Nathan Ellington

Nathan Levi Fontaine Ellington (born 2 July 1981) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

Ellington started his playing career with non-League side Tooting & Mitcham United.

Having played once for the club, he switched to Walton & Hersham in 1997, and remained there for two years, before signing for Bristol Rovers in February 1999.

He played regularly for the youth team there, but was frustrated by a lack of first team chances, so he moved to Walton & Hersham, before moving to Bristol Rovers in February 1999 for £150,000.

He made his professional debut on 23 February 1999, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jamie Cureton in a 1–0 home defeat to Gillingham.

He came off the bench to score his first goal on 6 March 1999, helping his team to a 2–0 win over York City.

He was named in the PFA Division Three team of the year for 2001–02.

He played for Bristol Rovers in 116 league games, before switching to Wigan Athletic in March 2002.

He found a growing reputation with the side, and his highest point for Rovers was scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Premier League side Derby County in the FA Cup, on 6 January 2002.

This was the first time a team from the Third Division had beaten a Premier League team in the FA Cup.

It was also the second of three hat-tricks scored by Ellington for Rovers, with all three coming within the space of a month.

On 28 March 2002—transfer deadline day—Ellington signed for Paul Jewell's Wigan Athletic for a then club record fee of £1.2 million.

He made an instant impact, scoring on his debut in a 2–1 win at Chesterfield on 6 April 2002.

He also scored on his home debut a week later as Wigan beat Northampton Town 3–0.

His only hat-trick for Wigan came against West Bromwich Albion in a 3–1 League Cup victory on 2 October 2002, his second career hat-trick against Premiership opposition.

He notably scored the last ever goal in Wimbledon F.C.'s final game at Selhurst Park before their rebranding and relocation to Milton Keynes, during Wigan's 2–4 victory in September 2003.

He was named Division One player of the month for February 2004.

Ellington was a major factor in the club's promotion to the Premiership in the 2004–05 season, the first time they had reached the top flight in their history.

He was the leading scorer in the Football League Championship and formed a formidable partnership with Jason Roberts, with whom he had previously played at Bristol Rovers.

Both players were named in the PFA Championship team of the season.

He made 134 league appearances for Wigan before joining Premier League side West Bromwich Albion in 2005.

Ellington became one of the more desirable properties in English football, and joined West Bromwich Albion on 16 August 2005 for £3,000,001.

With the player unable to agree a new contract with Wigan, Albion used a clause in his existing contract that allowed him to leave for any fee over £3 million.

Ellington made his West Brom (and Premier League) debut in a 4–0 away defeat at Chelsea on 24 August 2005, replacing Jonathan Greening in the second half.

He scored twice in a 4–1 League Cup win against Bradford City on 20 September 2005, his first goals for the club.

He generally struggled in his first ever season in the Premier League, as his season was damaged by a series of niggling injuries and a shoulder problem, but he still managed to score eight goals.

Ellington's first Premiership goals came in the 4–0 win against Everton; he scored a goal in either half by a penalty and a long range shot.

He became quite unpopular with the West Brom fans towards the end of the same season because of his complaint of a "bruised toe", and his refusal to have painkilling injections to help him through such a minor complaint.

He almost redeemed himself near the end of the season though, when he scored for Albion in the 1–1 draw with Birmingham and almost went on to score the winner as a substitute, hitting the woodwork.

In June 2006, West Bromwich Albion rejected an undisclosed offer for Ellington from his former club Wigan Athletic, insisting that the player was "not for sale".

Although he made 68 league appearances for the club, he struggled to settle in the area, and moved to Watford in 2007.

After failing to settle in the area, Ellington submitted a transfer request in the 2007 January transfer window, which was reluctantly accepted by West Bromwich Albion.

However, Albion chairman Jeremy Peace qualified this by stating that "...no-one will leave unless it suits us."

During his time at Watford, he spent three loan spells away from the club; at Derby County during the 2008–2009 season, Skoda Xanthi in 2010, and Preston North End in 2011.

Having made 55 league appearances for Watford, he switched to Ipswich Town in June 2011, but once again struggled to break into the first team, and spent the start of the 2012–13 season on loan to Scunthorpe United.

Having cancelled his Ipswich contract by mutual consent, he joined Crewe Alexandra in March 2013, and made eight league appearances.

He was released in July 2013 after his contract expired.

He signed for Southport in October 2013, but was released two months later.

In November 2017 he signed for Cheshire Football League side Egerton, and in July 2018 was appointed assistant manager.

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Ellington began his career with non-League Tooting & Mitcham United, making one first team appearance at 16 years of age.