Chris Brandon

Without Brandon, Torquay could not match their high league position of the previous season, and finished 21st, four points above Barnet who were relegated out of The Football League.

Christopher William Brandon (born 7 April 1976) is an English professional footballer who last played in Thailand for BEC Tero Sasana.

He is a midfielder who has played more than 300 games during his professional career, which did not start until he was aged 23.

After he was released by Bradford City's youth academy as a youngster he followed a non-league career with Bradford Park Avenue, Farsley Celtic and Stafford Rangers.

Brandon was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on 7 April 1976.

He attended Yorkshire Martyrs Collegiate School in Bradford and supported the city's Football League team Bradford City.

Brandon started his football career as a trainee for Bradford City, but he was dropped by their academy and joined non-league side Bradford Park Avenue.

He later played for Farsley Celtic before joining Stafford Rangers.

He played 32 times for Rangers over two seasons before returning to play for Bradford Park Avenue.

In his two spells with Park Avenue, Brandon played a total of 107 games.

He became a professional in 1999 with Division Three side Torquay United.

Torquay were aiming for promotion during Brandon's first season with the club, but they finished two places outside the Division Three play-offs.

He only played two games the following season because of a stomach tear, and upon his return Torquay were instead battling against relegation from The Football League, and Brandon left after three seasons with the club.

He moved up a division and played for two years with Chesterfield, where he picked up a number of individual awards but spent two seasons fighting against relegation.

In March 1999, he played as a trialist in a reserve match for Lincoln City, but failed to win a contract.

Five months later, he was signed by Division Three side Torquay United.

He made his debut in the opening fixture of the 1999–2000 season as Torquay defeated Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.

He established himself as a first-team regular and played 50 games in all competitions, scoring a total of five goals, the first of which came in a 2–1 victory against Peterborough United on 19 October 1999.

Torquay finished in ninth place in Division Three, just three points outside the play-off places.

In July 2000, he signed a new two-year deal with Torquay.

However, only two games into the following season, he picked up a stomach tear, which kept him out for the rest of the season.

He returned from injury in time for the start of the 2001–02 season and once again he became an established member of the team during the start of the campaign.

He was dropped from the side for a period of time following an FA Cup defeat to Northampton Town in November 2001, during which he missed an open goal.

He returned to the first team in January 2002 and scored on his second game back in the starting eleven as Torquay defeated Bristol Rovers.

Two months later, he scored a vital goal in a 2–0 victory over Lincoln City, which helped Torquay to only their second home victory in four months and move them 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

Torquay finished the season only two places higher than their previous campaign, but 15 points above relegated Halifax Town.

During his disrupted three seasons with Torquay, Brandon amassed 83 appearances with ten goals to his credit, before he moved to Chesterfield in July 2002 on a free transfer.

Brandon signed a two-year contract with Division Two side Chesterfield, and made his debut against Queens Park Rangers on the first day of the 2002–03 season.

Chesterfield lost the game at Loftus Road 3–1.

Brandon's first goal for Chesterfield came a week later when he scored a 12-yard overhead kick to give them a late 2–1 victory over Port Vale.

He scored again just ten days later as Chesterfield defeated Northampton Town 4–0.

His third goal was another volley during a 1–0 victory over Stockport County.

However, he was substituted at half-time, and he did not play for another two weeks because of suspension, until he scored again in a League Cup game against West Ham United live on television, which Chesterfield lost on penalties.

He scored in both the first and second rounds of the Football League Trophy, but Chesterfield were defeated on penalties by Port Vale in the second round.

He finished the season with ten goals but also 11 yellow cards.

In 2004, he joined Huddersfield Town where he twice narrowly missed out on promotion.

He had a short spell on loan with Blackpool, helping them to the promotion play-offs.

However, after a permanent move failed to materialise he returned to Huddersfield for a fourth season.

When he was released by new manager Stan Ternent after four years with the club, he rejoined Bradford City, but had two injury-hit seasons before being released early from his contract.

At the start of the following year, he moved to Thailand to join BEC Tero Sasana.