 Stephens playing forBrighton & Hove Albion in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dale Christopher Stephens[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-06-12)12 June 1989 (age 35)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bolton, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2007 | Bury | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Bury | 9 | (1) |
| 2007 | →Droylsden (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2007 | →Hyde United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Oldham Athletic | 60 | (11) |
| 2009 | →Rochdale (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2011 | →Southampton (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Charlton Athletic | 84 | (9) |
| 2014–2020 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 213 | (14) |
| 2020–2022 | Burnley | 10 | (0) |
| Total | 399 | (36) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dale Christopher Stephens (born 12 June 1989) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as acentral midfielder.
Stephens was born inBolton, Greater Manchester.[4]
Stephens joinedOldham Athletic on 1 July 2008 after rejecting a new deal atBury.[5] On 9 March 2010, he scored his first goal for Oldham in a 2–0 win overLeyton Orient.[6]
On 14 August 2009, Stephens joined Rochdale on a month's loan. He made his debut in a 3–3 draw withMorecambe on 4 September 2009, where he scored the equaliser. It was later extended by another month. On 12 October he extended the loan spell for a third time.
On 24 March 2011, Stephens signed on loan for Southampton until the end of the season.[7] He made his debut as a substitute in a 3–2 victory overMK Dons. He started days later againstCharlton Athletic but had to be stretchered off at the end of the first half.[8]
On 29 June 2011, Stephens signed a three-year contract for Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be around £350,000.[9]
On 30 January 2014, Stephens signed a three-and-a-half-year contract withBrighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee.[10] Stephens scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season with a strike against Rotherham United, in a 2–1 win. He followed this up with goals against Bolton Wanderers (2–2 draw), Cardiff (1–1 draw), QPR (2–2 draw), Cardiff (4–1 loss), and Burnley (2–2 draw). He formed a vital partnership withBeram Kayal, and would play an integral part in the side that would go 21 league matches unbeaten.[citation needed]
On 7 May 2016, in an away tie againstMiddlesbrough with winner takes all to win automatic promotion to thePremier League, Stephens scored a 55th minute equaliser to give Brighton a lifeline as Brighton needed a win to go up. Four minutes after his headed goal, Stephens was sent off for a tackle onGastón Ramírez. The game finished 1–1, meaningBoro won promotion to the top flight and Stephens' suspension meant he would miss theplay-offs in whichThe Seagulls would lose the two legged semi final toSheffield Wednesday.[11][12]
Stephens was a key performer for Brighton throughout the2016–17 season, helping the club to earn promotion to the Premier League. He signed a new four-year contract with the club in the summer of 2017, with his previous contract set to run out at the conclusion of the season.[13]
Brighton's first match in the top flight for 34 years was at home to eventual championsManchester City. Stephens played the whole match in the 2–0 defeat on his Premier League debut.[14] He played in Brighton's first ever win in the Premier League in a 3–1 home win overWest Brom on 9 September 2017.[15] Stephens scored his first goal of the2017–18 season on 8 January opening the scoreline in a 2–1 home win against bitter rivalsCrystal Palace in the third round of theFA Cup.[16] On 4 May 2018 Stephens played in the match that ensured Brighton Premier League safety with a 1–0 win overManchester United atFalmer Stadium.[17]
On 10 November 2018 Stephens received his first Premier League red card away againstCardiff. He was sent off at 1–1, it eventually finished 2–1 to The Bluebirds.[18] Stephens scored his first ever Premier League goal away againstWest Ham opening the scoreline in the 2–2 draw on 2 January 2019.[19] He made5 FA Cup appearances in the2018–19 season whereThe Seagulls made the semi-final.[20]
Stephens played in Brighton's first home win of the2019–20 season which came on the 5 October where Brighton put three pastTottenham and keeping a clean sheet.[21]
On 24 September 2020,Burnley announced the signing of Stephens on a two-year deal.[22] Two days after the announcement of his signing he made his debut in what also happened to be his 100th Premier league appearance, starting and playing the whole match in the 1–0 home defeat against his former club Southampton.[23]
He made his first appearance of the2021–22 season on 30 December, coming on as a substitute in the 3–1 away loss atManchester United.[24] Stephens made his first start of the season on 8 January 2022, starting and playing 82 minutes of the eventual 2–1FA Cup third round home loss againstHuddersfield of the Championship.[25] He made his first Premier League start in over a year on 5 February, playing the whole match of the frustrating 0–0 home draw againstWatford.[26] On 10 June, Burnley announced that Stephens would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.[27]
On 28 March 2023, Stephens announced his retirement from football.[28]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bury | 2006–07[29] | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2007–08[30] | League Two | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Droylsden (loan) | 2007–08[31] | Conference Premier | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Hyde United (loan) | 2007–08[32] | Conference North | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Oldham Athletic | 2008–09[33] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009–10[34] | League One | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2010–11[35] | League One | 34 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 37 | 10 | |
| Total | 60 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 12 | ||
| Rochdale (loan) | 2009–10[34] | League Two | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Southampton (loan) | 2010–11[35] | League One | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Charlton Athletic | 2011–12[36] | League One | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 31 | 4 |
| 2012–13[37] | Championship | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14[38] | Championship | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 30 | 4 | ||
| Total | 84 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 10 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2013–14[38] | Championship | 14 | 2 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15[39] | Championship | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16[40] | Championship | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 7 | |
| 2016–17[41] | Championship | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18[42] | Premier League | 36 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19[43] | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20[44] | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[45] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 213 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 223 | 15 | ||
| Burnley | 2020–21[45] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[46] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 399 | 36 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 425 | 39 | ||
Charlton Athletic
Brighton & Hove Albion
