Harry Benns

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Harry Benns
Personal information
Full name Harry Francis Benns[1]
Date of birth (2000-01-13) 13 January 2000 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Warrington, England[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Bamber Bridge
Youth career
Manchester City
2014–2018 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Port Vale 1 (0)
2018 → Stafford Rangers (loan) 14 (0)
2019 → Kidsgrove Athletic (loan) 3 (0)
2019–2022 Hyde United 42 (1)
2022–2023 Stalybridge Celtic 24 (5)
2023– Bamber Bridge 14 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:48, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Harry Francis Benns (born 13 January 2000) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Bamber Bridge.

Benns turned professional at Port Vale in May 2018, making his first-team debut that same month. He joined Stafford Rangers on loan for the first half of the 2018–19 season, and ended the campaign on loan at Kidsgrove Athletic. Released by Port Vale at the end of the 2018–19 season, he then joined Hyde United for a three-year spell. He joined Stalybridge Celtic in July 2022, and moved on to Bamber Bridge the following season.

Career[edit]

Port Vale[edit]

Benns came through the youth team at Port Vale and was given a professional contract in May 2018 after being named as Youth Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season.[3][4] Manager Neil Aspin gave him his debut on the final day of the 2017–18 season, a 5–0 defeat at Cambridge United on 5 May, though he entered the game as a 75th-minute substitute for Ben Whitfield when the "Valiants" were already four goals down.[5]

On 23 August 2018, Benns joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Stafford Rangers on an initial month-long loan deal – later extended until the end of the 2018–19 season; coach Gary Brabin said that "it is an opportunity for him now to play men's football and get to know what it is about".[6][7] On 8 September, he scored his first goal in senior football, providing Rangers with the winner in a 2–1 victory at Grimsby Borough in the first round of qualification for the FA Cup.[8] He was named as Stafford Rangers Player of the Month for September.[9] On 20 March 2019, he joined Northern Premier League Division One West club Kidsgrove Athletic on loan until the end of the season. Vale manager John Askey confirmed that he would not be offering Benns a new contract on 16 May.[10]

Non-League[edit]

Benns joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Hyde United after arriving at Ewen Fields on the first day of the 2019–20 pre-season.[11] He made 16 appearances for the "Tigers", scoring one goal, before picking up a season ending injury in December.[12] He did not feature in the 2020–21 season, which was curtailed after ten games due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[13] He featured 30 times in the 2021–22 campaign, and was an unused substitute in the final of the Manchester Premier Cup, where Hyde were beaten by Ashton United.[12][14] He left the club alongside five others players after rejecting the opportunity to return for pre-season training.[15]

On 5 July 2022, Benns joined Stalybridge Celtic, also of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.[16] He scored six goals from 21 starts and seven substitute appearances in the 2022–23 season as Celtic were relegated in 20th-place.[17] He joined Bamber Bridge in the summer and enjoyed a good start to the 2023–24 season, scoring six goals in 17 games.[18] However, he suffered a double leg fracture with significant ankle damage in a 2–2 draw at Ashton United on 4 November.[19] A GoFundMe was set up to support his recovery as he was left unable to work for a lengthy period of time.[20][21]

Style of play[edit]

Speaking in May 2018, Port Vale youth team coach Mike Ede described Benns as a creative midfielder who "is clever, has the ability to score goals and will take shots from places where you don't think" and who "can play off to the side or as a number 10".[4]

Career statistics[edit]

As of match played 4 November 2023
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 2017–18[22] EFL League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2018–19[23] EFL League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Stafford Rangers (loan) 2018–19[24] Northern Premier League Premier Division 14 0 2 1 0 0 6[a] 0 22 1
Kidsgrove Athletic (loan) 2018–19[25] Northern Premier League Division One West 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Hyde United 2019–20[12] Northern Premier League Premier Division 16 0 1 0 1 0 4[b] 1 22 1
2020–21[12] Northern Premier League Premier Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021–22[12] Northern Premier League Premier Division 26 1 1 0 0 0 3[c] 1 30 2
Total 42 1 2 0 1 0 7 2 52 3
Stalybridge Celtic 2022–23[17] Northern Premier League Premier Division 24 5 1 0 0 0 3[d] 1 28 6
Bamber Bridge 2023–24[18] Northern Premier League Premier Division 14 5 1 0 0 0 2[e] 1 17 6
Career total 98 11 6 1 1 0 18 4 123 16
  1. ^ 2 Appearances in the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup, 2 appearances in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Walsall Senior Cup and 1 appearance in Staffordshire Senior Cup.
  2. ^ 2 appearances in the Manchester Senior Cup, 1 appearance and 1 goal in the Cheshire Senior Cup and 1 appearance in the FA Trophy
  3. ^ 2 appearances in the Manchester Senior Cup, 1 appearance and 1 goal in Cheshire Senior Cup
  4. ^ 1 appearance in the FA Trophy, 1 appearance and 1 goal in the Cheshire Senior Cup and 1 appearance in the Manchester Senior Cup
  5. ^ Appearance/s in the FA Trophy

Honours[edit]

Hyde United

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harry Benns at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2017/2018". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. ^ Baggaley, Michael (28 April 2018). "Tom Pope makes history at Port Vale player of the year awards". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b Baggaley, Michael (4 May 2018). "Why Port Vale have offered Harry Benns a senior deal". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Cambridge United v Port Vale". BBC Sport. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  6. ^ Baggaley, Michael (23 August 2018). "Port Vale forward Harry Benns joins Stafford Rangers". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Harry Benns". Stafford Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 6 January 2019.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Grimsby Borough 1 - 2 Stafford Rangers - Stafford Rangers Football Club". Stafford Rangers Football Club. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Loan Watch". port-vale.co.uk. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  10. ^ Baggaley, Michael (16 May 2019). "Port Vale's retained list in full as nine players are released". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Hyde United Football Club". hydeunited.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Hyde United | Appearances | Harry Benns | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Hyde United Football Club". Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Manchester Premier Cup Final – Ashton United 1 - 0 Hyde United". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Players Leaving – Hyde United". hydeunited.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Club News - Harry Benns signs from Hyde". www.stalybridgeceltic.co.uk. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Stalybridge Celtic - Official Site - Player Profile Harry Benns". www.stalybridgeceltic.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Bamber Bridge | Appearances | Harry Benns | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  19. ^ Salmon, Craig (9 November 2023). "Brig family will rally around stricken star after leg break". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  20. ^ Salmon, Craig (5 November 2023). "Bamber Bridge launch fundraising appeal for Harry Benns after he suffered horrific broken leg". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  21. ^ Gordon, James (7 November 2023). "Bamber Bridge launch fundraiser for Harry Benns after serious injury - The Pitching In Northern Premier League". www.thenpl.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Games played by Harry Benns in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Games played by Harry Benns in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  24. ^ "Fixtures 2018-2019 - Stafford Rangers Football Club". Stafford Rangers Football Club. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Kidsgrove Athletic | Appearances | Harry Benns | 2018-2019 | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
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