Mark Ellis (footballer, born 1988)

Mark Ian Ellis (born 30 September 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Tranmere Rovers. He began his career at Bolton Wanderers, without making a senior appearance, and has previously played in the Football League for Torquay United, Crewe Alexandra, Shrewsbury Town and Carlisle United as well as a loan spell in the Football Conference for Forest Green Rovers.

Mark Ellis

Ellis playing for Forest Green Rovers in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Mark Ian Ellis[1]
Date of birth	30 September 1988[2]
Place of birth	Kingsbridge, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current team	Tranmere Rovers
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Bolton Wanderers	0	(0)
2007–2008	→ Torquay United (loan)	22	(3)
2008–2012	Torquay United	98	(9)
2009	→ Forest Green Rovers (loan)	6	(0)
2012–2014	Crewe Alexandra	81	(6)
2014–2016	Shrewsbury Town	41	(3)
2015	→ Carlisle United (loan)	8	(0)
2016	→ Carlisle United (loan)	22	(0)
2016–2018	Carlisle United	20	(1)
2017	→ Forest Green Rovers (loan)	17	(2)
2017	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	7	(1)
2018–	Tranmere Rovers	26	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:54, 09 March 2020 (UTC)

Career

Torquay United

Ellis was born in Kingsbridge, Devon.[2] He made his debut for Torquay on 22 September 2007, in the Football Conference clash with Kidderminster Harriers, at Aggborough, which ended in a 5–2 win to Torquay.[3] Following the Gulls promotion to the Football League, Ellis began the 2009–10 season on loan at Conference Premier club Forest Green Rovers.[4]

Crewe Alexandra

Ellis turned down a new contract at Torquay United to join newly promoted Crewe Alexandra in League One on 27 June 2012.[5] During his time at the club, he was part of the squad that won the 2012–13 Football League Trophy, also notably playing the full match as they beat Southend United 2–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.[6]

Shrewsbury Town

Following his release from Crewe Alexandra, Ellis joined up with Shrewsbury Town on 30 May 2014 on a two-year contract with an option for a further year.[7][8] He made his debut on the opening day of the season against A.F.C. Wimbledon, but found himself in and out of the starting eleven in the first few months of the season.

Due to the suspension of fellow defender Jermaine Grandison, he was recalled to the starting line-up and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw with local rivals Walsall in a first round FA Cup tie in November 2014.[9] Although Grandison was reinstated for the following match, Ellis was recalled again after his teammate withdrew from the squad with illness against Cambridge United on 13 December.[10] This time he kept his place in the team, helping Shrewsbury keep clean sheets against promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town, and also scoring away at Oxford United in a 2–0 Boxing Day win.[11]

Ellis became a first-team regular in the second half of the season as Shrewsbury were promoted back to League One at the first attempt, finishing as runners-up to Burton Albion.[12] However, in October 2015, he returned to League Two, signing a one-month loan deal with Carlisle United after losing his place to emerging youngster Dominic Smith.[13] Having been ever-present for Carlisle during his initial loan spell, the temporary deal was later extended to 2 January 2016.[14]

Carlisle United

At the conclusion of his loan, Ellis signed permanently for Carlisle until summer 2018.[15]

Forest Green Rovers

In January 2017, Ellis re-joined Forest Green Rovers on loan until the end of the season.[16] He made his second debut for Forest Green on 28 January 2017 in a 3–2 away win at Barrow.[17] Ellis returned to Carlisle at the end of his loan spell with Rovers.

Leyton Orient

On 28 September 2017, Ellis signed on a two-month loan with National League club Leyton Orient. He made his debut two days later in the 2–1 defeat at home to AFC Fylde.[18]

Tranmere Rovers

On 21 May 2018 Ellis signed a two-year deal for newly promoted Tranmere after electing not to resign with Carlisle.[19] Ellis ruptured his ACL in April 2019,[20] making his return ten months later in a Cheshire Cup fixture against Crewe Alexandra.[21] He signed a further one-year deal ahead of the 2020-21 season. [22]

Career statistics

As of match played 12 September 2017

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bolton Wanderers	2007–08	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Torquay United (loan)	2007–08[23]	Conference Premier	22	3	1	0	~	~	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	24	3
Torquay United	2008–09[24]		9	1	0	0	~	~	0	0	9	1
	2009–10[25]	League Two	27	3	1	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	29	3
	2010–11[26]		27	2	4	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	34	2
	2011–12[27]		35	3	2	0	0	0	3[lower-alpha 3]	0	40	3
	Total		120	12	8	0	1	0	7	0	136	12
Forest Green Rovers (loan)	2009–10[25]	Conference Premier	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Crewe Alexandra	2012–13[28]	League One	44	5	2	1	2	0	4[lower-alpha 2]	0	52	6
	2013–14[29]		37	1	1	0	0	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	40	1
	Total		81	6	3	1	2	0	6	0	92	7
Shrewsbury Town	2014–15[30]	League Two	32	2	1	1	1	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	35	3
	2015–16[31]	League One	9	1	0	0	1	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	12	1
	Total		41	3	2	0	1	1	3	0	47	4
Carlisle United (loan)	2015–16[31]	League Two	8	0	2	0	~	~	0	0	10	0
Carlisle United (loan)	2015–16[31]	League Two	22	0	3	1	~	~	0	0	25	1
Carlisle United	2016–17[32]	League Two	7	0	1	0	2	0	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	12	0
	2017–18[33]		7	0	0	0	2	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	10	0
	Carlisle total		14	0	1	0	4	0	3	0	22	0
Forest Green Rovers (loan)	2016–17[32]	National League	17	2	0	0	~	~	3[lower-alpha 4]	0	20	2
Career Total			309	23	18	3	9	0	22	0	358	26

1. Appearance in the FA Trophy
2. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
3. One appearance in the Football League Trophy and two in the League Two play-offs
4. Appearances in the National League play-offs

Honours

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Trophy: 2012–13[6]

Shrewsbury Town

• Football League Two runner-up: 2014–15[34]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Tranmere Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 88. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
3. "Kidderminster 2–5 Torquay". BBC Sport. 22 September 2007.
4. "Forest Green snap up Torquay duo". BBC Sport. 18 August 2009.
5. "Mark Ellis joins Crewe Alexandra from Torquay United". BBC Sport. 27 June 2012.
6. Osborne, Chris (7 April 2013). "Crewe 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
7. "Shrewsbury Town: Mark Ellis joins after Crewe Alexandra release". BBC Sport. 30 May 2014.
8. "Shrewsbury Town sign defender Mark Ellis". Shropshire Star. 30 May 2014.
9. "Shrewsbury Town goal-hero Mark Ellis is eager to keep his place". Shropshire Star. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
10. "Mark Ellis gets praise after his Town recall". Shropshire Star. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
11. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
12. "Cheltenham Town 0–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
13. "Town loan defender Mark Ellis to Carlisle". Shropshire Star. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
14. "Mark Ellis: Carlisle United extend loan of Shrewsbury Town defender". BBC Sport. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
15. "Mark Ellis and Joe Thompson sign new Carlisle United deals". BBC Sport. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
16. "Mark Ellis: Carlisle United defender loaned to Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 26 January 2017.
17. "Barrow 2-3 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 28 January 2017.
18. "Leyton Orient 1–2 AFC Fylde". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017.
19. "Mark Ellis: Tranmere Rovers sign Carlisle defender on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
20. "Ishmael Miller and Mark Ellis ruled out for season". roversrearguard.com. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
21. "Rovers take on Crewe in Cheshire Senior Cup on Tuesday". www.tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
22. "Mark Ellis agrees new one year deal". www.tranmererovers.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
23. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
24. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
25. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
26. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
27. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
28. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
29. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
30. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
31. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
32. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
33. "Games played by Mark Ellis in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
34. Anderson, John, ed. (2015). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2015–2016. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-1-4722-2416-3.

External links

• Mark Ellis at Soccerbase