Sam Russell (footballer born 1982)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Ian Russell | ||
| Date of birth | 4 October 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Forest Green Rovers | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–2000 | Middlesbrough | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2004 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Gateshead (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | → Darlington (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | → Scunthorpe United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2004–2007 | Darlington | 107 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Rochdale | 38 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Wrexham | 18 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Darlington | 65 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Forest Green Rovers | 144 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Gateshead | 44 | (0) |
| 2016– | Forest Green Rovers | 46 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:51, 15 May 2017 (UTC). |
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Samuel Ian "Sam" Russell (born 4 October 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League side Forest Green Rovers.
Russell was born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire and signed as a professional on 7 July 2000 for his hometown team after progressing through their youth system. He had a successful loan spell at Gateshead during the tail end of the 2001–02 season, followed by a brief period at Darlington on loan in 2002 after Mick Tait brought him in during a keeping crisis. He played in only one game, a 1–1 draw against Torquay United.
In August 2003 he was sent to Scunthorpe United on loan where he stayed for three months and made 10 appearances. He finally left Middlesbrough in the summer of 2004, moving to Darlington on a permanent basis. He never appeared in Middlesbrough's first team.
He was brought to Darlington by David Hodgson in August 2004. With the retirement of goalkeeping legend Andy Collett, the club only had two goalkeepers on their books in Michael Price and youth team player Jack Norton. Russell was a target for Hodgson after he heard that Middlesbrough were releasing the youngster. Initially it was thought Russell would be number two to Price, but performances during pre-season meant that Russell got the nod. Assistant manager Mark Proctor said that both Price and Russell were of virtual equal quality but Russsell's distribution was slightly better.
In the opening game of the 2004–05 season Russell made his mark with a superb performance which earned him the man of the match. His superb saves kept Darlington in the game and meant Darlington hung on to an opening day victory. He was ever-present in the first team in the 2004–05 season, and signed a new two-year contract in July 2005.
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