James Sharp (footballer)
Encyclopedia
James Sharp is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player, currently without a club. He typically plays as a left-sided centre-back but has occasionally been used as a left-back.

Sharp was a relative latecomer to the professional game, having signed his first contract at the age of 24, an event preceded by a spell at non-league Andover F.C.
Andover F.C.
Andover F.C. was a football club based in Andover, Hampshire, established in 1883. Since the 2007–08 season, Andover had been a member of the Southern League Division One South and West at Step 4 of the National League System...

 He started his professional football career with Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

 in 2000. After 60 appearances in three years with Hartlepool & a player of the year award, Sharp fell out of favour at Hartlepool and moved to Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 club Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 on a free transfer in 2003.

After a year-and-a-half with the Bairns, Sharp was loaned out to Brechin City
Brechin City F.C.
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football team based in Brechin, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Football League and play in the Second Division in the 2010–11 season...

 in February 2005 until the end of the season. In which time, Sharp helped Brechin to the Division 2 title along with picking up a winners medal for Falkirk in same season as Falkirk claimed the Division 1 title. Sharp made his return to England with a free transfer to Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

 in August 2005. Playing in 32 league matches in the 2005-06 season
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...

, Sharp was named captain of the club, but was released at the season's end.

After spending pre-season training with the club, Sharp was signed by Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

 on a one-month contract on 8 August 2006. However, on 24 August 2006, Sharp chose to terminate the contract to pursue other options. He had played just 10 minutes for Shrewsbury — the final ten minutes of the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 first round match at Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, where Birmingham won via a late goal.

Sharp was subsequently signed by Rochdale, debuting for them on 2 September 2006 in the 1-1 draw at home to Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

. His first goal for the club came against Shrewsbury, on 30 September, just a month after leaving them.

He was released by Rochdale at the end of the 2006-07 season
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 and was signed by Scottish Second Division club Airdrie United.After a spell of 6 months with Airdrie, Sharp was forced to retire from the Professional game through injury.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK