Sam Hatton

Sam Hatton

Personal information
Full name	Samuel William Hatton
Date of birth	(1988-02-07) 7 February 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth	St Albans, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s)	Defender / Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Welwyn Garden City
Youth career
2003–2005	Stevenage Borough
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2007	Stevenage Borough	1	(0)
2006	→ Northwood (loan)	5	(1)
2006	→ Yeading (loan)	6	(1)
2006	→ Maidenhead United (loan)	3	(0)
2006	→ Diss Town (loan)	?	(?)
2007	→ Yeading (loan)	1	(0)
2007–2012	AFC Wimbledon	197	(22)
2012–2014	Grimsby Town	57	(3)
2014–2016	Aldershot Town	29	(5)
2016–2017	Welling United	23	(0)
2017	Hemel Hempstead Town	6	(0)
2017–2018	Bishop's Stortford	9	(0)
2018	Staines Town	0	(0)
2018	Wealdstone	0	(0)
2018	Dartford	3	(0)
2018–2021	Enfield Town	56	(1)
2021–2022	Wingate & Finchley	36	(5)
2022–	Welwyn Garden City	0	(0)
International career‡
2010–	England C	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:03, 20 December 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:30, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Samuel William Hatton (born 7 February 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Welwyn Garden City.

Having started his career with Stevenage Borough, he spent time on loan with Northwood, Yeading, Maidenhead United and Diss Town before moving to AFC Wimbledon in 2007 where he notched up 197 league appearances and 22 goals, also helping them earn promotion to the Football League in 2011. He joined Grimsby Town in 2012 where he remained for two seasons. His time with The Dons and Grimsby represent his only spells spent as a professional footballer before later moving on to play for Aldershot Town, Welling United, Hemel Hempstead Town, Bishop's Stortford, Staines Town, Wealdstone and Dartford.

Club career

Stevenage Borough

Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Hatton progressed through the ranks of the Stevenage Borough academy but only made one first team appearance for the Conference National side. His time at Stevenage was frustrating, as he was loaned out a total of five times between 2006 and 2007. ^{[2] [3]}

AFC Wimbledon

In the 2007–8 pre-season, Hatton was signed by AFC Wimbledon. ^[4] He performed consistently over the course of five seasons, at first in midfield before converting to right back and was a part of three promotions, including the historic season that saw the club's promotion to the Football League. He was the club's longest serving player, ^[5] having made 197 league appearances up to the end of the 2011–12 season.

In May 2011, he was voted by the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association as player of the 2010–11 season. ^[6]

On 15 May 2012, Hatton was released by AFC Wimbledon. ^[7] Manager Terry Brown announced through the AFC Wimbledon website that the club would not take up an option to extend Hatton's contract for the 2012–13 season. Brown described this as: "Definitely one of the hardest decisions I have had to make as a manager." ^[8]

Grimsby Town

On 23 June 2012, Hatton signed a two-year contract with Conference Premier side Grimsby Town. ^[9] He was primarily used as Grimsby's first choice right back for both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. Both seasons ended with the club being defeated in the Conference Play-off semi finals. He was amongst a number of players released on 9 May 2014. ^[10]

Aldershot Town

After being released by Grimsby Town, Hatton signed for fellow Conference Premier club Aldershot Town in July 2014. ^[11]

Non-League

Hatton has since played for Welling United, Hemel Hempstead Town, Bishop's Stortford, Staines Town, Wealdstone and Dartford.

In December 2022, Hatton joined Welwyn Garden City, again following manager Marc Weatherstone whom Hatton had played under at Enfield Town and Wingate & Finchley. ^[12]

International career

During his time with AFC Wimbledon in the Conference Premier, Hatton appeared twice for England C, ^[13] playing in matches against the Republic of Ireland U23 ^[14] in 2010 and Belgium U23 ^[15] in 2011. Hatton was called up to the England C team again in 2012. ^[16]

Having featured in two out of five of Grimsby's games, Hatton was named in the England C squad to face Belgium in Brussels on Wednesday 12 September in an International Challenge Trophy game. ^[16]

Honours

AFC Wimbledon

• Conference Premier play-offs: 2010–11

References

1. "Player Profile". Grimsby Town F.C. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
2. "Player Profile". Northwood Football Club. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
3. "The Independent Football Database". Soccer Facts UK. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
4. "HATTON TIPPED TO MAKE BIG DONS' IMPACT". Non League Daily. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
5. "Summer Squad Review Part II – Defence". Anonymous Don. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
6. "Keeper Brown claims three Dons awards". This is Local London. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
7. "Dons knock-out for Hatton". Sky Sports. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
8. "Squad update: Sam Hatton is released". AFC Wimbledon Football Club. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
9. "Hatton Completes Town Move". Grimsby Town Football Club. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
10. "Eight Players Depart".
11. "► NonLeagueDaily.com | Non League News and Interviews for 2021".
12. "Hatton First Signing for New boss Weatherstone". southern-football-league.co.uk. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
13. "Player Profile – England C". Football Association. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
14. "England C get their ICT campaign off to a winning start". The FA . 27 May 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
15. "Matt the Hatter sees off Belgium". The FA . 9 February 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
16. "Town Duo Get England Call". Grimsby Town Football Club. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

External links

• Sam Hatton at Soccerbase