 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ben Greenhalgh" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ben Greenhalgh | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-04-16)16 April 1992 (age 32) | ||
| Place of birth | Orpington, England | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder,Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Margate (player-manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Welling United | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Inter Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Como (loan) | 12 | (8) |
| 2012 | Welling United | 16 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Ebbsfleet United | 10 | (1) |
| 2013 | Maidstone United | 3 | (0) |
| 2013 | Concord Rangers | 11 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 6 | (0) |
| 2014 | →Stenhousemuir (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2014–2015 | Maidstone United | 46 | (10) |
| 2015–2016 | Concord Rangers | 42 | (13) |
| 2016–2017 | Maidstone United | 21 | (2) |
| 2017 | →Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) | 18 | (4) |
| 2017 | Hemel Hempstead Town | 11 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Concord Rangers | 27 | (8) |
| 2018–2020 | Dartford | 54 | (7) |
| 2019–2020 | →Tonbridge Angels (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Tonbridge Angels | 18 | (2) |
| 2021– | Margate | 158 | (52) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022–2023 | Margate (joint-caretaker) | ||
| 2024– | Margate (player-manager) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:10, 22 March 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ben James Greenhalgh (born 16 April 1992) is an English footballer and golfer who plays as amidfielder orstriker. He is currently player-manager ofMargate. He is noted for winning the football reality showFootball's Next Star, where he won a contract at Italian giantsInter Milan.
Greenhalgh, fromOrpington, who played for theWelling United youth team, was featured in theSky One showFootball's Next Star and impressed judges in the trial game after laying on a perfect cross for Hicham Abdellah to head home. At the end of the opening episode, the judges presented theInter Milan shirt to ten players who would travel to Italy to compete for their dream of a professional contract in later episodes.[1]
After 20,000 entries to the show and eight episodes, Greenhalgh was given the shirt and revealed as the winner ofFootball's Next Star 2010, receiving a professional six-month contract with Inter Milan.[2]
After his six-month professional contract at Inter Milan came to an end, Greenhalgh was offered another year from the Italian giants which included a four-month loan spell toCalcio Como, where he scored eight goals from 12 games.[3] Despite never playing a senior game during his time with Inter Milan, Greenhalgh was presented with a Champions League Winners medal after being part of the travelling squad for the2010 UEFA Champions League Final. After his contract was up, he returned to the UK and spent time atBrighton & Hove Albion,[4] as well as a spell atBirmingham City, where he was advised to play first team football in the Conference to gain experience in the English game. He signed fornon-League clubWelling United in December,[5] before later joiningEbbsfleet United[6] andMaidstone United.[7]
In June 2013 he transferred to Scottish clubInverness Caledonian Thistle.[8] This was due to happen in February 2013, however international clearance stopped Greenhalgh from leaving England until the 2013–14 season.
Having played only six first-team games for Inverness, Greenhalgh was loaned toScottish League One clubStenhousemuir for the final six games of the season.[9]
In June 2014 it was reported that Inverness had opted not to offer Greenhalgh a further contract, with managerJohn Hughes stating that he could not guarantee Greenhalgh first-team football.[10]
It was announced on 22 June 2015, that Greenhalgh had signed forNational League South sideConcord Rangers, returning to a club where he had made a big impact during the run-in of the 2012–13 season, winning both theIsthmian League Cup, and theIsthmian League Premier Division play-offs.[11]
On 26 May 2016, it was announced that Greenhalgh had signed forMaidstone United again.[12] He was released by Maidstone a year later in May 2017. He was immediately signed by National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town, who had Greenhalgh on loan towards the back end of the 2016–17 season.
On 24 May 2018, it was announced that Greenhalgh had signed forDartford.[13]
On 8 November 2019, it was announced that Greenhalgh had signed forTonbridge Angels on an initial month's loan.[14][15] His loan was then extended until 4 January 2020.[16]On 7 January 2020, it was announced that Greenhalgh had left Dartford by mutual consent.[17] The following day, Greenhalgh signed permanently for Tonbridge Angels.[18]
On 6 April 2021, Greenhalgh signed forMargate for the 2021–22 season.[19] Greenhalgh was appointed captain ahead of the2022–23 season.[20] In December 2022, the sacking ofAndy Drury saw Greenhalgh appointed joint-caretaker manager with fellow player Reece Prestedge.[21] On 31 January 2023, Prestedge was appointed manager on a permanent basis with Greenhalgh as his assistant manager.[22] Following relegation at the end of the2023–24 season, Greenhalgh was named player-manager.[23]
In 2015 he became a professional golfer and joined thePGA circuit, playing in one-day golf tournaments while continuing to play semi-professional football.[24]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Welling United | 2009–10[25] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Inter Milan | 2010–11[26] | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Como (loan) | 2010–11[26] | Lega Pro Prima Divisione Group A | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 8 | ||
| Welling United | 2011–12[25] | Conference South | 16 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
| Ebbsfleet United | 2012–13[27] | Conference Premier | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Maidstone United | 2012–13[25] | Isthmian League Division One South | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Concord Rangers | 2012–13[25] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 11 | 5 | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | |||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2013–14[27] | Scottish Premiership | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| Stenhousemuir (loan) | 2013–14[27] | Scottish League One | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | |||
| Maidstone United | 2014–15[28] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 46 | 10 | 5 | 3 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 55 | 14 | |
| Concord Rangers | 2015–16[25] | National League South | 42 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 1 | 45 | 14 | |
| Maidstone United | 2016–17[27] | National League | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 1 | 25 | 3 | |
| Hemel Hempstead Town (loan) | 2016–17[27] | National League South | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | 18 | 4 | |||
| Hemel Hempstead Town | 2017–18[27] | National League South | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | |
| Concord Rangers | 2017–18[27] | National League South | 27 | 8 | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 28 | 8 | ||
| Dartford | 2018–19[27] | National League South | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[a][c] | 0 | 47 | 4 | |
| 2019–20[27] | National League South | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | ||
| Dartford total | 54 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 7 | ||
| Tonbridge Angels (loan) | 2019–20[27] | National League South | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Tonbridge Angels | 2019–20[27] | National League South | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21[27] | National League South | 11 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
| Tonbridge Angels total | 26 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 5 | ||
| Margate | 2021–22[29] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 42 | 18 | 3 | 0 | — | 10[a][d][c] | 6 | 55 | 24 | |
| 2022–23[29] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 42 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[a][c][e] | 5 | 52 | 17 | ||
| 2023–24[29] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 39 | 14 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[a][e] | 0 | 45 | 15 | ||
| 2024–25[29] | Isthmian League South East Division | 35 | 8 | 6 | 4 | — | 6[a][c][e] | 3 | 47 | 15 | ||
| Margate total | 158 | 52 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 14 | 199 | 71 | ||
| Career total | 468 | 123 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 17 | 543 | 150 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Margate (joint-caretaker) | 26 December 2022 | 31 January 2023 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 016.7 |
| Margate (player-manager) | 29 May 2024 | Present | 48 | 27 | 12 | 9 | 056.3 |
| Total | 54 | 28 | 14 | 12 | 051.9 | ||
Individual
