Christopher Jonathan Leadbitter (born 17 October 1967) is an English former footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 playing as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 for Hereford United

Hereford United F.C.

Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

, Cambridge United

Cambridge United F.C.

Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...

, A.F.C. Bournemouth

A.F.C. Bournemouth

A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....

, Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 and Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

.

Career

Leadbitter was born in Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...

 and began his career as an apprentice at Grimsby Town

Grimsby Town F.C.

Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

. He failed to make the breakthrough and moved to Hereford United

Hereford United F.C.

Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

 in 1985 to make his league debut. He played 36 league games for them over two seasons, then signed for Cambridge United

Cambridge United F.C.

Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...

 before the 1987–88 season. After a brief loan spell at Conference

Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 club Barnet

Barnet F.C.

Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

, Leadbitter became a regular part of the Cambridge side under manager John Beck

John Beck (footballer)

John Alexander Beck is an English former footballer and manager. As a player he made nearly 500 league appearances between 1972 and 1988....

 and helped the club gain consecutive promotions

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 and reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 in successive seasons.

After 176 league appearances and 18 goals, he moved onto A.F.C. Bournemouth

A.F.C. Bournemouth

A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....

 for £25,000 in 1993 and then Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 in 1995. He played 63 games in all competitions for Plymouth, spent time out of the Football League at Dorchester Town

Dorchester Town F.C.

Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...

, returned to it for two seasons with Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

, went back to Argyle to make a further 51 appearances, then retired from professional football in 2001.

He returned to the north-east of England and played non-league football

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 for Guisborough Town

Guisborough Town F.C.

Guisborough Town F.C. are an English football club based in Guisborough, Redcar and Cleveland. They were founded in 1973 and currently play in the Northern League Division One. Their home ground is the in Guisborough....

, Whitby Town

Whitby Town F.C.

Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football...

, Peterlee Newtown

Peterlee Town F.C.

Peterlee Town F.C. is a football club from Peterlee, England, formed in 1976 as Peterlee Newtown who currently play in the Wearside Football League....

, Thornaby

Thornaby F.C.

Thornaby F.C. are a football club based in Thornaby-on-Tees, England. They were established in 1980 when Stockton Cricket Club's football team joined the Wearside Football League.The club were known as Stockton until 2000....

, Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland F.C.

Bishop Auckland Football Club are an English football team based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. They are one of the most successful amateur sides, having won the old FA Amateur Cup on 10 occasions , and losing finalists on a further 8. They currently play in the Northern League Division One. ...

, and Guisborough again.

External links

• League stats at Neil Brown's site