Ben Tozer

Ben Peter Anthony Tozer (born 1 March 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays for League Two club Cheltenham Town as a defensive midfielder.

Ben Tozer
Tozer playing for Northampton Town in 2013
Personal information
Full name Ben Peter Anthony Tozer[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990[2]
Place of birth Plymouth, England
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[3]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Cheltenham Town
Number 4
Youth career
2005–2007 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Swindon Town 2 (0)
2008–2011 Newcastle United 1 (0)
2010 → Northampton Town (loan) 5 (1)
2010–2011 → Northampton Town (loan) 26 (2)
2011–2015 Northampton Town 142 (3)
2013 → Colchester United (loan) 1 (0)
2015–2016 Yeovil Town 26 (0)
2016–2018 Newport County 62 (4)
2018– Cheltenham Town 71 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:46, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

Career

Swindon Town

Born in Plymouth, Tozer began his career as a youth player at his local club Plymouth Argyle, where he studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Sport at City College Plymouth and was part of the College's Football Development Centre. Former Argyle youth coach David Byrne, who by this point had taken up a similar role at Swindon Town persuaded the Tozer family to allow Ben to join him in Wiltshire alongside fellow Argyle youngster Ben Joyce.

On 14 August 2007, Tozer made a surprise full debut for Swindon as a makeshift left-back in the League Cup match with Charlton Athletic.

In November 2007 Tozer started a 4-day trial with Everton, returning in time for Swindon's FA Cup game with Forest Green.[4][5] This led the club's confirmed speculation that the club keen to sign Tozer.[6]

Newcastle United

Tozer moved to Newcastle United on 7 January 2008, penning a four-and-a-half-year deal with the club.[7]

On 11 May, against Everton, Tozer was named on the substitutes bench, but did not play. On 22 September 2009, Tozer made his Newcastle debut starting at centre back alongside Steven Taylor against Peterborough United in the Football League Cup. Newcastle, fielding a side full of youngsters, lost the game 2–0. Tozer went on to make his league debut in a 2–1 home win against Doncaster Rovers, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute for Jonás Gutiérrez.[8]

Northampton Town

On 21 September 2010 Tozer signed on loan at Northampton Town on a one-month loan.[9]

Tozer made his debut the following day in the Cobblers famous 3rd round League Cup win over Liverpool, and the following Saturday scored on his Northampton League debut in the 2–0 win over Bradford City.[10] Tozer was sent off in the game at home to Hereford United for violent conduct, which resulted in the Cobblers delaying renewing his loan until after he served his 3-game ban.[11] Tozer had his loan extended twice: the first extension came until 9 January 2011[12] and the second extension came until the end of the season.[13] Tozer went to make thirty-one appearances and scoring twice this season against Aldershot Town on 19 February 2011[14] and Morecambe on 7 May 2011.[15]

Tozer signed a permanent deal with Northampton Town on 23 June 2011, following his release by Newcastle United.[16] Tozer made his Northampton Town debut, in the opening game of the season, a 0–0 draw against Accrington Stanley. Weeks later, Tozer scored his first Northampton Town goal since making his move permanent, in the first round of League Cup, in a 2–1 win over Ipswich Town.[17] In his first full season at Northampton Town, Tozer was almost ever present player with forty-five appearances and scoring three times against Barnet on 1 October 2011,[18] Shrewsbury Town on 19 November 2011[19] and Cheltenham Town on 3 March 2012.[20]

The 2012–13 season saw Tozer started the season well after results went well for the first three matches. Tozer then provided double assist, losing 3–2 against Plymouth Argyle on 1 September 2012.[21] Following his grandfather's death, Tozer was given a compassionate leave by Aidy Boothroyd. However, Tozer played a match in a 0–0 draw against Chesterfield.[22] Tozer then provided another double assist in another match, winning 3–0 win against Morecambe on 20 November 2012.[23] In March, Tozer was awarded Northampton Audi Player of the Month for February.[24] Tozer went on to make forty-six appearances for the club, making him ever present player throughout the season. Tozer played all three matches in the play-offs and started as a right-back in the play-off final, in a 3–0 defeat to Bradford City.[25] Despite unsuccessful attempt to get promoted to League One, Tozer was offered a new contract and signed a two-year contract on 19 June 2013.[26]

The 2013–14 season saw Tozer featured regularly in the first team for the first five matches at the start of the season. Tozer soon had his playing time reduced following the arrivals of Kevin Amankwaah.[27] With eleven appearances made,[28] Tozer joined League One club Colchester United on an initial one-month loan on 28 November 2013 until 4 January 2014 to provide defensive cover over the Christmas period.[29] He made his debut for the club on 14 December in a 4–0 home defeat to Notts County. He was replaced on 67 minutes by Tosin Olufemi while the score was 2–0.[30] After making one appearance for Colchester United, Tozer was recalled by the club on 23 December 2013.[31] Following his return to Northampton Town, Tozer made a return to the first team, which saw him awarded Northampton Audi Player of the Month for January.[32] Despite being on the substitute bench for nine matches towards the end of the season, Tozer would make twenty-nine appearances for the club. Tozer soon expressed his future in doubt following the arrival of Manager Chris Wilder, who arrived during the season.[33]

The 2014–15 season saw Tozer's playing time increase at the start of the season as a right-back despite being on the bench. The following arrival of Brendan Moloney saw Tozer's playing time reduced to the bench. Soon after, Tozer suffered a knee injury during training[34] that ruled him out for a month.[35] Two months later, Tozer made his return to training.[36] Tozer made his first appearance back from injury, coming on as a substitute for Evan Horwood in the 50th minutes, in a 2–1 loss against Stevenage on 11 April 2015.[37] At the end of the season, Tozer went to make twenty-two appearances for the club. After five years at the club, Tozer was among seven players to be released by the club.[38]

Yeovil Town

On 19 June 2015, Tozer signed for League Two side Yeovil Town on a one-year deal.[39] Upon signing for the club, Tozer was given a number two shirt ahead of a new season.[40]

However, Tozer's start to his Yeovil Town suffered a setback when he had a cartilage problem and was expected to be sidelined until September.[41] It wasn't until November when Tozer made his return from training[42] and made his Yeovil Town debut in the first round of FA Cup, in a 1–0 win over Maidstone United.[43] Six days later, on 14 November 2015, Tozer made his league debut on 14 November 2015, in a 2–2 draw against Stevenage.[44] A month later on 5 December 2015, Tozer scored his first Yeovil Town goal in the fourth round of the FA Cup, in a 1–0 win over Stevenage, the team he made his debut against.[45] Since making his Yeovil Town, Tozer became a first team regular at the club, where he "made the anchorman role in Way's three-man central midfield his own" and finished the 2015–16 season, making thirty-two appearances and scoring once in all competition.[46]

At the end of the 2015–16 season, Tozer was offered a new contract by the club.[47] On 10 June 2016, a local newspaper based in Yeovil Town reported that Tozer had agreed to sign a new contract with the club.[48] As weeks went by, it was increasingly likely that Tozer would sign a new contract with the club despite continuing to recover from his knee, having become a concern to the club's management.[49]

Newport County

On 4 July 2016, Tozer rejected Yeovil's offer of a new contract,[50] and signed for fellow League Two side Newport County on a one-year deal.[51] Upon joining the club, Tozer was given a number twelve shirt for a new season.[52]

Tozer made his debut for Newport on 6 August 2016 in the opening game of the season, in a 3–2 loss against Mansfield Town as a second-half substitute.[53] In a match against Doncaster Rovers on 17 September 2016, Tozer made his first start and played the whole game, in a 2–0 loss.[54] He scored his first goal for Newport on 25 October 2016 in the League Two match versus Barnet which ended in a 2–2 draw.[55] He was regularly selected in the first half of the season but then fell out with manager Graham Westley and he was not selected after 7 January 2017 for the rest of the 2016–17 season. By the end of the 2016–17 season Mike Flynn had taken over as Newport County manager and Tozer's contract was extended for a further year.[56]

Cheltenham

On 24 May 2018, it was announced that Tozer had declined a contract extension at Newport and signed for Cheltenham Town after his Newport contract had expired.[57]

Tozer scored an own goal against Port Vale on 21/12/2019.

Career statistics
As of match played 29 February 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Swindon Town 2007–08[58] League One 2020102[lower-alpha 1]070
Newcastle United 2007–08[58] Premier League 00———00
2008–09[59] Premier League 000000—00
2009–10[60] Championship 100010—20
2010–11[61] Premier League 000000—00
Newcastle United total 100010—20
Northampton Town (loan) 2010–11[61] League Two 313201000343
Northampton Town 2011–12[62] League Two 45310211[lower-alpha 1]0494
2012–13[63] League Two 46020206[lower-alpha 2]0560
2013–14[64] League Two 29010101[lower-alpha 1]0320
2014–15[65] League Two 22020202[lower-alpha 1]0280
Northampton Town total 173680811001997
Colchester United (loan) 2010–11[64] League One 10———10
Yeovil Town 2015–16[66] League Two 26041002[lower-alpha 1]0321
Newport County 2016–17[67] League Two 23140103[lower-alpha 3]0311
2017–18[68] League Two 39340101[lower-alpha 3]0453
Newport County total 623802040763
Cheltenham Town 2018–19[69] League Two 37130204[lower-alpha 3]0461
2019–20[70] League Two 34330102[lower-alpha 3]1404
Cheltenham Town total 714603061865
Career total 3361328115124140316
  1. Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy
  2. Three appearances in the Football League Trophy, three in the League Two play-offs
  3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Personal life

Tozer grew up in Plymouth, England and has a brother, Lee, who is a Sunday league footballer/Postman.[71]

gollark: Xylophone Yttrium Zoo, India.
gollark: Either by starting at the *maximum* length for everything and seeing where it can be shifted to be smaller, or starting at a more optimistic one and trying to make it actually work
gollark: They have to run a bunch of optimization passes over it.
gollark: This is actually a thing I read about on the fasm forum or something.
gollark: Is it capable of functional list operations too?!

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/07/2011 and 31/07/2011" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  2. "Ben Tozer". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. "Ben Tozer". Northampton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  4. "Tozer recalled from Everton trial". BBC Sport. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  5. "Swindon Town 3–2 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  6. "Robins confirm approach for Tozer". BBC Sport. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  7. "Newcastle complete deal for Tozer". BBC Sport. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  8. "Nolan sends Magpies back top". Sky Sports. 24 October 2009. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  9. "Tozer Goes Out on Loan". Newcastle United website. 21 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  10. "Northampton Town 2 – 0 Bradford City". BBC Sport. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  11. "Newcastle defender Ben Tozer re-joins Cobblers on loan". BBC Sport. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  12. "Tozer extends Cobblers deal". BBC Sport. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  13. "On-loan Newcastle defender Tozer extends Cobblers loan". BBC Sport. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  14. "Northampton Town 1 – 1 Aldershot Town". BBC Sport. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  15. "Morecambe 1 – 2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  16. O'Rourke, Pete (23 June 2011). "Cobblers capture Tozer". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  17. "Ipswich Town 1 – 2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  18. "Barnet 1 – 2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  19. "Northampton Town 1 – 2 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  20. "Cheltenham Town 2 – 2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  21. "Plymouth Argyle 3 – 2 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  22. "Boothroyd pays tribute to Tozer". Sky Sports. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  23. "Northampton Town 3 – 0 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  24. "TOZER NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH". Northampton Town F.C. 11 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  25. "Bradford City 3 – 0 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  26. "Tozer agrees new Cobblers deal". Sky Sports. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  27. "Boothroyd says there's still life in the Cobblers' long throw tactic". Northampton Chronicle. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  28. "Double swoop for U's". Sky Sports. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  29. "Colchester sign Ben Tozer and Blair Turgott". BBC Sport. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  30. "Colchester 0–4 Notts County". BBC Sport. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  31. "TOZER BACK AT SIXFIELDS". Northampton Town F.C. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  32. "BEN NAMED JANUARY'S TOP MAN". Northampton Town F.C. 10 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  33. "Tozer ready for talks over Cobblers future with boss Wilder". Northampton Chronicle. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  34. "Tozer blow for Northampton". Sky Sports. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  35. "BEN TOZER RULED OUT FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS". Northampton Town F.C. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  36. "BEN TOZER BACK IN TRAINING AND MARC RICHARDS GETTING CLOSER". Northampton Town F.C. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  37. "Stevenage 2 – 1 Northampton Town". 11 April 2015. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  38. "THE NORTHAMPTON TOWN RETAINED LIST". Northampton Town F.C. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  39. "Yeovil Town sign Tranmere's Marc Laird and Northampton's Ben Tozer". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  40. "SQUAD NUMBERS REVEALED". Yeovil Town F.C. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  41. "Yeovil Town add on-loan forward Harry Cornick to their squad for opener at Exeter". Somerset Live. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  42. "Yeovil Town's Paul Sturrock facing a selection nightmare". Somersey Live. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  43. "Maidstone United 0 – 1 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  44. "Yeovil Town 2 – 2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  45. "Yeovil Town 1 – 0 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  46. "Ex-Newcastle United and Swansea City aces among out of contract Yeovil Town stars – who should stay?". Somerset Live. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  47. "Way announces retained list". Yeovil Town F.C. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  48. "Ex-Newcastle United star Ben Tozer agrees new Yeovil Town contract in principle". Western Gazette. Local World. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  49. "Former Newcastle United man Ben Tozer still expected to extend Yeovil Town stay but rehab continues". Somerset Live. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  50. "MANAGER DISCUSSES BEN TOZER EXIT". Yeovil Town F.C. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  51. "Newport County sign midfielder Ben Tozer". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  52. "SQUAD NUMBERS 2016/17". Newport County F.C. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  53. "Newport County 2 – 3 Mansfield Town". BBC Spoer. 6 August 2016.
  54. "Doncaster Rovers 2 – 0 Newport County". BBC Sport. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  55. Tozer first goal for Newport
  56. Newport contract extension
  57. "Ben Tozer: Cheltenham Town sign Newport County midfielder". BBC. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  58. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  59. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  60. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  61. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  62. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  63. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  64. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  65. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  66. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  67. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  68. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  69. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  70. "Games played by Ben Tozer in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  71. "Newcastle United next signing Ben Tozer's promise to grandad". Chronicle Live. 23 December 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.