Lewis Haldane

Lewis Oliver Haldane (born 13 March 1985) is a Welsh former under-21 international footballer who scored 75 goals in 414 league and cup games in a 14-year career.

A winger, he was a youth player at Southampton and Trowbridge Town, before he turned professional at Bristol Rovers in 2002.

He moved on to Bristol Rovers though for the 2002–03 season, and had a brief spell on 'work experience' at Southern League side Weston-super-Mare.

Loaned out to non-League Weston-super-Mare, he broke through into the Rovers first team in 2003–04.

His professional debut at the Memorial Stadium came on 27 September 2003 as he replaced Junior Agogo as an 85th-minute substitute; despite only playing for a few minutes he won a penalty in a 2–0 win over Cheltenham Town.

His first goal came seven days later at Belle Vue, the sole consolation of a 5–1 drubbing by Doncaster Rovers; he scored minutes after coming onto the pitch.

His first start came a week later, at Darlington, where he scored the opener of a 4–0 victory.

He made it three in three on 14 October, as Rovers crashed out of the Football League Trophy with a 2–1 defeat by Southend United at Roots Hall.

He finished the 2003–04 season with 29 appearances to his name, scoring six goals and also picking up seven yellow cards.

At the end of the season he was one of the few players retained, as eleven were let go.

He was loaned out to Conference club Forest Green Rovers for a part of the 2004–05 and 2005–06 campaigns.

He went on to sign a new three-year deal in November 2004.

The teenager made sixteen appearances in 2004–05, all but one as a substitute, picking up one goal against Leyton Orient in the League Trophy.

In April 2005 he joined Conference club Forest Green Rovers on loan.

He played six games before returning to Bristol, following the dismissal of manager Ian Atkins.

He began the 2005–06 season on loan at Forest Green, putting in seven appearances before heading back to Rovers in September.

He played 32 games for the League Two side, scoring three goals, two of them at the end of season clash with Macclesfield Town.

During the season, he was utilized on the right of midfield, rather than his usual role as a striker.

He then stormed into the Bristol Rovers first team picture with sixty appearances in 2006–07.

At the end of the season he helped the club to win promotion into League One through the play-offs, and he also played in the club's defeat in the Football League Trophy final.

He played a remarkable sixty competitive games in 2006–07.

The highlights of the season included playing in the Football League Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium and playing in the play–off final at Wembley Stadium.

In the League Trophy final the "Gas" lost 3–2 to Doncaster Rovers, a game in which Haldane was man of the match, but at the play-off final at Wembley they defeated Shrewsbury Town 3–1.

Haldane started both games, but finished neither.

At the end of the season he put pen to paper on a three-year contract.

A first team regular in 2007–08, he then lost his place and spent the 2008–09 season on loan at Conference side Oxford United.

He made 38 appearances in 2007–08, as the "Pirates" adapted to life playing at a higher level.

His only goal of the campaign was a late winning header over Millwall on 17 November.

At the reverse fixture he set up Craig Disley's winning goal.

He joined Oxford United on a season-long loan in July 2008, following the arrival of Jeff Hughes at Rovers.

He played 46 games for the Conference side, but remained on the transfer list at the Memorial Stadium upon his return.

"'It wasn't an easy decision to drop down to the Conference but once I had met the manager and seen the set-up I was convinced.'"

He joined Port Vale on loan at the start of the 2009–10 season, before joining the club permanently in January 2010.

In August 2009, he joined Port Vale for a trial period.

This came despite talk of a loan move to Newport County.

He started a loan spell at Vale Park on 1 September, hopeful of later earning a permanent deal with the club.

He recovered from a serious infection following an insect bite sustained at the start of the 2010–11 season, only to be struck down with a broken leg at the start of the 2011–12 campaign.

The injury eventually forced him to retire from professional football in October 2012, though he later returned to play semi-professionally with Yate Town, before signing for Frome Town in November 2014.

He retired following a brief return to Yate Town in January 2016.

Haldane was a product of the Southampton youth academy.