Ben George Liddle (born 21 September 1998) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He previous played in the Football League for Middlesbrough, Forest Green Rovers, Scunthorpe United and Bristol Rovers, in the Scottish Championship for Queen of the South, and in non-league football for Blyth Spartans and Darlington.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ben George Liddle[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 21 September 1998[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Durham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Middlesbrough | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2020 | Middlesbrough | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Blyth Spartans (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Scunthorpe United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Bristol Rovers | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Queen of the South (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2022–2024 | Darlington | 61 | (7) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:00, 22 April 2024 (UTC) | |||
Personal life
editLiddle was born in 1998 in Durham.[2] He is the son of Craig Liddle, who played as a centre back for Middlesbrough and Darlington.[4]
Club career
editMiddlesbrough
editLiddle signed his first professional contract with Middlesbrough in the summer of 2016.[2] Liddle appeared in the EFL Trophy for the Middlesbrough U23 side in both the 2017–18 and the 2018–19 competitions, featuring in all three group matches in each. He made his Championship debut for Middlesbrough on 30 November 2019, replacing Lewis Wing in the 70th minute of a 4–0 defeat at Leeds United.[5] He made his first start for the club on 14 January 2020, playing 57 minutes of a 2–1 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.[6] This proved to be his last game for the club.[7]
Blyth Spartans (loan)
editOn 22 March 2018, he joined National League North side Blyth Spartans on loan until the end of the season.[8]
Forest Green Rovers (loan)
editLiddle joined League Two club Forest Green Rovers on 31 January 2019 on loan until the end of the season.[9] He made his debut on 12 February 2019, coming on as a substitute for Lloyd James in a 2–0 loss to Swindon Town at the County Ground.[10]
Scunthorpe United (loan)
editOn 31 January 2020, Liddle joined another League Two club, Scunthorpe United, on loan until the end of the season.[11] The following day he made his debut in the starting eleven away to Crawley Town, but was replaced at half-time with the score 3–0 to the hosts; the match ended 3–1.[12] Liddle made another three appearances before the season was ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic.[7][13]
Bristol Rovers
editOn 8 October 2020, Liddle joined Bristol Rovers for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year deal.[14] He made his debut on 7 November, coming on in the 73rd minute of a 2–1 FA Cup victory over Walsall.[15] On 6 February 2021, Liddle made his league debut, and fourth appearance in all competitions, as he started before being replaced in the 65th minute of a 0–0 draw with Fleetwood Town.[16]
He made one appearance in the 2021–22 EFL Cup before joining Scottish Championship club Queen of the South on a season-long loan.[17][18] He made 19 appearances in all competitions, and scored his first senior goal, opening the scoring in a 3–3 draw away to Raith Rovers,[17][19] before returning to Bristol Rovers, who released him when his contract expired at the end of the 2021–22 season.[20]
Darlington
editHaving been without a club since leaving Bristol Rovers, Liddle signed for National League North club Darlington on 18 August 2022.[4] He finished the season with six goals from 34 league appearances.[21] He left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2023–24 season.[22]
Career statistics
edit- As of end of 2023–24 season
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Middlesbrough U21 | 2017–18[23] | — | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19[24] | — | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Middlesbrough | 2017–18[23] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[24] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20[7] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[16] | Championship | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Blyth Spartans (loan) | 2017–18[21] | National League North | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Forest Green Rovers (loan) | 2018–19[24] | League Two | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Scunthorpe United (loan) | 2019–20[7] | League Two | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Bristol Rovers | 2020–21[16] | League One | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[17] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Queen of the South (loan) | 2021–22[17] | Scottish Championship | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Darlington | 2022–23[21][25] | National League North | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 39 | 6 | |
| 2023–24[21][26] | National League North | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| Total | 61 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 67 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 90 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 109 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- ^ Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
- ^ Appearances in FA Trophy
References
edit- ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "Ben Liddle". 11v11.com. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Ben Liddle". Bristol Rovers F.C. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022.
- ^ a b Stoddart, Craig (18 August 2022). "Darlington sign former Middlesbrough youngster Ben Liddle". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Leeds United 4–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Vickers, Anthony (14 January 2020). "Tottenham vs Middlesbrough team news: Ben Liddle handed first start as Woodgate makes 5 changes". Gazette Live. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Games played by Ben Liddle in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Spartans complete double signing of Carl Lawson and Ben Liddle". Blyth Spartans AFC. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "Ben Liddle: Forest Green Rovers sign Middlesbrough midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Swindon 2–0 Forest Green – Back-to-back defeats for Rovers". Stroud News and Journal. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Iron sign Ben Liddle on loan". Scunthorpe United F.C. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Crawley Town 3–1 Scunthorpe United". BBC Sport. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Roan, Dan; Stone, Simon (15 May 2020). "League Two clubs vote to end season, but League One teams fail to decide". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "The Gas complete the signing of Ben Liddle!". Bristol Rovers F.C. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Frost, Sam (7 November 2020). "Walsall 1–2 Bristol Rovers: As it happened". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Ben Liddle in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Games played by Ben Liddle in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Welcome – Ben Liddle". Queen of the South F.C. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Queen of the South boss hails side for fighting back for a point against Raith Rovers". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Club announces released list". Bristol Rovers F.C. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "B. Liddle". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ Simpson, Ray (21 April 2024). "Thanks, Ben". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Games played by Ben Liddle in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Ben Liddle in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ For FA Cup: "Becky's hat trick puts Quakers into the next round". Darlington F.C. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
Simpson, Ray (1 October 2022). "Quakers beaten by second half goal at Hyde". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 2 October 2022. - ^ For FA Cup: Simpson, Ray (15 September 2023). "Quakers go through in Cup". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
Simpson, Ray (30 September 2023). "Scarborough go through with late penalty". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 30 September 2023.