Ben Chorley

Chorley featured regularly during the latter stages of the campaign, making 29 appearances, but could not prevent the club from being relegated to League Two as a result of a 22nd-place finish.

Having featured regularly for MK Dons during the opening months of the following campaign, Chorley was one of six players that had been transfer-listed by new manager Martin Allen at MK Dons, in order for Allen to "make room for new signings".

Chorley stated that he was "stunned" to be transfer-listed – "I felt I was quite an important member of the team. I feel I did well and always gave 100%. I was surprised but things change and I wasn't going to play".

Just three days after being transfer-listed, Chorley joined League One side Gillingham on a three-month loan deal.

Benjamin Francis Joseph Chorley (born 30 September 1982) is an English former footballer who played as a defender.

He is currently the director of football at Valenciennes FC.

Chorley began his career at Arsenal as a trainee in 1998, progressing through the club's youth system and playing regularly for the U18 and reserve sides.

He was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in successive seasons, in 2000 and 2001 respectively, captaining the side throughout the latter tournament.

Chorley started his career at Arsenal, spending several years at the club on youth terms before signing a professional deal in 2001.

Chorley signed his first professional contract in 2001, signing a two-year deal with Arsenal.

He spent two months on loan at Brentford at the start of the 2002–03 season.

He was subsequently loaned out to Brentford at the start of the 2002–03 season to gain match experience and made three appearances in all competitions during the two-month loan agreement.

Chorley's first appearance in professional football was in Brentford's 3–3 draw away at AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup in September 2002, playing the first 45 minutes of the match.

He returned to Arsenal, and a year into his contract, Chorley sensed that there was "little prospect" of first-team selection, and subsequently requested a move away from the North London side.

With eight months remaining on his deal, having not made a first-team appearance for Arsenal, he left the club and opted to sign for Wimbledon.

He went on to make ten appearances during the latter stages of the 2002–03 season.

The following campaign was Chorley's breakthrough year in first-team football, playing regularly for Wimbledon in what was ultimately their last season before the club relocated to Milton Keynes.

Having made no first-team appearances for Arsenal, Chorley opted to leave the club and sign for Wimbledon in 2003.

Chorley made his first-team debut for Wimbledon immediately after signing for the club, playing the whole match in a 2–0 victory over Millwall at Selhurst Park on 15 March 2003.

He continued playing under the club's new guise in Milton Keynes for a further three years from 2004 to 2007.

Chorley scored his first goal in professional football in April 2004, netting the only goal of the game as Wimbledon beat eventual champions Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium.

A week after scoring his first ever goal, he doubled his goal tally, netting in a 3–3 home draw with Preston North End.

Chorley was part of the starting line-up for Wimbledon's 1–0 victory over Derby County, the club's last ever league match as Wimbledon.

He made 38 appearances during the campaign, a season in which Wimbledon were relegated to League One after finishing bottom of the league table.

Chorley opted to play for the club under their new guise, Milton Keynes Dons, following the club's relocation from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes.

He admitted the decision was difficult, due to Wimbledon being very local for him, whilst he had to travel "quite far" to Milton Keynes.

Chorley was made club captain during the season.

He made his first appearance of the 2004–05 campaign in a 3–1 home loss to Bournemouth on 21 August 2004.

He scored two goals within the space of three days in October 2004; firstly scoring a header in a 3–2 defeat to Hull City, before netting a late consolation goal from the penalty spot as MK Dons were defeated 3–1 at Huddersfield Town.

The two goals turned out to be Chorley's only goals of the season, as he went on to make 47 appearances for the club in all competitions.

This included an appearance on the final day of the season; a 2–1 home win over Tranmere Rovers ultimately meant MK Dons survived relegation to League Two, with Torquay United suffering relegation instead on goal difference.

A month after securing League One status for another season, in June 2005, Chorley signed a new two-year with the club.

MK Dons manager Danny Wilson stated – "He is a tremendous captain and solid centre-half – you look for strong characters to lead the team and there are none stronger than Ben. I'm really pleased he is staying".

The first half of Chorley's 2005–06 season was disrupted by suspensions and injuries, receiving two red cards, as well as suffering a recurring thigh injury.

During his final year at MK Dons, Chorley spent the majority of the 2006–07 season on loan at Gillingham.

He left MK Dons in July 2007, and signed a two-year contract with Tranmere Rovers.

After two years of regular football at Tranmere, Chorley returned to London, signing for Leyton Orient in June 2009.

He made over 150 appearances during his three-and-a-half-year spell at Orient, before signing for Stevenage in January 2013 for an undisclosed fee.

Chorley's contract was cancelled by mutual consent in January 2014 and he subsequently signed for Portsmouth.

After two seasons at Portsmouth, he joined National League side Bromley at the start of the 2015–16 season.