Joel Byrom

His grandfather Ray Byrom played for the club under its previous guise in the 1950s.

Joel Alan Byrom (born 14 September 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Division One West club Clitheroe.

Byrom started his career at Blackburn Rovers at the age of 14, and spent 4 1⁄2 years in the club's academy, progressing from their centre of excellence to the reserve team.

He progressed through the youth system at Ewood Park, and captained the under-17 team, before graduating into the reserve team after playing regularly in the FA Youth Cup in 2004.

He did not make any first-team appearances for the club, and was subsequently released in summer 2006.

Byrom joined League Two club Accrington Stanley before the start of the 2006–07 season, although was released by Accrington in January 2007, and opted to join local club Clitheroe on a short-term basis.

He did not break into the first-team at Blackburn and was subsequently released in 2006.

Byrom subsequently signed for League Two club Accrington Stanley, on a six-month contract ahead of the 2006–07 season, after impressing manager John Coleman whilst on trial there, a trial which Byrom had requested.

He made his debut for the Lancashire club in a 1–1 draw against Carlisle United in the Football League Trophy in October 2006.

Byrom found it difficult to break into the first-team, making one further appearance for Stanley, which came as a substitute in a 3–3 draw with Shrewsbury Town on 2 December 2006.

He then signed for Southport, before rejoining Clitheroe in August 2007; captaining the team at the age of 20.

He was released by Accrington on 12 January 2007.

Byrom later stated at this stage in his career he "considered just getting a job and playing for fun", and that his time at Accrington "wasn't really a good time for me. I didn't play much".

Following his release from Accrington, Byrom joined Northern Premier League First Division club Clitheroe on a short-term contract.

He finished the 2006–07 season as the club's top goalscorer with 11 league goals having joined them in January 2007, which included scoring a hat-trick against Kidsgrove Athletic on 12 March 2007.

Byrom's Clitheroe contract expired and Conference North club Southport signed him on non-contract terms for the start of the 2007–08 season, where he scored two goals in two games.

Despite being offered a contract by Southport manager Peter Davenport, Byrom opted to re-join Clitheroe in August 2007.

On signing a two-year deal with Clitheroe, Byrom said "I thought about giving up football when I left Accrington, but I really enjoyed my time at Clitheroe, they've given me a new lease of life and a licence to do what I want on the park".

Clitheroe chairman, Carl Garner, said "this is a big day for Clitheroe. This is one of the biggest signings the club has made. He's a special player and a special talent".

In the first half of the 2007–08 season, Byrom scored six goals in all competitions for Clitheroe, which attracted transfer interest from Conference Premier team Northwich Victoria.

He played his last game for the Northern Premier League club in a 3–3 draw with local rivals Rossendale United, a game in which he captained the team for the first time.

He played 21 games during the club's 2007–08 season, scoring five times from midfield.

He attracted transfer interest from Northwich Victoria, who subsequently signed him for a small four-figure fee in January 2008.

Byron signed for Conference Premier club Northwich Victoria on a free transfer on 3 January 2008.

He made his debut for Northwich in a 2–1 defeat against Aldershot Town at Victoria Stadium, scoring Northwich's goal.

Byrom scored the club's second goal in a 2–1 away victory at Stevenage on 22 April 2008, a result that ultimately secured Northwich's Conference Premier status for another season.

During the early stages of the 2008–09 season, Byrom played regularly in the centre of midfield.

He scored his first goal of the season away at Kettering Town on 23 September 2008, a "25-yard drive into the top corner of the net".

Byrom had a hernia operation shortly after the club's 4–1 defeat to Eastbourne Borough in December 2008, keeping him out of the first-team for ten weeks.

Byrom spent a year-and-a-half at the Cheshire club, before joining Stevenage for a fee of £15,000 in May 2009.

Byrom was part of the Stevenage team that earned back-to-back promotions from the Conference Premier to League One.

He left Stevenage after three years and joined Preston North End in August 2012.

During his time at Preston, he was loaned out to Oldham Athletic and Northampton respectively.

The latter move was made permanent in January 2015, and he helped Northampton achieve promotion to League One during the 2015–16 season.

Byrom joined Mansfield Town in December 2016 and spent a year-and-a-half there before rejoining Stevenage in June 2018, where he spent two seasons.

Byrom signed for Farsley Celtic of the National League North in September 2020 before rejoining Clitheroe in January 2022.

He has also represented the England C team.

Byrom was born in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.

His grandfather Ray Byrom was also a footballer.

Byrom started his career at the Blackburn Rovers centre of excellence after being scouted playing for local junior team Oswaldtwistle United at the age of 14.