Sam Aiston

Sam Aiston
Personal information
Full nameSamuel James Aiston
Date of birth21 November 1976
Place of birthNewcastle upon Tyne, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing positionMidfielder
Youth career
1994–1995Newcastle United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1995–2000Sunderland20(0)
1997–1999Chester City (loan)23(0)
1999Stoke City (loan)6(0)
2000Shrewsbury Town (loan)10(0)
2000–2005Shrewsbury Town167(7)
2005–2006Tranmere Rovers36(3)
2006–2008Northampton Town22(0)
2007Burton Albion (loan)5(0)
2007–2008Wrexham (loan)8(0)
2008–2009Wrexham30(0)
2009Stafford Rangers18(0)
2009–2010Hednesford Town18(0)
2010–2011Gainsborough Trinity53(5)
Total416(15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Samuel James "Sam" Aiston (born 21 November 1976) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder He made over 200 appearances in the Premier League and the Football League, particularly for Sunderland, Chester City, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers, Northampton Town and Wrexham.

Career

Aiston began his career at Newcastle United in 1994 but made no appearances for the club before joining Sunderland in 1995, where he made over 20 first-team appearances, most as substitute.[1] He was loaned to Chester City, Stoke City and Shrewsbury Town,[1] before joining Shrewsbury for a £50,000 transfer fee in the summer of 2000.[1] Aiston made 165 league appearances for Shrewsbury, scoring seven goals,[1] helping the club to promotion from the Football Conference at the end of the 2003–04 season.[2] Whilst at Shrewsbury Town Aiston endeared himself to the Shrewsbury faithful owing to his style of play.[3]

He was released by Shrewsbury at the end of the 2004–05 season and joined Tranmere Rovers in July 2005,[4] where he made over 40 league and cup appearances in the 2005–06 season.[1] He was released by Tranmere at the end of the season, and joined Northampton Town.[5] Injuries meant he struggled to command a regular first team place and he dropped into the Conference National for a loan spell with Burton Albion.[6]

In November 2007, Aiston joined Wrexham on loan, having previously played for Wrexham manager Brian Little at Tranmere Rovers.[7] Aiston made his debut in a 2–2 draw with Chester City three days later. In January 2008, Aiston's move to Wrexham was made into a permanent signing.[8] He was transfer listed by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the Football Conference.

Aiston went on to play for Stafford Rangers and Hednesford Town before joining Gainsborough Trinity in February 2010. He was released in May 2011.

Personal life

After retiring from playing football Aiston became a primary school teacher.[9] He got married in August 2012.[10]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland 1995–96 First Division 140001000150
1996–97 Premier League 2020000040
1997–98 First Division 3000000030
1998–99 First Division 1000100020
1999–2000 Premier League 0000000000
Total 200202000240
Chester City (loan) 1996–97 Third Division 140000020160
1998–99 Third Division 110000010120
Total 250000030280
Stoke City (loan) 1999–2000 Second Division 6000100070
Total 6000100070
Shrewsbury Town 1999–2000 Third Division 100000000100
2000–01 Third Division 422102000452
2001–02 Third Division 352100000362
2002–03 Third Division 212100030252
2003–04 Conference National 340200010370
2004–05 League Two 351101010381
Total 17776030501917
Tranmere Rovers 2005–06 League One 363101010393
Total 363101010393
Northampton Town 2006–07 League One 210001000220
2007–08 League One 1010100030
Total 220102000250
Burton Albion (loan) 2007–08 Conference National 5000000050
Total 5000000050
Wrexham 2007–08 League Two 190000000190
2008–09 Conference National 190100000200
Total 380100000390
Career Total 32910110909035810
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Sam Aiston". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  2. "Shrews secure promotion". BBC Sport. 16 May 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  3. "Shrewsbury Town dressing room was spilt – Aiston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  4. "Tranmere complete double signing". BBC Sport. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  5. "Aiston and Holt join Northampton". BBC Sport. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  6. "Burton pair's loan deals extended". BBC Sport. 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  7. "Wrexham get winger Aiston on loan". BBC Sport. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  8. "Aiston completes permanent switch". BBC Sport. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  9. Pinnington, Sam (8 July 2010). "Ex-Shrews player Sam Aiston to become a ‘sir’". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  10. "Former Shrewsbury Town winger Sam Aiston nets stunning Hollie". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 4 May 2013.

External links