Nicholas Bignall

Last updated

Nicholas Bignall
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Colin Bignall [1]
Date of birth (1990-07-11) 11 July 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth Reading, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position(s) Forward, left winger
Youth career
–2008 Reading
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2008–2014 Reading 1 (0)
2008Northampton Town (loan) 5 (1)
2009Cheltenham Town (loan) 13 (3)
2009Stockport County (loan) 11 (3)
2010Southampton (loan) 3 (0)
2010–2011Bournemouth (loan) 5 (1)
2011Brentford (loan) 6 (1)
2011Exeter City (loan) 3 (0)
2011Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 1 (0)
2014 Basingstoke Town 11 (3)
2014–2015 Sutton United 7 (1)
2015 Hayes & Yeading United 4 (0)
2015 Basingstoke Town 5 (1)
2015 Lincoln City 0 (0)
2015–2016 Gainsborough Trinity 12 (5)
2016–2018 Hungerford Town 50 (12)
2017Biggleswade Town (loan) (1)
2017Gosport Borough (loan) 2 (0)
2019–2020 Bracknell Town 7 (1)
2020 Uxbridge 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicholas Colin Bignall (born 11 July 1990) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a forward. A product of the Reading academy, he played on loan for a number of Football League clubs before recurring injuries forced him to drop into non-League football.

Contents

Playing career

Reading

A forward or left winger, Bignall began his career in the academy at Reading and scored 20 goals for the U18 during the course of his two-year scholarship. [3] Bignall signed a two-year professional contract ahead of the 2008–09 season, [4] but spent much of the next three years away on loan from the Madejski Stadium. [5] He made 53 appearances and scored five goals for League One clubs Northampton Town, Cheltenham Town, Stockport County, Southampton, Bournemouth, Brentford, Exeter City and Wycombe Wanderers. [5]

After signing a new two-year contract in April 2009, [6] Bignall made his debut for the Royals with a start in a League Cup first round match versus Burton Albion on 11 August 2009. [7] He scored two goals in the 5–1 victory. [7] He also started in the following round versus Barnsley, [7] before leaving the club on loan and returning early through injury on 21 December 2009. [8] He returned to fitness in January 2010 and made one further appearance during the 2009–10 season, as a substitute for Simon Church after 74 minutes of a 1–0 victory over Barnsley on 30 January. [7]

Bignall made what would be his final Reading appearance early in the 2010–11 season, with a start in a 1–0 League Cup first round extra time victory over Torquay United on 11 August 2010. [9] He signed a new two-year contract in October 2010, [10] but subsequently spent much of the remainder of the 2010–11 season away on loan. [5] [11] Bignall failed to receive a call into the first team squad during the early months of the 2011–12 season and suffered a season-ending injury while away on loan in October 2011. [12] [13] Bignall's contract expired in June 2012, but remained with the club on a non-contract basis in a bid to return to fitness. [14] [15] He finally departed in 2014. [3]

Non-League football

In March 2014, Bignall dropped into non-League football to join Conference South club Basingstoke Town and he was a part of the squad which won the 2013–14 Hampshire Senior Cup. [16] [17] He departed the club early in the 2014–15 season and had short spells with National League South clubs Sutton United and Hayes & Yeading United, before returning to The Camrose late in the campaign. [18] He departed for the final time during the 2015 off-season and had short spells with Lincoln City and Gainsborough Trinity, [18] before joining National League South club Hungerford Town in 2016. [19] He remained at Bulpit Lane until his departure at the end of the 2017–18 season. [20] After a year out of football, [21] Bignall played for Isthmian League South Central Division clubs Bracknell Town and Uxbridge during the 2019–20 season. [18] [22]

Coaching career

In September 2018, it was reported that Bignall had returned to Reading to coach in the club's academy, as part of a coaching degree course at Oxford Brookes University. [23]

Personal life

Bignall is colour blind. [23]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading 2009–10 [7] Championship 102232
2010–11 [9] 0000100010
Total1000320042
Northampton Town (loan) 2008–09 [24] League One 512071
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2008–09 [24] League One131131
Stockport County (loan) 2009–10 [7] League One112101 [a] 1133
Southampton (loan) 2010–11 [9] League One300030
Bournemouth (loan) 2010–11 [9] League One500050
Brentford (loan) 2010–11 [9] League One601 [a] 070
Exeter City (loan) 2011–12 [25] League One30100040
Wycombe Wanderers (loan) 2011–12 [25] League One100010
Basingstoke Town 2013–14 [18] Conference South 931 [b] 0103
2014–15 [18] 2020
Total11310123
Sutton United 2014–15 [18] Conference South712091
Hayes & Yeading United 2014–15 [18] Conference South401 [c] 050
Basingstoke Town2014–15 [18] Conference South511 [d] 061
Total16420184
Lincoln City 2015–16 [18] National League 001 [e] 010
Gainsborough Trinity 2015–16 [12] National League North 1251000135
Hungerford Town 2016–17 [18] National League South173202 [f] 1214
2017–18 [18] 339311 [g] 03710
Total501251315814
Gosport Borough (loan)2016–17 [12] National League South2020
Bracknell Town 2019–20 [22] Isthmian League South Central Division71200091
Uxbridge 2019–20 [18] Isthmian League South Central Division3131
2020–21 [26] 50103 [g] 090
Total811030120
Career total154281214212218233
  1. 1 2 Appearance in the Football League Trophy
  2. Appearance in Hampshire Senior Cup
  3. Appearance in Middlesex Senior Cup
  4. Appearance in Conference South play-offs
  5. Appearance in Lincolnshire Senior Cup
  6. Appearances in Berks & Bucks Senior Cup
  7. 1 2 Appearance in FA Trophy

Honours

Basingstoke Town

References

  1. "Nicholas Bignall". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. "Reading Squad". ESPN. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Nicholas Bignall". Reading FC. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  4. "Striker Nicholas Bignall signs Reading extension". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Nicholas Bignall at Soccerbase
  6. "New contract for Bignall". readingfc.co.uk. 20 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Games played by Nicholas Bignall in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. "Nick returns to Reading". stockportcounty.com. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Games played by Nicholas Bignall in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  10. "Bignall signs new contract". readingfc.co.uk. 21 October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  11. "Loans update". brentfordfc.co.uk. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Nicholas Bignall at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  13. "Bignall returns to Reading". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  14. "Squad Submitted" . Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  15. "Bignall's two-year steps" . Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  16. Boyman, John (21 March 2014). "Basingstoke Town sign former Reading striker Nicholas Bignall". Basingstoke Gazette. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  17. 1 2 Boyman, John. "Report – Basingstoke Town 3–2 Havant and Waterlooville". Basingstoke Gazette. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Nicholas Bignall Profile". Aylesbury United FC. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  19. "Pre season reveals successful new signing Nicholas Bignall". www.hungerfordtown.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  20. "Nicholas Bignall signs FA Contract with the Crusaders". www.hungerfordtown.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  21. "Nicholas Bignall a striking signing for Bracknell Town". Football in Berkshire. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Bracknell Town | Appearances | Nicholas Bignall | 2019–2020". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. 1 2 "The Colourful Game | Bignall on colour blindness" . Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  24. 1 2 "Games played by Nicholas Bignall in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  25. 1 2 "Games played by Nicholas Bignall in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  26. "Uxbridge | Appearances | Nicholas Bignall | 2020–2021". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 3 October 2020.