Asa Edmund Charlton (born 7 December 1977) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Walsall Wood.

Asa Charlton
Personal information
Full name Asa Edmund Charlton
Date of birth (1977-12-01) 1 December 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth Cosford, England
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Walsall Wood
Youth career
1994–1996 Kidderminster Harriers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Willenhall Town
1997–1998 Telford United 7 (0)
Rushall Olympic
–2002 Stourport Swifts
2002–2003 Worcester City 16 (0)
2003–2004 Halesowen Town 69 (6)
2004–2006 Redditch United 75 (4)
2006–2007 Mansfield Town 8 (0)
2007–2008 AFC Telford United 33 (3)
2008Shifnal Town (loan) 2 (0)
2008Stourbridge (loan) 2 (0)
2008Hednesford Town (loan)
2008–2010 Redditch United 3 (0)
2010–2011 Corby Town 17 (0)
2011 Worcester City 21 (2)
2011–2012 Leamington 24 (2)
2012–2013 Redditch United
2013 Hinckley United 10 (0)
2015–2016 Willenhall Town
2016–2018 Halesowen Town 53 (3)
2018–2020 Rushall Olympic
2020–2022 Redditch United
2022 Sutton Coldfield Town 1 (0)
2022–2023 Halesowen Town 0 (0)
2023 Shifnal Town 22 (1)
2023 Walsall Wood 3 (1)
2023 AFC Wulfrunians 11 (2)
2023– Walsall Wood 24 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:59, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Playing career

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A trainee at Kidderminster Harriers, Charlton failed to make the grade at Aggborough and joined local side Willenhall Town. His form soon attracted the attentions of bigger clubs in non-league football, with the youngster joining Telford United before the start of the 1997–98 season. He made only a handful of appearances at the Buck's Head, before leaving at the end of the season to move to America, where he took a break from football to study computer science at the Coastal Carolina University under a football scholarship.

After a year in the States, he returned to the UK, continuing his computer science studies at the University of Wolverhampton. He continued to play football, turning out for the British Universities team for a spell. He returned to the non-league ranks with short spells at Rushall Olympic and Stourport Swifts, before signing for Southern League Premier Division side Worcester City on the eve of the 2002–2003 season.[1]

Used mainly as a substitute, Charlton made only four starts at St. Georges Lane, before joining fellow Southern League side Halesowen Town in January 2003. His stay with the Yeltz was to be the longest of his career to date, as he became a popular figure at the Grove. He was named club captain the following season after their relegation to Southern League West, but fell out of favour at the start of the 2004–2005 season, and moved to newly promoted Conference North side Redditch United. He enjoyed two years of success at the Valley, making seventy appearances for United as they established themselves at step two in English non-league football.

His form for Redditch had caught the eye of a number of clubs, but it was a surprise to all when it emerged that at 29 years old, Charlton was to be given his first chance of professional football at League Two Mansfield Town. He signed for the Stags in November 2006, but made only a handful of appearances as they only just avoided relegation to non-league football.

Released at the end of the season, he moved back to the Bucks Head, to join newly promoted AFC Telford United. He became a popular figure in the 2007–08 season, as the Bucks immediately settled into their new surroundings of Conference North. He started the 2008–09 season suspended, and put himself further down the pecking order when he injured himself after dropping a beer barrel on his foot. After recovering, he was sent out on loan to local sides Shifnal Town and Stourbridge to gain match practice.

The left-back left the Conference North side Redditch United in 2010 and signed with Corby Town.[2][3]

His next move was to re-join former club Worcester City.[4] This was followed by a switch to Leamington in October 2011 where he made his debut on 4 October against Chippenham Town.[5][6]

Hinckley United

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In June 2013, it was announced that Charlton had joined Hinckley United ahead of the 2013–14 Southern Football League season, under the new management of Stuart Storer and Andy Penny.[7]

Return to Halesowen

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Charlton returned to former team Halesowen Town for the 2013–14 Northern Premier League season and extended his contract for the 2017–18 Northern Premier League season.[8]

Rushall Olympic

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Following on from his release by Halesowen Town, Charlton joined Southern League Premier Central rivals Rushall Olympic on 28 December 2018.[9]

In August 2022, Charlton returned to Halesowen Town as an ambassador of the club where he would still be training with the first-team as well as supporting the owners off the field.[10]

In June 2023, Charlton joined AFC Wulfrunians.[11][12] He joined Walsall Wood in October 2023.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ Worcester News: Charlton aiming to bring cheer to City
  2. ^ "Corby Town Football Squad – Squad". Archived from the original on 26 April 2010.
  3. ^ www.charltonathletic-mad.co.uk https://web.archive.org/web/20110912060921/http://www.charltonathletic-mad.co.uk/corby_town/player/career/asa_charlton_40263/index.shtml. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "England - A. Charlton - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  5. ^ "Brakes move for Charlton". Non League Daily. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "City players don't deserve their pay says McGregor". Worcester News. 5 October 2011.
  7. ^ "New Signings". Hinckley United. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
  8. ^ Sharp, Dan (11 July 2017). "Halesowen Town announce returning names to wear newly unveiled club shirt". Dudley News. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  9. ^ "NEW SIGNING: PICS ADD EXPERIENCE WITH CHARLTON CAPTURE". ROFC.co.uk. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  10. ^ @halesowentownfc (12 August 2022). "Ladies and Gentlemen, our Club Ambassador @AsaCharlton #UpTheYeltz" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 August 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Asa Edmund Charlton player stats | Midland Football League". fulltime.thefa.com.
  12. ^ @AFCWulfrunians (13 June 2023). "Charlton Agrees 😁 We are delighted to gain the experienced defender Asa Charlton for the upcoming season. Asa's experience will be crucial in the back line and hopefully he can pass on some valuable information to the younger players in the team. Welcome Asa ✍🏼" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ @WalsallWoodFC (20 October 2023). "𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | ✍🏼 Walsall Wood FC are delighted to welcome 𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒓 and 𝑨𝒔𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒏 back to the football club. Both have played for The Wood previously and now join Harry Harris' squad ahead of Saturdays game. Welcome back 𝑳𝒆𝒆 and 𝑨𝒔𝒂" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Walsall Wood | Appearances | Asa Charlton | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk.
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