James Hardy (footballer)

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James Hardy
Personal information
Full name James Paul Hardy[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-11) 11 May 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth Stockport, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ashton United
Youth career
2005–2011 Oldham Athletic
2012–2015 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 AFC Fylde 89 (16)
2019 → FC Halifax Town (loan) 6 (0)
2019–2020 Walsall 11 (1)
2020–2021 AFC Telford United 17 (1)
2021 Altrincham 11 (1)
2021–2022 Chester 10 (2)
2022 → Buxton (loan) 5 (0)
2022–2023 Buxton 6 (0)
2022–2023 → Macclesfield (loan) 8 (1)
2023 Macclesfield 16 (1)
2023 → Ashton United (loan) 5 (2)
2023– Ashton United 4 (1)
International career
2016–2019 England C 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:28, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

James Paul Hardy (born 11 May 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ashton United.[2]

Club career[edit]

Born in Stockport, Hardy signed for Oldham Athletic as a nine-year-old and spent six years with the club before being released in 2011. Following his release, Hardy was offered a trial by boyhood club Manchester City and signed a contract with the club in May 2012.[3]

Hardy joined AFC Fylde in October 2015 and quickly became one of the brightest prospects in non-league football.[4] He scored eight goals to help Fylde to the National League North title in 2016–17[5] but faced injury problems throughout the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, limiting his game time.[4][5] A hernia injury ruled Hardy out for four months in the 2018–19 season. On his return he joined FC Halifax Town on loan for a month in February 2019.[6] Hardy played six times for the Shaymen before returning to Fylde.[7] In total Hardy made 91 league appearances for Fylde, scoring 16 goals.[5]

Hardy signed for Walsall in June 2019 after his contract expired at Fylde.[8] He scored a late equaliser on his professional debut in a 1–1 draw against Forest Green on 10 August 2019.[9]

He was released by the club at the end of the 2019–20 season,[10] and signed for AFC Telford United in August 2020.[11] On 20 February 2021, Hardy left the club by mutual consent.[12]

On 22 February 2021, Hardy signed for National League side Altrincham.[13]

On 15 June 2021, Hardy joined Chester on a one-year deal.[14]

On 18 March 2022, Hardy joined Northern Premier League Premier Division side Buxton on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[15] On 19 June 2022, Hardy joined the club on a permanent basis following their promotion.[16]

In October 2022, Hardy joined Northern Premier League Division One West club Macclesfield on an initial one-month loan deal.[17] This was later extended until the 8 January,[18] becoming permanent upon the end of this extension.[19] During his time at the club he was a part of the squad that won the 2022–23 Division One West title.[20] In September 2023, he joined Ashton United on an initial one-month loan deal.[21] He returned to Ashton United on a permanent basis in November 2023.[22]

International career[edit]

Hardy made his England C debut in November 2016, providing the assists for both goals in a 2–1 win against Estonia U23s.[23]

He was awarded FA England C Player of the Year at the National Game Awards in May 2019[24] and earned five caps in total before entering the professional game.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Walsall" (PDF). English Football League. p. 74. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  2. ^ James Hardy at Soccerbase
  3. ^ "James Hardy: In Development". Man City. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Massive summer facing Hardy says Fylde boss Challinor". Blackpool Gazette. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b c James Hardy at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  6. ^ "James Hardy joins Halifax Town on loan". AFC Fylde. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Hardy returns to Fylde". AFC Fylde. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Walsall: Liam Kinsella signs new deal, James Hardy joins from AFC Fylde". BBC Sport. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Walsall 1–1 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Club Statement: Released & Retained List". www.saddlers.co.uk.
  11. ^ Cox, Lewis. "AFC Telford United complete statement signing of former Walsall attacker James Hardy". www.shropshirestar.com.
  12. ^ "James Hardy". AFC Telford United. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Laurels for Hardy! Phil praises new signing James". Altrincham FC. 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Chester FC Sign James Hardy!". www.chesterfc.com. 15 June 2021.
  15. ^ @Buxton_FC (18 March 2022). "Hardy is a Buck" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ @Buxton_FC (19 June 2022). "Hardy signs for 2022/23 🖊💙 The Bucks are pleased to announce James Hardy has signed for the Bucks ahead of our first season in the @TheVanaramaNL North following his loan spell last season ⚽️ All Buxton Aren't We 💥💪🏻 #UptheBucks #TeamBuxton" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 June 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "National League Midfielder Joins Silkmen On Loan". www.thenpl.co.uk. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  18. ^ @Buxton_FC (25 November 2022). "📰⚽️ | 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 Also confirmation that James Hardy's loan with @thesilkmen has been extended to 8th January. All the best, James! 👍🏻⚽️ #UpTheBucks | #TeamBuxton" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @thesilkmen (23 December 2022). "✍️ | Macclesfield FC are delighted to confirm that attacking midfielder James Hardy will become a permanent addition to our squad once his loan period from Buxton expires. Full story and interview ➡️ http://bit.ly/3FPLo0a" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE – WEST DIVISION CHAMPIONS". macclesfieldfc.com. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  21. ^ "JAMES HARDY DEPARTS ON LOAN". macclesfieldfc.com. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  22. ^ @AshtonUnitedFC (21 November 2023). "𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙔 𝙄𝙎 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆 Winger James Hardy has retuned[sic] to #aufc on a permeant deal from @thesilkmen. Signed until the end of the season, Hardy made 7 appearances scoring twice in his loan spell with the club. Welcome back to Hurst Cross James #aufc #robinsrevolution" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 November 2023 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "FC client James Hardy makes England C debut". Full Contact. 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Buildbase National Game Awards: The FA England C Player of the Year – James Hardy". Non-League Paper. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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