| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Gary Ford | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Upton Park, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chesterfield | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2004 | Grimsby Town | 78 | (4) |
| 2004 | Bristol Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| 2004 | Redbridge | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2010 | Kilmarnock | 144 | (6) |
| 2010– | Chesterfield | 29 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2008– | Jamaica | 3 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 April 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Simon Gary Ford (born 17 November 1981 in Upton Park, Greater London) is an English-born Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a defender for Football League One side Chesterfield.
He has previously played for Charton Athletic, Grimsby Town, Redbridge and Kilmarnock.
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Ford began his career at Charlton Athletic under Alan Curbishley and was promoted to the clubs first team squad during the 2000-2001 season. However the defender would find his first team chances at The Valley halted and he was released from the London club in the summer of 2001 having never played a first-team match for the club.
After leaving Charlton in 2001 he signed for Lennie Lawrence's Grimsby Town prior to the start of the 2001–2002 season. Ford made his professional debut on 21 August 2001 during a 2–1 victory over local rivals Lincoln City in the first round of the Football League Cup, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Ben Chapman. On 22 December 2001, he made his league debut in the club's Division One 0–0 away draw with Preston North End where he played from the start. Ford would go on to make 16 appearances in all competitions during his first season at Blundell Park. During the 2002–2003 season Ford was favoured by new manager Paul Groves and took his chance in the first team when injury had sidelined new signing Steve Chettle earlier on in the season. Ford who regularly partnered Georges Santos at the back would go on to make 40 appearances that season. Despite Ford's surge into the first team the club were relegated but his consistent performances had drawn some interest from fellow Division One side Wolverhampton Wanderers; however no transfer ever materialised. During the 2003–2004 season although still very much involved in the first team, Ford fell out of contention within the club to the preferred pairing of Tony Crane and Mike Edwards. Despite being a valued player only a year before, Ford's contract was not renewed when it expired in the summer of 2004 and he departed Grimsby in August 2004. He made 84 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 4 goals.
Ford quickly joined Bristol Rovers on a non-contract basis before the start of the 2004-2005 season, however manager Ian Atkins allowed him to leave the club without playing a game only a couple of weeks into his stay.
Shortly after his brief stint in Bristol, Ford signed professional terms for Conference South side Redbridge who were placed 3 levels below the last league he played in for Grimsby. Ford played in only 1 match for the club before he was approached by Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock who were naturally given permission by Redbridge to talk to the player.
He had to initially sign for Kilmarnock as an amateur because he had signed professionally for Redbridge shortly beforehand.[1] Ford was paid for commercial and marketing work while playing as an amateur.[1] He then signed as a professional for the start of the 2005-2006 season. Ford went on to make 144 league appearances in a six year stay with Killie, where he scored 6 times.
Ford signed for Chesterfield under freedom of contract in June 2010 and is trying to successfully replace the recently departed Kevin Austin, in defence, who has been released by Chesterfield.[2]
Ford has represented Jamaica three times.
He is the nephew of former Rangers and Liverpool winger Mark Walters.[3]
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