James Alan Kenneth Caton (born 4 January 1994) is an English footballer who plays as a winger for National League North club Hereford.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | James Alan Kenneth Caton[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1994-01-04) 4 January 1994 (age 28)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Widnes, England | ||
Position(s) | Winger[3] | ||
Youth career | |||
2003–2012 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2012–2014 | Blackpool | 2 | (0) |
2013 | → Accrington Stanley (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2014 | → Chester (loan) | 1 | (1) |
2014–2016 | Shrewsbury Town | 2 | (0) |
2015 | → Southport (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2015 | → Mansfield Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → Wrexham (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2016 | → Lincoln City (loan) | 12 | (3) |
2016–2017 | Southport | 23 | (2) |
2017 | Dover Athletic | 0 | (0) |
2017–2019 | Darlington | 25 | (1) |
2018 | → Warrington Town (loan) | ||
2018–2019 | → Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2019 | Nuneaton Borough | 7 | (0) |
2021–2022 | Dover Athletic | 12 | (0) |
2022– | Hereford | 7 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:05, 9 November 2022 (UTC) |
He has played in the Football League for Blackpool, Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury Town.
Caton was born in Widnes,[4] where he attended Wade Deacon High School. As well as football, he played rugby league at school, and was a member of his Year 10 team that reached the Champion Schools final at Twickenham in 2009.[5] Caton played football for boys' team Widnes Wolves[citation needed] before joining Bolton Wanderers as a nine-year-old schoolboy. He was a part of the England U16s setup that won the Victory shield and turned professional with Bolton in 2010,[6] but was released in the summer of 2012. After a trial with Derby County,[7][8] Caton scored against Everton in Keith Southern's testimonial match as part of a successful trial with Blackpool.[9]
Caton signed a two-year contract with Football League Championship club Blackpool, with the option of a third year, in August 2012.[10] He said his move to Blackpool was motivated by the club's playing style.[11] Named twice on the bench in his first year, against Cardiff City and Watford,[2] his senior debut came on 31 August 2013, as a late substitute for Nathan Delfouneso in a 1–0 win against Watford.[12]
He joined League Two club Accrington Stanley on a month's loan in October 2013,[13] and made his debut in a 2–1 loss against Dagenham & Redbridge, coming on as a substitute for Nicky Hunt in the 59th minute.[14] However, his loan was cut short due to injury.[15] In March 2014, he went on loan again, to Conference Premier club Chester until the end of the season.[16] He scored on his debut, having come on as a half-time substitute against Grimsby Town,[17] but made no more appearances for the club.[2]
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Caton was released.[18]
Following his release by Blackpool, Caton joined Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer in June 2014.[19] He made his league debut as a 57th-minute substitute for Ashley Vincent in a 2–1 win over Tranmere Rovers on 16 August 2014.[20]>
Having only been on the fringes of the first-team squad, he went on loan to Southport in January 2015.[21] After returning to his parent club, he captained a young Shrewsbury side to victory over local rivals AFC Telford United in the Shropshire Senior Cup final, also scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 win.[22]
Just prior to the start of the following season, Caton joined League Two club Mansfield Town on a one-month loan,[23] during which he made a single appearance in the League Cup.[24] In November 2015, he signed for Wrexham of the National League on loan until January.[25] On his return to Shrewsbury, he made another loan move, to another National League club, Lincoln City, for the rest of the season.[26]
Caton was released by Shrewsbury Town when his contract expired.[27]
Caton joined up once again with Lincoln City in the following pre-season with a view to earning a permanent deal,[28] but was unable to agree terms.[29] He signed a six-month contract with National League club Southport in August 2016.[30][31] His 23 league appearances produced two goals[2] – a consolation in a 4–1 defeat to Barrow,[32] and the winning goal at Torquay United,[33] – and his contract was not renewed.[31]
Caton joined National League rivals Dover Athletic on 2 February 2017 for what remained of the season.[34] He played twice, in the quarter-final and semi-final of the Kent Senior Cup, and scored in each match, but made no league appearances.[3][35]
Following his release from Dover, Caton signed a two-year contract with National League North club Darlington on 17 July 2017.[36] In the 2018–19 season, he spent time on loan to Northern Premier League clubs Warrington Town and Stalybridge Celtic.[37][38][39] He left Darlington by mutual consent in January 2019,[40] and finished the season with Nuneaton Borough.[41]
Alongside his football career, Caton studied for a BA degree in Football Coaching & Management with UCFB, which he completed in 2021.[42] He then rejoined Dover Athletic.[3] Caton was released after one season following relegation.[43]
On 3 September 2022, Caton joined National League North club Hereford.[44]
Club | Season | League | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Blackpool | 2012–13[12] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2013–14[45] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Accrington Stanley (loan) | 2013–14[45] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
Chester (loan) | 2013–14[2] | Conference Premier | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
Shrewsbury Town | 2014–15[20] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
2015–16[24] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
Southport (loan) | 2014–15[2] | Conference Premier | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Mansfield Town (loan) | 2015–16[24] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Wrexham (loan) | 2015–16[2] | National League | 4 | 0 | − | − | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
Lincoln City (loan) | 2015–16[2] | National League | 12 | 3 | − | − | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
Southport | 2016–17[2] | National League | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | − | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 26 | 3 | |
Dover Athletic | 2016–17[2] | National League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Darlington | 2017–18[2][46] | National League North | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
2018–19[2] | National League North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |||
Stalybridge Celtic (loan) | 2018–19[39] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
Nuneaton Borough | 2018–19[2] | National League North | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Dover Athletic | 2021–22[2] | National League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
Hereford | 2022–23[2][47] | National League North | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
Career total | 105 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 125 | 12 |
Dover Athletic F.C. – current squad | |
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