barnet, netting Woking's second in the 53rd minute. ^[16] On 16 November 2019, it was confirmed by manager, Alan Dowson that Shelton's loan spell had been terminated, following limited game-time opportunities. ^[17]

In December 2019 he went out on loan to Hartlepool United. ^[18] Shelton made his league Hartlepool debut in a 1–0 victory against Dagenham & Redbridge and scored his first goal in a 2–1 win against Eastleigh. ^{[19] [20]}

Hartlepool United

After a successful loan spell at the North East club, Hartlepool made the deal permanent on 1 August 2020, following Shelton's release from parent club Salford City. ^[21] He started in the first game of the season in a 2–1 win against Aldershot Town. ^[22] His first goal of the 2020–21 season came in a 1–1 draw at FC Halifax Town. ^[23] Shelton played in the 2021 National League play-off final as Hartlepool drew 1–1 with Torquay United at Ashton Gate, Bristol. During the Final, Shelton covered 22 kilometres in distance. ^[24] In the resulting penalty shoot-out, Shelton scored his penalty as Hartlepool were promoted to League Two after winning 5–4 on penalties. ^[25]

After a successful 2020–21 season, Shelton extended his contract with Hartlepool ahead of the 2021–22 season. ^[26] In April 2022, Shelton was ruled out of the Scunthorpe United fixture after a cotton bud was stuck in his ear, forcing him to go to hospital to remove it. ^[27] At the end of the 2021–22 season, Shelton's contract was extended for a further year after making 41 appearances in the previous season. ^[28] Shelton made his 100th appearance for Hartlepool in September 2022. ^[29] Following several first team injuries, Shelton was moved into defence and scored in a 3–3 draw with Harrogate Town. ^{[30] [31]}

Oldham Athletic

On 20 January 2023, Shelton signed for National League side Oldham Athletic on a deal until summer 2025. ^{[32] [33]}

In June 2024, Shelton had his Oldham contract terminated by mutual consent. ^[34]

Barnet

On 13 June 2024, the same day as his departure from Oldham was announced, Shelton agreed to join fellow National League side Barnet. ^[35]

Career statistics

As of 25 January 2025

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burton Albion	2014–15 [36]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015–16 [37]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alfreton Town	2016–17 [38]	National League North	22	2	—		—		0	0	22	2
Salford City	2017–18 [38] [39]	National League North	26	1	1	0	—		1 [a]	0	28	1
	2018–19 [38]	National League	14	2	0	0	—		1 [b]	0	15	2
	2019–20 [40]	League Two	5	1	0	0	0	0	1 [c]	0	6	1
	Total		45	4	1	0	0	0	3	0	49	4
Woking (loan)	2019–20 [38]	National League	3	1	1	0	—		0	0	4	1
Hartlepool United	2019–20 [38]	National League	14	3	0	0	—		0	0	14	3
	2020–21 [38]	National League	36	3	0	0	—		3 [b]	0	39	3
	2021–22 [41]	League Two	33	1	4	0	0	0	4 [c]	1	41	2
	2022–23 [42]	League Two	13	1	1	0	1	0	2 [c]	0	17	1
	Total		96	8	5	0	1	0	9	1	111	9
Oldham Athletic	2022–23 [38]	National League	20	1	0	0	—		0	0	20	1
	2023–24 [38]	National League	15	1	0	0	—		0	0	15	1
	Total		35	2	0	0	0	0	9	1	35	2
Barnet	2024–25 [38]	National League	22	7	1	0	—		2 [a]	0	25	7
Career total			222	23	8	0	1	0	14	1	245	24

1. Appearance in FA Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in National League play-offs
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

Salford City

• National League play-offs: 2019 ^[13]
• National League North: 2017–18 ^[43]

Hartlepool United

• National League play-offs: 2021 ^[44]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Salford City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 62. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
2. "Mark Shelton". In The Mad Crowd. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
3. "Mark Shelton". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
4. "Four youngsters have signed professional contracts". Burton Albion FC. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
5. "Mark Shelton: It is nice to get the reward I have worked so hard for". Burton Albion FC. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
6. "Mark Shelton has joined Loughborough Dynamo". Burton Albion FC. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
7. "Nigel Clough announces plans for his Championship squad". Burton Albion FC. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
8. "Summer Moves (Part Three)…". Non League Pitchero. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
9. "Ilkeston midfielder completes Alfreton move". Non League Daily. 27 November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
10. "Mark Shelton signs on for Salford". Salford City FC. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
11. "Salford 3–1 Boreham Wood". BBC Sport. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
12. "Super 6 Goal of the Season Mark Shelton vs Boreham Wood". Salford City FC YouTube. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
13. Josef Rindl (11 May 2019). "Salford City beat AFC Fylde in National League promotion final at Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
14. "Salford City 2–0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
15. "Shelton joins on loan from Salford". Woking F.C. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
16. "Barnet vs. Woking". Soccerway. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
17. "BBC Surrey Sport on Twitter". BBC Surrey. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019– via Twitter.
18. "Salford City midfielder Shelton joins Hartlepool". Non League Daily. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
19. "Hartlepool United 1–0 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
20. "Hartlepool United 2–1 Eastleigh". BBC Sport. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
21. "Pools sign Mark Shelton". Hartlepool United Football Club. August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
22. "Hartlepool United 2–1 Aldershot Town". 3 October 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
23. "FC Halifax Town 1–1 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
24. Dominic Scurr (23 September 2021). "Hard work paying off for Mark Shelton at Hartlepool United with 'massive vindication'". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
25. Pilnick, Brent (20 June 2021). "Hartlepool United 1–1 Torquay United (5–4)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
26. "Shelton and Odusina extend contracts". Hartlepool United FC. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
27. "Mark Shelton: Hartlepool United midfielder out after cotton bud stuck in ear". BBC Sport. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
28. "Mark Shelton: Hartlepool United midfielder signs new contract". BBC Sport. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
29. Matty Jones. "Hartlepool: Mark Shelton vows to keep his place and gain results 'for the town'". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
30. Joe Ramage (2 January 2023). "Keith Curle justifies Mark Shelton decision after ex-Salford City midfielder grabs goal and assist in Harrogate Town draw". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
31. "Hartlepool 3–3 Harrogate: George Thomson earns visitors share of spoils with fine equaliser". Sky Sports. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
32. "Mark Shelton departs". Hartlepool United. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
33. "Shelton Makes Latics Switch". Oldham Athletic. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
34. "Shelton Leaves Latics". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
35. "Mark Shelton becomes Dean Brennan's ninth signing of the summer". www.barnetfc.com. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
36. "Games played by Mark Shelton in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
37. "Games played by Mark Shelton in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
38. "M. Shelton". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
39. For FA Cup second qualifying round: "Salford City 1-2 York City". Salford City F.C. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
    For FA Trophy third qualifying round: "Brackley Town 4-0 Salford City". Salford City F.C. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
40. "Games played by Mark Shelton in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
41. "Games played by Mark Shelton in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
42. "Games played by Mark Shelton in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
43. "Salford City: Club co-owned by former Man Utd players promoted to the National League". BBC Sport. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
44. Pilnick, Brent (20 June 2021). "Hartlepool United 1–1 Torquay United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

External links

• Profile at the Salford City F.C. website
• Mark Shelton at Soccerbase