Ben Stevenson (footballer)

Ben Stevenson
Personal information
Full name Ben Edward Stevenson[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-23) 23 March 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Leicester, Leicestershire, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Portsmouth
Number 14
Youth career
2005–2015 Coventry City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Coventry City 48 (3)
2018–2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0)
2018 → Colchester United (loan) 13 (2)
2018 → Jumilla (loan) 15 (0)
2019–2021 Colchester United 74 (4)
2021–2023 Forest Green Rovers 70 (0)
2023– Portsmouth 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:00, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

Ben Edward Stevenson (born 23 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Portsmouth.

Stevenson is a graduate of the Coventry City Academy. He spent 13 years with the club, joining at the age of eight. He made his professional debut in August 2016 and made 48 appearances for the club. In January 2018, he was sold to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was immediately loaned out to Colchester United, and then joined Wolves' Spanish affiliate club Jumilla on loan for the first-half of 2018–19. In January 2019, he rejoined Colchester United on a permanent basis.

Career

Born in Leicester,[2] Stevenson joined the Coventry City Academy at the age of eight.[3] He signed on as a scholar in July 2013,[4] and signed his first professional contract in 2015.[5]

Stevenson made his professional debut on 9 August 2016, playing 120 minutes in Coventry's 3–2 extra time win over Portsmouth in the League Cup.[6] He scored his first professional goal on 18 October 2016 during a 2–1 win over Oxford United.[7] He scored his second goal for Coventry in their 2–1 home defeat by Milton Keynes Dons on 26 November 2016, but was sent off for the first time in his career after 74-minutes for a high challenge on Dean Lewington.[8] He helped the club to the EFL Trophy and played in the final at Wembley Stadium as City beat Oxford United 2–1.[9]

After making 36 appearances in his debut season,[10] Stevenson was limited to twelve appearances in the first-half of the 2017–18 season through both injury and falling down the pecking order at the club.[3]

On 31 January 2018, Stevenson signed a 2+1⁄2-year deal with Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee. He was immediately loaned out to Coventry's League Two rivals Colchester United for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[11]

Stevenson made his Colchester United debut on 3 February 2018, coming on as a substitute for Sean Murray before scoring the game's opening goal ten minutes after his arrival on the pitch. Colchester went on to win the match against Newport County 2–0.[12] He made 13 appearances for the U's, scoring twice.[13]

On 31 August 2018, Stevenson was one of nine Wolves players sent to their Spanish affiliate club Jumilla on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[14] He made 15 appearances for the club.[2]

Colchester United re-signed Stevenson on a permanent basis on 30 January 2019, signing a 2+1⁄2-year deal from Wolves.[15] He made his second debut for the club on 2 February, starting in their 4–0 win at Northampton Town.[16]

An excellent Carabao Cup run with some notable wins against Premiership teams Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur took them to the quarter-finals against Manchester United at Old Trafford eventually losing 3-0.

On 7 June 2021, Stevenson announced he would be leaving Colchester at the end of his contract after making almost 100 appearances for the U's.[17]

Stevenson signed for Forest Green Rovers on a two-year deal on 21 June 2021 Forest Green won promotion to League One as champions in the 21/22 season.[18] Following their relegation back to League Two at the end of the 2022–23 season, Stevenson departed the club on a free transfer.[19]

On 21 June 2023, Stevenson returned to League One when he signed for Portsmouth on a two-year contract with the option for a further year.[20] Stevenson's debut for Portsmouth came in an EFL Cup tie against Forest Green Rovers,[21] and his league debut followed against Port Vale on 7 October 2023.[22] He scored his first goal for Portsmouth on 10 October 2023 in an EFL Trophy tie against Gillingham.[23]

Career statistics

As of As of match played 10 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Coventry City 2016–17[10] League One 28 2 2 0 2 0 4[a] 0 36 2
2017–18[13] League Two 5 0 3 0 1 0 3[a] 1 12 1
Total 33 2 5 0 3 0 7 1 48 3
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017–18[13] Championship 0 0 – – 0 0 0 0
2018–19[24] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colchester United (loan) 2017–18[13] League Two 13 2 – – 0 0 13 2
Jumilla (loan) 2018–19[2] Segunda División B – Group IV 15 0 0 0 – 0 0 15 0
Colchester United 2018–19[24] League Two 14 0 – – 0 0 14 0
2019–20[25] League Two 28 2 1 0 5 0 2[b] 0 36 2
2020–21[26] League Two 32 2 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 34 2
Total 74 4 1 0 6 0 3 0 97 4
Forest Green Rovers 2021–22[27] League Two 41 0 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 44 0
2022–23[28] League One 29 0 2 1 2 0 2[a] 1 35 2
Total 70 0 3 1 3 0 3 1 79 2
Portsmouth 2023–24 League One 1 0 0 0 2 0 2[a] 1 5 1
Career total 206 8 9 1 14 0 15 3 244 12
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL League Two play-offs

Honours

Coventry City

Forest Green Rovers

References

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players as at 20th May 2017" (PDF). English Football League. 20 May 2017. p. 51. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ben Stevenson at Soccerway
  3. ^ a b Turner, Andy (1 February 2018). "Will Ben Stevenson be able to play against Coventry City this month?". Coventry Live. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  4. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  5. ^ "List of Players under Written Contract" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Coventry City 3–2 Portsmouth (AET)". BBC Sport. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Coventry City 2–1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Coventry City 1–2 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b Scott, Ged (2 April 2017). "EFL Trophy final: Coventry City 2–1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Benik Afobe: Wolves re-sign Bournemouth striker on loan". BBC Sport. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Colchester United 2–0 Newport County". BBC Sport. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Wolves send nine player [sic] on loan to FC Jumilla". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Ben Stevenson: Colchester United sign Wolves midfielder". BBC Sport. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Northampton Town 0–4 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  17. ^ Waldron, Jonathan (7 June 2021). "Colchester United midfielder Ben Stevenson to depart". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Rovers clinch Stevenson signing". Forest Green Rovers. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  19. ^ "2023 Retained List confirmed". www.fgr.co.uk. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Stevenson Becomes Sixth Summer Signing". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Forest Green Rovers 1-3 Portsmouth". BBC. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Portsmouth 2-0 Port Vale". BBC. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Report Portsmouth 5-1 Gillingham". Gillingham Football Club. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Games played by Ben Stevenson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  29. ^ "Mansfield Town 2–2 Forest Green Rovers: Draw seals title for Rovers". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.