Joe Sydney Leesley (born 29 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Worksop Town, on loan from National League North club Darlington.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joe Sydney Leesley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 March 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Worksop Town (on loan from Darlington) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2010 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Winterton Rangers | ||
| 2012–2015 | Matlock Town | ||
| 2015–2016 | Alfreton Town | 49 | (2) |
| 2016–2022 | Harrogate Town | 122 | (22) |
| 2019–2020 | → Stockport County (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Stevenage (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Boston United (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | → Boston United (loan) | 34 | (3) |
| 2022 | Boston United | 10 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Darlington (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2022–2024 | Kidderminster Harriers | 27 | (2) |
| 2024 | Scunthorpe United | 0 | (0) |
| 2024– | Darlington | 5 | (0) |
| 2024– | → Worksop Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | England C | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:54, 16 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
He previously played in the Football League for Stevenage and has played for England C, the team that represents the country at non-league level.
Career
editLeesley was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.[2] He was on the books of Doncaster Rovers from the age of 10, but was not given a scholarship when he reached 16.[3] He spent his early career with Winterton Rangers,[4] Matlock Town, Alfreton Town, Harrogate Town and Stockport County,[2] moving on loan to Stevenage on 6 January 2020.[5] He made his debut two days later in the EFL Trophy.[6] In November 2020 he moved on loan to Boston United.[7][8] In June 2021, after Leesley agreed a season loan to Boston United, Harrogate manager Simon Weaver said he would be unlikely to play for his parent club again.[9]
On 1 August 2022, Leesley signed for Boston United on a permanent deal having left Harrogate Town.[10] In October, he joined league rivals Darlington on loan for a month.[11] After an impressive seven-match spell during which he demonstrated versatility and leadership, both he and Darlington wanted to extend the loan, but Boston would only allow him to leave for a fee, which put him out of their reach.[12] Leesley signed for another National North club, Kidderminster Harriers, on 18 November 2022, on a contract to run until the end of the 2023–24 season.[13] After his time with the club was disrupted by injury, he left by mutual consent in February 2024.[14]
On 1 April 2024, Leesley joined National League North club Scunthorpe United on a short-term deal until the end of the season,[15] but made no first-team appearances.[2] He rejoined Darlington on a one-year contract on 24 May 2024,[16] but was unable to establish himself in the first team,[2] and signed on a month's loan for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Worksop Town on 15 November.[17]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 9 November 2024
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alfreton Town | 2014–15[18] | Conference Premier | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[2][19] | National League North | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 52 | 2 | |||
| Harrogate Town | 2016–17[2][20] | National League North | 42 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | 4[a] | 2 | 50 | 9 | |
| 2017–18[2][21] | National League North | 39 | 14 | 4 | 1 | — | 8[b] | 7 | 51 | 22 | ||
| 2018–19[2] | National League | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20[2] | National League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[22] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 122 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 9 | 147 | 34 | ||
| Stockport County (loan) | 2019–20[2] | National League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Stevenage (loan) | 2019–20[6] | League Two | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Boston United (loan) | 2020–21[2] | National League North | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 1 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2021–22[2][23] | National League North | 34 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||
| Boston United | 2022–23[2][24] | National League North | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 6 | 6 | 2 | — | 5 | 1 | 64 | 9 | |||
| Darlington (loan) | 2022–23[2] | National League North | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2022–23[2] | National League North | 13 | 1 | — | — | 5[e] | 0 | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[2] | National League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |||
| Scunthorpe United | 2023–24[2] | National League North | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Darlington | 2024–25[2][25] | National League North | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Worksop Town | 2024–25 | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 281 | 33 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 10 | 329 | 48 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
- ^ Six appearances and six goals in FA Trophy, two appearances and one goal in National League North play-offs
- ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy, one in National League play-offs
- ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy
- ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy, three in National League North play-offs
Honours
editHarrogate Town
- National League play-offs: 2019–20[26]
Kidderminster Harriers
- National League North play offs: 2019–20[27]
References
edit- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Harrogate Town" (PDF). English Football League. 11 September 2020. p. 33. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "J. Leesley". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Jones, Steve (21 February 2023). "How Doncaster Rovers heartbreak inspired former Harrogate Town ace Joe Leesley to help others". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ Watters, David (11 August 2012). "Gem is great prospect, says Atkins". Northern Premier League. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Joe Leesley: Stevenage bring in Harrogate Town winger on loan until end of the season". BBC Sport. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Joe Leesley in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "Boston United add double promotion winner Joe Leesley to squad". LincolnshireWorld. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ ""He knows what success looks like!" Boston United 'lucky' to land winger Joe Leesley". LincolnshireWorld. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Howell, Rhys (23 June 2021). "Joe Leesley unlikely to play for Harrogate Town again after loan switch to Boston United is agreed". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Singleton, Craig (1 August 2022). "United clinch Leesley signature". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Quakers sign Joe Leesley on loan". Darlington F.C. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Darlington lose out on loan ace Joe Leesley to Kidderminster". The Northern Echo. Darlington. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ Paddock, Matty (18 November 2022). "Joe Leesley joins Harriers". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ Paddock, Matty (14 February 2024). "Joe Leesley departs". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Moody, James (1 April 2024). "Iron add versatile Joe Leesley to ranks". Scunthorpe United F.C. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Simpson, Ray (24 May 2024). "Quakers sign Joe Leesley for the second time". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Simpson, Ray (15 November 2024). "Joe Leesley goes out on loan". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ "The squad – 2014/15 apps/goals". Alfreton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016.
- ^ For FA Cup 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds: match reports linked from "Fixtures: 2015/2016". Alfreton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
For FA Trophy: "Alfreton Town knocked out of FA Trophy at first hurdle after Nuneaton Town defeat". Derbyshire Times. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2022. - ^ For FA Cup 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds: match reports linked from "Fixtures & results". Harrogate Town A.F.C. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017.
For FA Trophy 3rd qualifying round: match reports linked from "Results archive: 2016/17". Salford City F.C. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022. - ^ For FA Cup 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds and FA Trophy 3rd qualifying round: match reports linked from "Results". Harrogate Town A.F.C. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Games played by Joe Leesley in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ For FA Cup 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds: "First team: Joe Leesley: 2021/2022". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ For FA Cup 2nd and 3rd qualifying rounds: "First team: Joe Leesley: 2022/2023". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ For FA Cup 3rd qualifying round: Simpson, Ray (28 September 2024). "Quakers beaten at home in the Cup". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Freeman, Jay (2 August 2020). "Harrogate Town 3–1 Notts County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ "Recap: Harriers promoted to National League". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.