 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Ian Russell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-10-04)4 October 1982 (age 43)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forest Green Rovers (Academy Goalkeeping Coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2000 | Middlesbrough | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2004 | Middlesbrough | 0 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Gateshead (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | →Darlington (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | →Scunthorpe United (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2004–2007 | Darlington | 107 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Rochdale | 38 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Wrexham | 18 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Darlington | 65 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Forest Green Rovers | 144 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Gateshead | 44 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Forest Green Rovers | 51 | (0) |
| 2018–2021 | Grimsby Town | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 508 | (0) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:16, 5 March 2021 (UTC) | |||
Samuel Ian Russell (born 4 October 1982) is a former professional footballer
As a player he was agoalkeeper from 2000 until 2021. He began his career in thePremier League withMiddlesbrough although he failed to make a first team appearance but would notably go on to have three spells withDarlington between 2002 and 2012. He also played forGateshead,Scunthorpe United,Rochdale,Wrexham andForest Green Rovers before joiningGrimsby Town in 2018 where he combined playing duties asJames McKeown's number two with coaching the clubs goalkeepers.
Russell was born inMiddlesbrough,North Yorkshire and signed as a professional on 7 July 2000 for hishometown team after progressing through theiryouth system.[2] He had a successful loan spell atGateshead during the tail end of the 2001–02 season, followed by a brief period atDarlington on loan in 2002 afterMick Tait brought him in during a keeping crisis. He played in only one game, a 1–1 draw againstTorquay United.
In August 2003 he was sent toScunthorpe United on loan where he stayed for three months and made 10 appearances. He finally left Middlesbrough in the summer of 2004, moving toDarlington on a permanent basis. He never appeared in Middlesbrough's first team.
He was brought to Darlington byDavid Hodgson in August 2004. With the retirement of goalkeeping legendAndy Collett, the club only had two goalkeepers on their books in Michael Price and youth team player Jack Norton. Russell was a target for Hodgson after he heard that Middlesbrough were releasing the youngster. Initially it was thought Russell would be number two to Price, but performances during pre-season meant that Russell got the nod. Assistant managerMark Proctor said that both Price and Russell were of virtual equal quality but Russell's distribution was slightly better.
In the opening game of the2004–05 season Russell made his mark with a superb performance which earned him the man of the match. His superb saves kept Darlington in the game and meant Darlington hung on to an opening day victory. He was ever-present in the first team in the 2004–05 season,[3] and signed a new two-year contract in July 2005.[4]
He seemed to have established himself as the number one until just before the start of the2007–08 season until failed to agree terms with then manager Dave Penny and Russell left to go to Rochdale and left Darlington in June 2007 after three years in which he made 107 league appearances.[5]
In July 2007 he signed forRochdale, making his first start for the club in theFootball League Trophy second round tie againstBury in October 2007.[6] Following an injury to regular keeperJames Spencer, Russell was next called upon in theFA Cup defeat atSouthend United.[7] He retained his place in the side and in December 2007, signed a contract until the end of the season having been on non-contract terms.[8] He broke a finger in the 2–1 defeat atLincoln City in February 2008 and was expected to be out of action until April.[9]
In the 2008–09 season Russell was handed the number one shirt for Rochdale. He had made some important saves for Rochdale that season, however he made the occasional mistake, such as scoring an own goal in the Rochdale–Bury derby, and slipping in a late equaliser byJamie Ward againstChesterfield despite aTom Kennedy late winner. In February he was replaced by Blackburn loaneeFrank Fielding after Spencer was loaned out toChester City.
After being released by Rochdale at the end of the season,[10] Russell signed forConference National sideWrexham after impressing on trial.[11]
In May 2010 he agreed to rejoin Darlington on a one-year contract.[12] He became their regular goalkeeper, and played atWembley as they beatMansfield Town to win theFA Trophy. He signed a one-year contract extension,[13] but when the club suffered financial difficulties and failed to pay the players, he submitted his 14-day notice at the end of December and left the club for fellow Conference clubForest Green Rovers in January 2012.[14][15]
Russell made his Forest Green debut on 21 January 2012 in a 0–0 draw againstNewport County.[16] In his first eight Forest Green performances he saved four consecutive penalty kicks. He made his hundredth league appearance for the club in a 2–1 win overGrimsby Town on 18 March 2014.[17] In March 2014, he signed a contract extension to remain with the club.[18]
A run of 144 consecutive league appearances for Forest Green was brought to an end on 21 February 2015 when he was replaced bySteve Arnold for a 3–0 win overAFC Telford United.[19] On 4 May 2015, it was announced that he was leaving Forest Green after his contract had come to an end.[20]
In June 2015, Russell joinedNational League sideGateshead, returning to a club where over a decade earlier he had spent time on loan.[21]
On 1 July 2016, it was announced that Russell had returned to former clubForest Green Rovers on a two-year deal.[22] He made his 150th league appearance for the club in a 4–1 away win overMaidstone United on 27 August 2016.[23] Between 17 September 2016 and 29 October 2016, he kept a run of sevenNational League clean sheets, untilOliver Hawkins header in a 1–1 draw withDagenham & Redbridge saw him concede and narrowly miss out on the league record of eight consecutive clean sheets set byAlan Julian forStevenage.[24]
Russell appeared in every single of minute of Forest Green's2016–17 campaign, as he helped the club secure promotion to theFootball League for the first time in their history with a 3-1National League play-off final win againstTranmere Rovers atWembley Stadium.[25] He was rewarded with a new one-year contract in June 2017 for Forest Green's first season inLeague Two.[26]
He was released by Forest Green at the end of the 2017–18 season.[27]
On 9 July 2018 he joinedGrimsby Town as the club's new player / goalkeeper coach.[28]
Russell retired from playing at the end of the 2020–21 season but remainedPaul Hurst's first team goalkeeping coach. On 25 June 2022, Russell announced via hisTwitter account that he was leaving Grimsby.[29]
Russell returned to former club Forest Green Rovers as an academy goalkeeping coach in November 2022.[30]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Middlesbrough | 2001–02[31] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002–03[32] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[33] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Gateshead (loan) | 2001–02[34] | NPL Premier Division | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Darlington (loan) | 2002–03[32] | Third Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2003–04[33] | Third Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Darlington | 2004–05[35] | League Two | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| 2005–06[36] | League Two | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2006–07[37] | League Two | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| Total | 107 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 117 | 0 | ||
| Rochdale | 2007–08[38] | League Two | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 2008–09[39] | League Two | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| Wrexham | 2009–10[40] | Conference Premier | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Darlington | 2010–11[41] | Conference Premier | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 7[b] | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
| 2011–12[41] | Conference Premier | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 65 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 78 | 0 | |||
| Forest Green Rovers | 2011–12[41] | Conference Premier | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[41] | Conference Premier | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[41] | Conference Premier | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 51 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15[41] | Conference Premier | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Total | 144 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 158 | 0 | |||
| Gateshead | 2015–16[41] | National League | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| Forest Green Rovers | 2016–17[41] | National League | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 0 | 54 | 0 | |
| 2017–18[42] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 62 | 0 | ||
| Grimsby Town | 2018–19[43] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2019–20[44] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[45] | League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 508 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 580 | 0 | ||
Darlington
