John Nutter

John Robert William Nutter (born 13 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Nutter began his career at Blackburn Rovers' youth academy in 1998, spending two years at the club before being released.

Nutter began his career at Blackburn Rovers' youth academy, joining the club's YTS programme in 1998 at the age of 16, before later signing a scholarship with the club.

During his time at Blackburn, he was part of the team that won the under-17 Academy Cup as they defeated Manchester City in the final.

He was released by Blackburn in 2000, and was subsequently signed by Wycombe Wanderers in the early part of 2001.

He left Wycombe at the end of the 2000–01 season.

In early 2001, he joined Wycombe Wanderers where he made one senior appearance, his Football League debut.

He signed for Aldershot Town in May 2001, making 79 appearances over three seasons and helping the club earn promotion into the Conference National during the 2002–03 season after winning the Isthmian League Premier Division title.

During his time at Aldershot, Nutter spent time out on loan at St Albans City and Gravesend & Northfleet respectively.

Nutter made one first-team appearance for the club, making his Football League debut in the club's 3–2 away defeat to Peterborough United on 24 February 2001.

He was also part of the squad that travelled to the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Villa Park, although he did not play in the match.

His time at Wycombe was hampered by an ankle injury, which resulted in "limited opportunities".

In May 2001, Nutter joined Aldershot Town, then of the Isthmian League Premier Division.

He made his debut in Aldershot's 3–1 home victory against Enfield on 18 August 2001, and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away win against Heybridge Swifts.

Nutter made 19 appearances for Aldershot during the 2001–02 season, scoring twice.

He also made eight appearances for divisional rivals St Albans City during a two-month loan spell.

He spent a month on loan at Conference National club Gravesend & Northfleet in November 2002, making four appearances.

During the season, he scored three times in 21 appearances for Aldershot, in a season that saw the club earn promotion to the Conference National after winning the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Nutter signed for Conference South club Grays Athletic, managed by Mark Stimson, in July 2004, and was part of the team that won the Conference South title, as well as two FA Trophy triumphs in 2005 and 2006.

Nutter played regularly during Aldershot's return to the highest tier of non-League football, making 28 appearances in all competitions and scoring once in a 4–2 away victory over Bishop's Stortford in the FA Trophy in January 2004.

Aldershot missed out on back-to-back promotions, losing on penalties in the play-off final to Shrewsbury Town.

During his three years at Aldershot, Nutter made 68 appearances in league, FA Cup and FA Trophy fixtures, scoring six times.

Ahead of the 2004–05 season, in July 2004, Nutter signed for Conference South club Grays Athletic, managed by Mark Stimson.

He made his Grays debut on the opening day of the season, playing the first 57 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against Hayes on 14 August 2004.

Three days later, he scored his only goal of the season as Grays beat Redbridge 4–1 at the New Recreation Ground.

In Nutter's first season with Grays, the club achieved promotion by winning the Conference South title by 23 points.

During the same season, Grays also won the FA Trophy, beating Hucknall Town on penalties in the final at Villa Park, with Nutter playing the whole match.

As a result of Grays' promotion, the 2005–06 season gave Nutter another opportunity to play in the Conference National.

He played regularly during the season as Grays finished third in the league.

His only goal of the season came in the Conference play-off semi-final second leg, as Grays lost to Halifax Town 5–4 on aggregate.

Nutter became Stimson's first signing at Conference National club Stevenage Borough in May 2006, and again enjoyed FA Trophy success during the 2006–07 season.

Shortly after the play-off defeat, Nutter was part of the team that earned back-to-back FA Trophy titles following a 2–0 victory against Woking at Upton Park in the 2006 FA Trophy final.

It was Nutter's last game for the club.

On securing successive FA Trophy victories with Grays, Nutter stated – "The FA Trophy wins for Grays Athletic were great, a fantastic achievement for the club, we had some terrific players at the time".

With his Grays contract expiring, Nutter opted to sign for Conference National club Stevenage Borough on 31 May 2006.

He moved back into the Football League in November 2007 when Stimson joined League One club Gillingham and made Nutter one of his first signings.

He spent three-and-a-half seasons at Gillingham, making 157 appearances in all competitions, with the club moving between League One and League Two during his time there.

He was released when his contract expired at the end of the 2010–11 season, subsequently signing for Lincoln City of the Conference Premier in July 2011.

He was loaned out to Woking in November 2012, a move that was made permanent in January 2013.

He spent two years at Woking, retiring from playing at the end of the 2014–15 season to enable him to focus further on his career as a teacher.