Chris Lines

Christopher John Lines (born 30 November 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Bath City.

Lines turned professional at Bristol Rovers, and made his first team debut in January 2006.

He made his first-team debut for Rovers on 21 January 2006, playing the last five minutes of a 2–1 win over Chester City at the Memorial Stadium.

After two further substitute appearances in League Two, he made his first league start on 6 May, in a 3–2 home defeat to Macclesfield Town.

After three appearances in the 2006–07 campaign, he featured in six matches from March onwards, and was an extra time substitute for Lewis Haldane in the Football League Trophy final defeat to Doncaster Rovers at the Millennium Stadium.

He was an unused substitute in the League Two play-off final, as Rovers won promotion with a 3–1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Wembley.

He played in the 2007 Football League Trophy final defeat and was an unused substitute in the League Two play-off final victory, before becoming a first team regular from the 2007–08 season.

He became a first team regular under manager Paul Trollope in the 2007–08 season, playing 27 League One games and featuring in eight of the "Gasheads" nine FA Cup games en route to the quarter-finals.

BBC reporter Nathan Mercer credited Lines with an "excellent" performance as Rovers beat Premier League side Fulham on penalties in the Third Round on 22 January, and Lines was fouled by Dejan Stefanović in an incident which saw the Serbian sent off.

He scored his first goal in competitive football on 29 December, opening the scoring in a 3–0 home win over Carlisle United with a header.

He played 48 games in the 2008–09 season, and missed only one league game due a suspension he picked up whilst celebrating an injury-time equaliser he scored against Swindon Town on 22 November.

Lines was nominated for the League One Player of the Month award in November 2009 after scoring a goal in each of his three league games that month.

In total he scored ten goals in 46 appearances in the 2009–10 campaign.

He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2010, and was described by director of football Lennie Lawrence as "a fundamental part of our plans to take this club forward."

This came shortly after he was reported to be a transfer target for Southampton manager Alan Pardew.

The transfer rumours continued despite the new contract.

Following Rovers' relegation to League Two at the end of the 2010–11 season, Lines spent seven days on trial at Championship side Crystal Palace.

New Rovers boss Paul Buckle admitted that he was unlikely to keep Lines for the following season.

He was sold on to Sheffield Wednesday for £50,000 in August 2011, and was a key first team player as the "Owls" won promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2011–12 campaign.

He was ruled out for two weeks with a toe injury in February 2011, but thanked manager Dave Penney after he made an immediate return to the first team.

Despite this praise he publicly supported the board's decision to sack Penney the following month, and went on to praise the impact of caretaker manager Stuart Campbell.

He was still at the club though for the 2011–12 season opening victory over AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.

In August 2011, Lines joined League One club Sheffield Wednesday on a three-year contract for a £50,000 fee.

He went on to score four goals in 47 appearances in the 2011–12 campaign as Wednesday secured promotion with a second-place finish, and was twice named on the League One Team of the Week.

He made 12 assists in the campaign, just two fewer than divisional assist leader Stephen Quinn.

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He picked up a groin injury at the start of the 2012–13 season, and was out of action for three months.

Manager Dave Jones played Lines in six Championship games in the buildup to Christmas, though did not play him in the new year.

However, he lost his first team place the following season, and was loaned out to Milton Keynes Dons in January 2013.

He signed with Port Vale in July 2013.

A key first team player in the 2013–14 season, he lost his first team place and returned to Bristol Rovers on loan in March 2015, helping Rovers to win promotion out of the Conference Premier via the play-offs before rejoining Rovers on a permanent basis in the summer.

On 22 January 2013, Lines joined League One Milton Keynes Dons on loan for the remainder of the season after manager Karl Robinson admitted that Lines was "a player I have admired for a number of years now".

Robinson was in search of midfield options after Luke Chadwick and Stephen Gleeson both picked up injuries.

He featured in 18 games for the MK Dons, including the 4–2 victory over Premier League side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.

After returning from Stadium mk, Lines had his contract at Hillsborough cancelled by mutual consent in July 2013.

He helped Rovers to achieve a second-successive promotion in the 2015–16 campaign and left the club, in May 2019, for the second time then he joined Northampton Town.

He helped Northampton to win promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in 2020 and then moved on to Stevenage for a 18-month stay in January 2021.

He dropped into non-League football to play for Bath City in June 2022.

Born in Bristol, Lines spent a year playing for Bitton as a 16-year-old, before graduating through the Bristol Rovers-backed Bristol Academy of Sport at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

He had previously been released from the Bristol Rovers youth programme, but was re-signed at the age of 16.