Connor James Ripley (born 13 February 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for League One club Morecambe.
![]() Ripley in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Connor James Ripley[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1993-02-13) 13 February 1993 (age 29) | ||
Place of birth | Middlesbrough, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Morecambe | ||
Number | 1 | ||
Youth career | |||
Blackburn Rovers | |||
0000–2011 | Middlesbrough | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2019 | Middlesbrough | 2 | (0) |
2012 | → Oxford United (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2013–2014 | → Bradford City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2014 | → Östersund (loan) | 14 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → Motherwell (loan) | 36 | (0) |
2016–2017 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 46 | (0) |
2017–2018 | → Burton Albion (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2018 | → Bury (loan) | 15 | (0) |
2018–2019 | → Accrington Stanley (loan) | 21 | (0) |
2019–2022 | Preston North End | 3 | (0) |
2021 | → Salford City (loan) | 7 | (0) |
2022– | Morecambe | 19 | (0) |
National team | |||
2011–2012 | England U19 | 4 | (0) |
2013 | England U20 | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:02, 19 November 2022 (UTC) |
He began his professional career at his local team Middlesbrough, going on to depart on eight individual loan spells. These included multiple spells at various English clubs as well as Motherwell in Scotland and Östersund in Sweden. During this time, he represented England at under-19 and under-20 levels.
Born in Middlesbrough, Ripley is the son of former player Stuart Ripley.[3]
Ripley began his career with Blackburn Rovers.[3] After moving to Middlesbrough in 2009,[4] he signed a two-and-a-half-year professional contract in January 2011.[5] Ripley made his professional debut on 5 March 2011 in a 5–2 loss to Reading, conceding three goals after coming on as a substitute for Jason Steele.[6] Ripley made his full debut on 14 January 2012, in a 2–0 loss at home to Burnley.[7]
He then went out on an emergency loan to Oxford United, after both their goalkeepers had suffered injuries.[8] Ripley made his only appearance for Oxford United, in which he conceded a goal from Ryan Hall's free kick, in a 2–0 loss against Southend United the next day.[9] After this, manager Chris Wilder was unhappy with Ripley's performance and decided to terminate his loan spell at the club.[10] After returning to Middlesbrough, Ripley became the third-choice goalkeeper around the 2012–13 season and in January 2013 signed a new contract with the club.[11]
He moved on loan to Bradford City in August 2013,[12][13][14] and later spoke about his hope of extending the month-long deal.[15] In September 2013 the deal was extended until January 2014.[16][17] The loan deal ended in January 2014.[18]
On 3 March 2014, Ripley joined Swedish side Östersund, playing in the Superettan for the remainder of the 2014 season.[19] Ripley went on to make fourteen appearances for the club, having faced competition from Peter Augustsson and Aly Keita. Upon his return to Middlesbrough in October 2014, Ripley was praised by Peter Beardsley.[20]
On 31 July 2015, Ripley moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Motherwell until January 2016.[21] He made his debut the following day, in a 1–0 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[22]
Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Ripley was sent out on loan again, agreeing a season-long move to League One club Oldham Athletic on 9 July 2016.[23]
Despite being considered for the first-choice goalkeeper spot at Middlesbrough, he moved on loan to Burton Albion in August 2017.[24]
Having returned from his loan from Burton prematurely, he departed once again and signed on loan for Bury in January 2018.[25]
He moved on loan to Accrington Stanley in August 2018.[26]
In January 2019, Ripley signed for fellow Championship club Preston North End, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[27] He moved on an emergency loan to League Two team Salford City on 16 October 2021,[28] and kept a clean-sheet on his debut the same day, a 2–0 win against Hartlepool United.[29] Ripley was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.[30]
In June 2022 it was announced that Ripley would sign for Morecambe on 1 July 2022.[31]
On 7 October 2011, Ripley made his debut for the England U19s in the 1–0 win against Portugal during the Limoges Tournament in France.[32] Two days later, he replaced Jamal Blackman in the 3–1 against Ukraine as England won the tournament.[32] Ripley made two further appearances before being named in the squad for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Estonia.[32][33] He didn't feature in the tournament as England reached the semi-finals.[32]
On 28 May 2013, he was named in manager Peter Taylor's 21-man squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[34] He made his debut on 16 June, in a 3–0 win in a warm-up game against Uruguay.[35]
He has one son, born in August 2016.[36]
Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Middlesbrough | 2010–11[37] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2011–12[38] | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
2012–13[39] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2013–14[40] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2014–15[41] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2015–16[42] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2016–17[43] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2017–18[44] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2018–19[45] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
Oxford United (loan) | 2011–12[38] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Bradford City (loan) | 2013–14[40] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Östersund (loan) | 2014[46] | Superettan | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
Motherwell (loan) | 2015–16[42] | Scottish Premiership | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2016–17[43] | League One | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 54 | 0 |
Burton Albion (loan) | 2017–18[44] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Bury (loan) | 2017–18[44] | League One | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
Accrington Stanley (loan) | 2018–19[45] | League One | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
Preston North End | 2018–19[45] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2019–20[47] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
2020–21[48] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
2021–22[49] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
Salford City (loan) | 2021–22[49] | League Two | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Morecambe | 2022–23 | League One | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
Career total | 165 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 200 | 0 |
Morecambe F.C. – current squad | |
---|---|