| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gareth Anthony Seddon | ||
| Date of birth | 23 May 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Burnley, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fleetwood Town | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2004 | Bury | 79 | (18) |
| 2003 | → Northwich Victoria (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Rushden & Diamonds | 0 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Padiham[1] | ? | (18) |
| 2006 | Worcester City[2] | 1 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Hyde United[3] | 75 | (52) |
| 2008–2009 | Kettering Town | 46 | (15) |
| 2009– | Fleetwood Town | 68 | (18) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | England C | 2 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Gareth Anthony Seddon (born 23 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Fleetwood Town. He played 79 games in the Football League for Bury.
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Seddon was a fitness instructor in the RAF when he came close to joining Reading in 2001.[4] When he failed to win a deal with the Berkshire club Gareth still chose to quit the forces in order to begin a football career at Bury. While at Bury he scored the club's 6000th goal.[5] He was Bury's leading scorer in the 2001–02 season with eight goals[6] but made just a handful of appearances in the next season, and joined Northwich Victoria on loan in January 2003.[7] After three seasons at Bury, in the last of which he again finished as leading scorer, he rejected a new deal and instead joined Rushden & Diamonds on a Bosman free transfer in 2004.[6] However Seddon was plagued by the onset of reactive arthritis, a condition brought on by the rigours of full-time training. He never gained fitness to play for his new team and doctors advised him to retire from the professional game.[8][9][10]
Following this setback and the loss of his livelihood Seddon drifted into gambling and drink.[10] During his time out of the game he also taught football part time at St Theodore's RC High School in Burnley, a school which he himself had attended. In 2005 he returned to football and completed an entire season with North West Counties League side Padiham. This extended break from the professional game allowed Seddon to recuperate and by March 2006 the illness had left his system.[10] He joined up with his former Bury manager Andy Preece at Worcester City and played one match for the team on a non-contract basis in April 2006, scoring in a 3-2 win against Stalybridge Celtic. He was set to sign for the Midlands team and agreed personal terms but baulked at the distance he would have to commute from his Accrington home.[9]
Despite interest from several fully professional Conference National clubs such as Morecambe, Seddon chose to continue his recuperation at part-time level and joined Hyde United in the summer of 2006.[10] Seddon has gained a reputation for scoring spectacular goals and on 1 January 2007 scored 5 goals in a 7–3 local derby win away at Stalybridge Celtic.[11] This achievement won him the Hyde United Magic Moment of the Season award along with the Fans' and Players' Player of the Season titles during his first year with the club.[12]
During the summer of 2007 Gareth was called up to the England National Game squad for the Four Nations Tournament. He won his first cap against the Republic of Ireland, then scored twice in a 3–0 win over Wales.[13] Seddon scored 62 goals in 87 appearances for Hyde over the two seasons, winning the Conference North golden boot in both.[14]
In July 2008 he joined Conference National side Kettering Town on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[15]
In September 2009, Seddon signed for Conference North outfit Fleetwood Town becoming a regular first team player and helping the club gain promotion to the Conference National in 2010. After promotion Seddon was key in helping the club gain a play-off spot in their first season in the top-flight non-league league where they lost to play-off winners A.F.C. Wimbledon in the semi-finals. In 2011-12 Seddon became one of Fleetwood's top scorers, being a super-sub after scoring several goals from coming on as a subsitute.
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