Mason Springthorpe
Personal information
Full name Mason Springthorpe
Date of birth (1994-11-01) 1 November 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Shrewsbury, England
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Fleetwood Town
Number 38
Youth career
–2011 Shrewsbury Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Everton 0 (0)
2014Woking (loan) 2 (0)
2014 Ellesmere Rangers
2015– Fleetwood 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mason Springthorpe (born 1 November 1994) is an English footballer who plays for Fleetwood Town as a goalkeeper.

He joined Everton for £125,000 from Shrewsbury Town in February 2011 but never played a competitive match, spending a month on loan at Woking in January 2014. After being released that May, he had a brief stint at Ellesmere Rangers before returning to the professional game by signing for Fleetwood in January 2015.

Early life

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Born in Shrewsbury, Springthorpe played as a forward as a child, but at the age of nine his father converted him to be a goalkeeper.[1] He attended Meole Brace School.[2]

Career

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On 14 February 2011, when still in Shrewsbury Town's youth team, he was signed by Premier League club Everton for £125,000. He told BBC Radio Shropshire "The price tag means nothing to me. The regime at Everton will be something else, but if that's what it takes to get to the next level then I'll grab it with both hands". He believed that Everton would progress his career, due to the contracts they had given to young players Jose Baxter and Jack Rodwell.[1]

He was first included in an Everton matchday squad on 2 March 2013, remaining an unused substitute as they defeated reigning Reading 2–1 at Goodison Park. Tim Howard was injured,[3] so Springthorpe deputised for Ján Mucha.[4] A week later he was again on the bench as they lost 0–3 at home to Wigan Athletic in the sixth round of the FA Cup.[5] On 16 March, his last call-up of the season, he was an unused substitute in a 2–0 home win over reigning league champions Manchester City.[6]

After his first season, Springthorpe toured the United States with Everton.[3] He was only in one matchday squad in the following season, a 2–1 home win over Southampton on 29 December.[7] On 20 January 2014, he was loaned to Conference National team Woking for a month.[3] He made his competitive debut the following day, in a 0–1 defeat to Chester.[8] On 25 January he played the only other game of his loan, a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City at Sincil Bank.[9]

In May 2014, Springthorpe, who had been a regular for Everton's Under-21 team, was released by manager Roberto Martínez. On 6 August, he returned to his native Shropshire, signing for West Midlands League club Ellesmere Rangers on the day before the start of their season.[10] He returned to the professional game on 3 January 2015, when he was signed for League One club Fleetwood Town by manager Graham Alexander. On the same day, he was an unused substitute for their 2–2 draw against Swindon Town at Highbury Stadium.[11]

Style of play

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As a youth, Springthorpe studied the style of play of Joe Hart, another goalkeeper from Shrewsbury who left his local team when he was signed by a top-flight club.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Everton sign young Shrewsbury keeper Mason Springthorpe". BBC Sport. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Shrews' Springthorpe in 'dream' Everton move". Shropshire Star. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Transfer window: Woking sign Everton's Mason Springthorpe". BBC Sport. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. ^ Johnston, Neil (2 March 2013). "Everton 2-1 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. ^ McNulty, Phil (9 March 2013). "Everton 0-3 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. ^ Phillips, Owen (16 March 2015). "Everton 2-0 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. ^ Hassan, Nabil (29 December 2013). "Everton 2-1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Woking 0-1 Chester". BBC Sport. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Lincoln City 2-2 Woking". BBC Sport. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Ex-Everton keeper Mason Springthorpe signs for Ellesmere Rangers". Shropshire Star. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Fleetwood 2-2 Swindon". BBC Sport. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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