Ben Gordon
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Ben Gordon | |
| |
| Full Name | Benjamin Lawrence Gordon |
| Date of Birth | 2 March 1991 |
| Place of Birth | Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
| Position | Defender |
| Chelsea career | 2007 - 2013 |
| Debut | n/a |
| Games (goals) | n/a |
| Other clubs | Bradford Leeds United Tranmere Rovers (loan) Kilmarnock (loan) Scunthorpe (loan) Peterborough United (loan) Kilmarnock (loan) Birmingham City (loan) |
Benjamin Lawrence "Ben" Gordon (born 2 March 1991 in Bradford, England), is a left back who formerly played for Chelsea.
Contents |
Pre-Chelsea career
Ben's previous clubs include Farsley Celtic, Bradford City, and Leeds United.
Chelsea career
Leeds fought tooth and nail to keep Ben from joining Chelsea in 2007. Ken Bates was public and vocal about his dissatisfaction at the situation, but ultimately Gordon had no contract with the club. He rejected the offer of a scholarship and took Chelsea’s offer, leaving the clubs to thrash out a compensation package.
An England youth international before joining, Ben continued to represent the Three Lions in 07/08, moving up to Under-17 level. His performances for Chelsea’s Under-18 team impressed enough to earn him a semi-regular place in the Reserve squad, mainly as a sub but towards the end of the season as a starter. In a competitive position at the club, he made the Under-18s left-back berth his own with a series of strong showings.
The step up to Reserve football didn’t go seamlessly though, with a lot of competition. Some injuries held him back, but so did some limitations in his game, and with his loss of form came a loss of playing time and lack of England representation. With the loans of Ryan Bertrand and Patrick van Aanholt in 2009/10, Ben was able to establish himself as a regular in the Reserve team, keeping up a 100% appearance record through late February.
However, a loan spell in April 2010 at Tranmere Rovers did not go entirely smoothly and he struggled to adapt to professional football. A summer trial at Dutch side Willem II was unsuccessful, but on August 5th he sealed a loan move to Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock.
After impressing for the first half of the season in Scotland, Chelsea recalled Gordon, signed him to a new two-year contract, and loaned him out to Scunthorpe United for the second half of the season. Gordon was loaned out again at the start of 2011-12, joining Peterborough United, though he returned to Cobham in late September.
In January 2012 he returned to Kilmarnock for a second time and was part of their Scottish League Cup Final victory over Celtic. After another successful spell north of the border, he got another crack at England's second tier in 2012-13 with a loan move to Birmingham City, where he made his debut in late August away to Watford.
As per usual however, he struggled in England, with injury playing a role in his failure to earn a regular first team place. He returned to Cobham at the turn of the year and had his contract cancelled by mutual consent at the end of the transfer window to allow him to seek a move elsewhere without restriction.
International
Ben has represented England at Under-16 and Under-17 levels, and was called up by Brian Eastick to play for the Under-20s in the FIFA World Cup in Colombia in the summer of 2011.
Career Statistics
Youth Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2007-08 | 18 | 1 |
| 2008-09 | 23 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | 1 | 0 |
Reserve Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2007-08 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008-09 | 4 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | 11 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | 10 | 0 |
Senior Club Football
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2009-10 | Tranmere Rovers (loan) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2010-11 | Kilmarnock (loan) | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| 2010-11 | Scunthorpe United (loan) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | Peterborough United (loan) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011-12 | Kilmarnock (loan) | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | Birmingham City (loan) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Statistics accurate as of Gordon's Chelsea career
Career honours
- Scottish League Cup (2011-12)
Post Chelsea Career
Ben signed a short-term deal with Yeovil Town shortly after departing Chelsea before joining Ross County on a full-time basis in June 2013. He returned to England in 2014 with Colchester United.
