Simon Ainge

Simon Christopher Ainge (born 18 February 1988) is an English footballer who plays for Gainsborough Trinity as a defender and a forward.

Simon Ainge
Personal information
Full name Simon Christopher Ainge
Date of birth (1988-02-18) 18 February 1988
Place of birth Shipley, England
Position(s) Defender, forward
Club information
Current team
 Gainsborough Trinity
Youth career
0000–2006 Bradford City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Bradford City 14 (0)
2008 → Halifax Town (loan) 12 (0)
2009 → Cambridge United (loan) 2 (0)
2009 Bradford Park Avenue 2 (0)
2009–2013 Guiseley 111 (11)
2012–2013 → Luton Town (loan) 12 (1)
2013 Luton Town 10 (0)
2013–2015 FC Halifax Town 58 (3)
2015–2016 Bradford Park Avenue 46 (6)
2016–2018 Harrogate Town 53 (35)
2018 → Wrexham (loan) 10 (0)
2018–2020 Darlington 33 (4)
2019–2020 → Boston United (loan) 12 (0)
2020– Gainsborough Trinity 0 (0)
National team
2012–2013 England C 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:17, 13 October 2019 (UTC)

He began his career at Bradford City in the lower divisions of the Football League, and then spent three seasons playing for Guiseley before transferring to Luton Town. He was released by Luton in July 2013 and subsequently spent 18-month spells at FC Halifax Town and Bradford Park Avenue. After 18 months with Harrogate Town and a three-month loan to Wrexham, Ainge signed for Darlington in 2018.

Career

Born in Shipley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, Simon Ainge is a product of Bradford City's youth system, winning a senior contract in March 2006.[1] He broke into the first team the following season making his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Scunthorpe United on 17 October 2006 in the Football League Trophy. He made his first league appearance the following month before his first start was in a 4–0 FA Cup victory over Crewe Alexandra on 4 November 2006.[2] He played four times during November 2006 winning praise from his manager Colin Todd, a former England international centre back.[3] Ainge played a total of 11 games during the 2006–07 season but he was limited to just four games the following season, including three as substitute, and was instead given a trial at Scunthorpe United.[4] He returned to Bradford before he joined Conference club Halifax Town in January 2008 in a loan deal for the rest of the season.[5]

Ainge was an unused substitute as Halifax went out of the FA Trophy as they lost to Rushden & Diamonds 2–0,[6] and instead made his league debut the following weekend against the same team when he gave away a penalty for handball.[7] Two days earlier Ainge had been one of five substitutes, who were all on loan at Halifax, during their 4–1 West Riding County Cup victory over Ossett Albion.[8] Ainge came on during the victory but Halifax were later thrown out of the competition because loan players were not eligible.[9] Ainge did not feature again for Halifax until 24 March 2008, when he came on as a substitute in the 16th minute when Halifax lost 2–0 to Droylsden.[10][11] On 15 April 2008, he received the first red card of his career, for two bookable offences during Halifax's 2–1 defeat by Burton Albion.[12] He played 12 games during his loan spell for Halifax,[11] helping them to avoid relegation from the Conference by just one point from Altrincham.[13] He returned to Bradford in time to play in their final game of the season with Wycombe Wanderers as a late substitute.[14] Ainge made his first start for City in more than a year as replacement for injured full backs Paul Arnison and TJ Moncur in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town on 4 October 2008.[15] It was Ainge's only game for Bradford during the 2008–09 season, and instead he joined Cambridge United of the Conference on another loan deal on the March transfer deadline day for the final two months of the season.[16] He made his debut for Cambridge as a substitute in their 1–0 victory against Woking.[17]

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Ainge was released by Bradford City; he joined their cross-city rivals Bradford Park Avenue of the Northern Premier League Premier Division in July 2009.[18] He stayed at Avenue until November 2009 after playing in only three games, when he signed for their league rivals Guiseley. Ainge was part of the Guiseley team that won promotion to the Conference North during the 2009–10 Northern Premier League season, and he was made the club's captain for the start of the 2010–11 season. Ainge led Guiseley to a highest ever league position of fifth, but the club lost in the play-off final to AFC Telford United to a stoppage-time goal.[19] In the 2011–12 season he captained Guiseley to an even higher finish of second place though they again lost in the play-offs, this time to Nuneaton Town at the semi-final stage. Ainge scored eight goals from central defence during the campaign.

At the end of the season, Ainge was called up to play for the England C semi-professional national team in a game against Russia U23 on 5 June 2012, which England C lost 4–0. He later captained England C to a 2–1 win over Belgium U23 on 12 September 2012.[20]

Ainge's performances for Guiseley were picked up by Conference Premier side Luton Town, who moved to take him on an initial one-month loan on 27 September 2012.[21] After playing in four wins and one loss, in which he scored one goal, Luton extended his loan for a further two months and reached an agreement with Guiseley for the transfer to become permanent in January 2013.[22] Ainge officially joined Luton for an undisclosed fee on 2 January 2013.[23] He was transfer listed by the club in April 2013 following a change in Luton's management,[24] and his contract was terminated on 4 July 2013.[25]

Following his release from Luton Town, he joined newly promoted Conference Premier club FC Halifax Town.[26] On 11 August 2013, Ainge made his debut for Halifax in a heavy 5–1 defeat to Cambridge United.

In January 2015, Ainge rejoined Bradford Park Avenue.[27]

He signed for Harrogate Town in May 2016.[28] He arrived as a defender, but a switch to striker under manager Simon Weaver was extremely successful, and led him to the National League North Player of the Month award for February 2017[29] and a place in the 2016–17 National League North team of the season.[30]

In February 2018, Ainge joined Wrexham on loan.[31]

Ainge signed a two-year contract with National League North club Darlington ahead of the 2018–19 season; the fee was undisclosed.[32] He was a regular in the team, used either in defence or attack, throughout the season,[33] but was then allowed to leave the club for financial reasons.[34] He signed for another National League North club, Boston United, on loan for the 2019–20 season.[35]

In August 2020, Ainge joined Gainsborough Trinity.[36]

Career statistics
As of match played 12 October 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bradford City 2006–07[37] League One 9020001[lower-alpha 2]0120
2007–08[11] League Two 4000001[lower-alpha 2]050
2008–09[15] League Two 1000000010
Total 140200020180
Halifax Town (loan) 2007–08[11] Conference Premier 12000—00120
Cambridge United (loan) 2008–09[15] Conference Premier 2000—0020
Bradford Park Avenue 2009–10 Northern Premier 2010—0030
Guiseley 2009–10[38] Northern Premier 24100101[lower-alpha 3]0261
2010–11[39] Conference North 38250—8[lower-alpha 4]0512
2011–12[40] Conference North 40820—6[lower-alpha 5]0488
2012–13[41][42] Conference North 9010——100
Total 11111801015013511
Luton Town 2012–13 Conference Premier 22100—5[lower-alpha 6]1272
FC Halifax Town 2013–14[41] Conference Premier 42220—1[lower-alpha 6]0452
2014–15[41] Conference Premier 16130—00191
Total 58350—10643
Bradford Park Avenue 2014–15[41] Conference North 18500—00185
2015–16[41] National League North 28100—2[lower-alpha 6]0301
Total 46600—20486
Harrogate Town 2016–17[41] National League North 392210—2[lower-alpha 6]14223
2017–18[41] National League North 151300—001513
Total 543510—215736
Wrexham (loan) 2017–18[41] National League 10000—00100
Darlington 2018–19[41][43] National League North 33410—1[lower-alpha 6]0354
Boston United (loan) 2019–20[41][44] National League North 12020—00140
Career total 376602001028242562
  1. Includes appearances in Football League Cup and Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
  2. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  3. Appearance in Peter Swales Shield
  4. Three appearances in Conference North play-offs, six in FA Trophy
  5. Two appearances in Conference North play-offs, four in FA Trophy
  6. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

References
  1. "Contract reward for City's two Joes". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  2. Parker, Simon (13 November 2006). "Come on you Lions, roars Todd". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. Parker, Simon (23 November 2006). "Ainge can be pick of crop against Cherries". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  4. "Scunthorpe capture Ameobi on loan". BBC Sport. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  5. "Ainge leaves Bradford for Halifax". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  6. Fletcher, Dave (4 February 2008). "Halifax Town 0 v Rushden and Diamonds 2 – Town's Trophy dreams are over". Evening Courier. Halifax. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  7. "Rushden & Diamonds 2–2 Halifax". BBC Sport. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
  8. "Halifax Town 4 Ossett Albion 1: Two goals in each half as Town win". Evening Courier. Halifax. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. "Avenue face Ossett not Halifax". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  10. "Droylsden 2–0 Halifax". BBC Sport. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  11. "Games played by Simon Ainge in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  12. "Burton 2–1 Halifax". BBC Sport. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  13. "Halifax 1–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  14. "Wycombe 2–1 Bradford". BBC Sport. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  15. "Games played by Simon Ainge in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  16. "Ainge makes Cambridge loan move". BBC Sport. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  17. "Woking 0–1 Cambridge Utd". BBC Sport. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  18. Whiting, Ian (26 July 2009). "City old boy signs up for Avenue". Telegraph & Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  19. "AFC Telford 3–2 Guiseley". BBC Sport. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  20. "Gray grabs late winner". The Football Association. 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  21. "Simon Ainge joins Luton Town from Guiseley on loan". BBC Sport. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  22. "Town confirm Ainge extension". Luton Today. Johnston Publishing. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  23. "Simon Ainge joins Luton Town permanently". Guiseley A.F.C. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  24. "FA Cup goalscoring hero Rendell among transfer-listed Town quartet". Luton Today. Johnston Publishing. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  25. "Spiller and Ainge depart Hatters". Luton Today. Johnston Publishing. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  26. "Ainge earns move to FC Halifax". Leighton Buzzard Observer. Johnston Publishing. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  27. "Simon Ainge". Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  28. White, Ed (18 May 2016). "Simon Ainge joins Harrogate Town from Bradford Park Avenue". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  29. "Simon Ainge wins Player of the Month award". Achieve Management. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  30. "Two Ammies in National League North Team of the Season". Salford City F.C. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  31. Griffiths, Rob (24 February 2018). "Wrexham AFC sign striker Simon Ainge ahead of today's Aldershot clash". Daily Post. Wrexham. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  32. Stoddart, Craig (30 May 2018). "Darlington sign striker Simon Ainge from Harrogate Town". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  33. Stoddart, Craig (15 February 2019). "Darlington boss Wright: 'I hope our fans get behind Ainge'". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  34. Stoddart, Craig (9 October 2019). "On-loan Ainge hoping to play against Darlington for Boston". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  35. "Goalscoring defender Simon Ainge will join Boston United". Boston Standard. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  36. https://www.gainsboroughtrinity.com/news/team-news/408-top-of-the-r-ainge-simon-ainge-becomes-blue
  37. "Games played by Simon Ainge in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  38. "Appearances/goals Guiseley A.F.C. 2009–10". Guiseley A.F.C. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
  39. "Appearances/goals Guiseley A.F.C. 2010–11". Guiseley A.F.C. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012.
  40. "Appearances/goals Guiseley A.F.C. 2011–12". Guiseley A.F.C. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012.
  41. "S. Ainge". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  42. "Lions make hard work of it". Guiseley A.F.C. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  43. Simpson, Ray (22 September 2018). "Quakers beaten by first half goal". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
    Hatfield, Luke (23 November 2018). "Darlington 0 AFC Telford 2 – Report, pictures and highlights". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  44. Singleton, Craig (21 September 2019). "Stamford AFC 0–4 Boston United". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
    Singleton, Craig (5 October 2019). "Sutton Coldfield Town 0–1 Boston United". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
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