Luke Guttridge

Luke Horace Guttridge (born 27 March 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He previously played for Torquay United, Cambridge United, Southend United, Leyton Orient, Colchester United, Northampton Town, Aldershot Town, Luton Town and Dagenham & Redbridge. He has amassed more than 400 appearances in the Football League.

Luke Guttridge

Guttridge playing for Aldershot Town in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Luke Horace Guttridge[1]
Date of birth	27 March 1982[1]
Place of birth	Barnstaple, England
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1998–1999	Torquay United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	Torquay United	1	(0)
2000–2005	Cambridge United	136	(17)
2005–2007	Southend United	63	(5)
2006–2007	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	7	(1)
2007	Leyton Orient	10	(0)
2007–2008	Colchester United	14	(0)
2008–2010	Northampton Town	56	(6)
2010–2012	Aldershot Town	66	(12)
2012–2013	Northampton Town	44	(4)
2013–2016	Luton Town	67	(18)
2016–2017	Dagenham & Redbridge	30	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:30, 1 July 2017 (UTC)

Career

Torquay United

Born in Barnstaple, Devon,[1] Guttridge began his career as a trainee with Torquay United after playing junior football for Paignton Pilgrims. He made his league debut whilst still a trainee as a late substitute, replacing Alex Watson in the 4–0 win against Mansfield Town on 10 April 2000. In May 2000, against the advice for a longer contract offer given by youth coaches Paul Compton and Richard Hancox, Guttridge was only offered a three-month professional contract by Torquay manager Wes Saunders, even though Cambridge United had offered him a one-year deal and the chance to play Second Division football.

Cambridge United

Unsurprisingly, Guttridge left for Cambridge, managed by Roy McFarland, on a free transfer. He had to wait until the following spring for his Cambridge league debut, after playing twice in the Football League Trophy, but when it came he scored within two minutes in a vital 2–0 home win against Oldham Athletic. In August 2001, McFarland, by now manager of Torquay, made a bid to bring Guttridge back to Plainmoor, but this was rejected and he remained at the Abbey Stadium. In April 2004, Guttridge went on trial with Premier League club Charlton Athletic and trained with them during this time.[2] However, a move failed to materialise and he returned to Cambridge.[2] Ahead of the 2004–05 season, Guttridge was selected as club captain.[3]

Southend United

Guttridge signed a three-year contract with Southend United in March 2005 for an undisclosed fee plus add-ons.[4] After a slow start, he firmly established himself in the first-team and was given the opportunity to move into the role of a central midfielder from his usual wide midfielder role following a meeting with manager Steve Tilson. This proved to be a turning point and Guttridge was a major factor in helping Southend secure the 2005–06 League One title after a 1–0 home win over Bristol City on the final day of the season.[5]

Leyton Orient

Guttridge lost his place in the Southend first-team following their promotion and subsequently joined Leyton Orient on loan until 1 January 2007.[6] He scored his first and what turned out to be only goal for the club in a 3–1 away win over Nottingham Forest on 16 December 2006.[7] On 30 January 2007, Guttridge left Southend to sign a permanent contract at Leyton Orient for an undisclosed fee until the end of the 2006–07 season.[8] After rejecting a new contract offer from Leyton Orient, he left the club in May 2007.[9]

Colchester United

On 5 July 2007, Guttridge joined Championship club Colchester United on a free transfer.[10] After playing in only 14 league games during the 2007–08 season,[11] Guttridge was released by the club following their relegation to League One.[12]

Northampton Town

Guttridge impressed during a trial period at Northampton Town, and on 4 August 2008, after two commanding performances in pre-season friendlies, he signed a two-year contract with the club until the summer of 2010.[13] His first goal for the club came during a 4–0 win over Stockport County on 21 March 2009.[14] He was released by the club on 12 May 2010 along with five other players.[15]

Aldershot Town

In July 2010, Guttridge signed a two-year contract with Aldershot Town.[16] He was voted Supporters Player of the Season after an impressive first year with the Shots.[17] Having made 80 appearances for Aldershot in all competitions, scoring 14 goals, Guttridge was released in January 2012 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[18]

Return to Northampton

On 27 January 2012, Guttridge rejoined Northampton Town on an 18-month contract until the end of the 2012–13 season.[19] "Luke is a very experienced player and is just the sort of character we need," said Northampton manager Aidy Boothroyd.[20] Guttridge made 44 league appearances, but was not offered a new contract and left the club in June 2013.[21]

Luton Town

Guttridge signed for Conference Premier club Luton Town on a two-year contract on 5 July 2013.[22] He was played in an advanced creative midfielder role for much of the 2013–14 season, scoring 13 goals and assisting 9 others in 32 league games, making him one of the most effective performers as Luton won the Conference Premier title and with it promotion to League Two.[23][24] Guttridge's performances led his teammates to name him as the Players' Player of the Year.[25] Guttridge played in 30 games for Luton during the 2014–15 season upon his return to the Football League, scoring four goals,[26] and triggered a contract extension to keep him at the club until the summer of 2016.[27] Guttridge made 11 appearances, scoring two goals in 2015–16,[28] but he was released by new manager Nathan Jones on 19 January 2016 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[29]

Dagenham & Redbridge

Guttridge signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge two days after his release by Luton.[30] He was restricted to just three appearances, scoring once in 2015–16 due to injury,[28][31] as the club were relegated to the National League after finishing in 23rd place in League Two.[32] Guttridge scored Dagenham's second goal on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 3–0 win at home to Southport.[33] He was introduced as a half-time substitute in the second leg of the play-off semi-final defeat to Forest Green Rovers, losing 3–1 on aggregate,[34] and finished the season with 30 appearances and eight goals.[35] Guttridge was released by Dagenham & Redbridge when his contract expired at the end of 2016–17.[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2017

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Torquay United	1999–2000[37]	Third Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Cambridge United	2000–01[38]	Second Division	1	1	0	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	3	1
	2001–02[39]	Second Division	29	2	1	0	1	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	1	35	3
	2002–03[40]	Third Division	43	3	3	0	1	0	5[lower-alpha 1]	1	52	4
	2003–04[41]	Third Division	46	11	3	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	51	12
	2004–05[42]	League Two	17	0	0	0	1	0	—		18	0
	Total		136	17	7	1	4	0	12	2	159	20
Southend United	2004–05[42]	League Two	5	0	—		—		3[lower-alpha 2]	0	8	0
	2005–06[43]	League One	41	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	42	5
	2006–07[44]	Championship	17	0	3	0	2	0	—		22	0
	Total		63	5	4	0	2	0	3	0	72	5
Leyton Orient	2006–07[44]	League One	17	1	—		—		—		17	1
Colchester United	2007–08[11]	Championship	14	0	1	0	1	0	—		16	0
Northampton Town	2008–09[45]	League One	25	2	1	0	2	1	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	29	3
	2009–10[46]	League Two	31	4	2	2	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	34	6
	Total		56	6	3	2	2	1	2	0	63	9
Aldershot Town	2010–11[47]	League Two	41	8	3	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	47	8
	2011–12[48]	League Two	25	4	3	1	4	1	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	33	6
	Total		66	12	6	1	5	1	3	0	80	14
Northampton Town	2011–12[48]	League Two	19	3	—		—		—		19	3
	2012–13[49]	League Two	25	1	0	0	2	0	3[lower-alpha 3]	1	30	2
	Total		44	4	0	0	2	0	3	1	49	5
Luton Town	2013–14[35]	Conference Premier	32	13	1	0	—		0	0	33	13
	2014–15[26]	League Two	27	3	1	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	30	4
	2015–16[28]	League Two	8	2	1	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 1]	0	11	2
	Total		67	18	3	1	1	0	3	0	74	19
Dagenham & Redbridge	2015–16[28]	League Two	3	1	—		—		—		3	1
	2016–17[35]	National League	27	8	2	0	—		1[lower-alpha 4]	0	30	8
	Total		30	9	2	0	—		1	0	33	9
Career total			494	72	26	5	17	2	27	3	564	82

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Two appearances in League Two play-offs, one in Football League Trophy
3. Appearances in League Two play-offs
4. Appearance in National League play-offs

Honours

Cambridge United

• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2001–02[50]

Southend United

• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2004–05[51]
• Football League Two play-offs: 2004–05[52]
• Football League One: 2005–06[5]

Luton Town

• Conference Premier: 2013–14[35]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "U's deny Guttridge move". BBC Sport. 16 April 2004. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
3. "Mongin set for Cambridge". BBC Sport. 23 July 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
4. "Guttridge pens deal with Southend". BBC Sport. 18 March 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
5. "Southend 1–0 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 6 May 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
6. "Guttridge signs Orient loan deal". BBC Sport. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
7. "Nottm Forest 1–3 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
8. "Orient sign Southend's Guttridge". BBC Sport. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
9. "Orient must rebuild as five leave". BBC Sport. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
10. "Guttridge seals Colchester switch". BBC Sport. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
11. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
12. "Colchester's clear-out continues". BBC Sport. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
13. Bailey, Graeme (4 August 2008). "Cobblers capture Guttridge". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
14. "Northampton 4–0 Stockport". BBC Sport. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
15. "Northampton Town release midfielder Luke Guttridge". BBC Sport. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
16. "Aldershot Town sign Jamie Vincent and Luke Guttridge". BBC Sport. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
17. "End of season party boosts Deano's transfer kitty". Aldershot Town F.C. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012.
18. "Luke Guttridge departs Aldershot Town by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
19. "Luke Guttridge makes Northampton Town return". BBC Sport. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
20. "Guttridge returns". Northampton Town F.C. 27 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012.
21. Willsher, Gareth (26 June 2013). "Midfield duo move on". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
22. "Luke Guttridge: Luton Town sign ex-Northampton Town midfielder". BBC Sport. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
23. "Luke Guttridge: 2013/2014". ESPN FC. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
24. "Luton Town win Conference Premier and Football League spot". BBC Sport. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
25. "Awards Night 2013/14". Luton Town F.C. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
26. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
27. Cunliffe, James (5 May 2015). "Luton Town: Twelve out of contract Hatters set to learn their fates". Bedfordshire on Sunday. Bedford. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
28. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
29. "Luke Guttridge leaves Luton Town". Luton Town F.C. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
30. "Luke Guttridge: Dagenham & Redbridge sign ex-Luton midfielder". BBC Sport. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
31. "Daggers boss calls on players to become 'warriors' ahead of Stags clash". Mansfield & Ashfield Chad. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
32. "Bristol Rovers 2–1 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
33. "Dagenham & Redbridge 3–0 Southport". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
34. Shepka, Phil (7 May 2017). "Forest Green Rovers 2–0 Dagenham & Redbridge (agg: 3–1)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
35. "L. Guttridge". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
36. Keating, Ned (24 May 2017). "Dagenham & Redbridge icon Paul Benson to leave Essex club after released list is announced". Barking & Dagenham Post. Ilford. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
37. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
38. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
39. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
40. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
41. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
42. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
43. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
44. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
45. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
46. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
47. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
48. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
49. "Games played by Luke Guttridge in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
50. Fletcher, Paul (24 March 2002). "Blackpool lift LDV Vans Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
51. "Southend 0–2 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 10 April 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
52. "Lincoln City 0–2 Southend United". BBC Sport. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2016.

External links

• Luke Guttridge at Soccerbase