| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart Ian Nicholson | ||
| Date of birth | 3 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Hebburn Town | ||
| Youth career | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2008 | West Bromwich Albion | 9 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | →Bristol Rovers (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2007 | →Bristol Rovers (loan) | 12 | (6) |
| 2007 | →Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2008 | →Wrexham (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Newcastle Blue Star | 5 | (1) |
| 2009 | Tamworth | 7 | (1) |
| 2009 | →AFC Telford United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | West Allotment Celtic | 5 | (0) |
| 2010 | Sunshine George Cross | 9 | (3) |
| 2010 | Northcote City | 8 | (1) |
| 2010 | Birtley Town | 7 | (0) |
| 2010– | Hebburn Town | 7 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| England U19 | |||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:56, 2 January 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Stuart Ian Nicholson (born February 3, 1987 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a former professional footballer, currently playing for Northern League side Hebburn Town, where he has played as a striker since joining them from Birtley Town in October 2010.[1]
Stuart was also a former England Under-19 international.[2]
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Nicholson, made his debut for West Bromwich Albion on 17 January 2006, coming on as an extra-time substitute in a 3–2 FA Cup defeat away at Reading. He made his Premiership debut four days later in the 1–0 loss against Sunderland at The Hawthorns, when he replaced Nathan Ellington, whom he describes as his childhood hero.[3] He won the West Bromwich Albion Young Player of the Year award for 2005–06 and earned the nickname "The Knife" for his sharpness in front of goal.[4] He was given a place in the first team squad for the 2006-07 season, and marked his first start with a goal against Leyton Orient on 24 August in the first round of the League Cup.
Nicholson joined Bristol Rovers on loan in November 2006. Unusually for someone born in the north-east of England, he has been a fan of the club since being given a Bristol Rovers shirt as a present when he was 14.[3] The loan was due to last three months, but Nicholson was recalled four weeks early by West Brom,[5] before returning to Bristol Rovers for a second loan spell during the same season.[6]
He scored a brace on 17 March 2007 against Notts County and followed it up with the winner against Stockport County on 20 March, both games at the Memorial Stadium. A stomach injury then kept him out of the team, and his loan spell was cut short in April when he returned to West Brom to have a hernia operation.[7]
In August 2007 Nicholson joined Shrewsbury Town on a scheduled season-long loan.[8] However, by December he had found the net just once for the Shrews in 14 league appearances. On 18 December it was announced that he had returned to Albion due to an ongoing "personal problem", with his loan spell at Shrewsbury set to be officially ended in January.[9]
On 18 January 2008 Nicholson joined Wrexham on a three month loan deal.[10] In April Albion confirmed that they would release the player in the summer when his existing contract expires.[2]
He signed with Newcastle Blue Star in August 2008.[11]
On 7 November Nicholson joined A.F.C. Bournemouth on a week's trial,Bournemouth could not meet the asking price having been made available for transfer by Newcastle Blue Star after making five substitute appearances scoring in all up to that point in the 2008–09 season.[12] After having been released by Blue Star midway through the 2008–09 season, Nicholson trained with Blyth Spartans[13]
Nicholson's next move was a return to the midlands to team up with Conference North side Tamworth in January, 2009. Stuart made his debut for Tamworth on 27 January 2009 against King's Lynn in a home Conference North fixture in a year that Tamworth won promotion to the Conference National. On 11 September 2009 Nicholson joined AFC Telford United of the Conference North on a one month loan.