Chris Brandon

Christopher William Brandon (born 7 April 1976) is an English professional footballer who last played in Thailand for BEC Tero Sasana.

He moved up a division and played for two years with Chesterfield, where he picked up a number of individual awards but spent two seasons fighting against relegation.

[6] He established himself as a first-team regular and played 50 games in all competitions, scoring a total of five goals,[7] the first of which came in a 2–1 victory against Peterborough United on 19 October 1999.

[12] He was dropped from the side for a period of time following an FA Cup defeat to Northampton Town in November 2001, during which he missed an open goal.

[13] He returned to the first team in January 2002 and scored on his second game back in the starting eleven as Torquay defeated Bristol Rovers.

During his disrupted three seasons with Torquay, Brandon amassed 83 appearances with ten goals to his credit,[1] before he moved to Chesterfield in July 2002 on a free transfer.

[16] Brandon signed a two-year contract with Division Two side Chesterfield,[16] and made his debut against Queens Park Rangers on the first day of the 2002–03 season.

However, he was substituted at half-time,[20] and he did not play for another two weeks because of suspension, until he scored again in a League Cup game against West Ham United live on television, which Chesterfield lost on penalties.

[1] Chesterfield again finished just one place above the relegation zone,[33] and Brandon left in July 2004 to sign for Huddersfield Town under manager Peter Jackson on a free transfer.

[37] Chesterfield goalkeeper Carl Muggleton twice denied him a goal in his first home game three days later,[38] but Brandon only had to wait until the following month when he scored in a 4–0 victory against Hull City.

[46] The following month Brandon scored the only goal of a 1–0 win over non-league Worcester City in the FA Cup second round to earn Huddersfield a tie with Premiership champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

[47] Two days later, Brandon received another red card, as both he and David Mirfin were sent off in the final minute of a 2–2 draw with Milton Keynes Dons.

[54] However, he was sent off on 28 April 2007 in Blackpool's win at home to Scunthorpe United,[55] which resulted in his missing the Seasiders' play-off games, and therefore not being considered for their successful final at Wembley against Yeovil Town.

After being one of eight players to be released by new Huddersfield manager Stan Ternent in early May 2008,[65] Brandon turned down the chance to join another League One side and instead dropped down a division for the first time in six years to sign a two-year deal at Bradford City on 30 May 2008.

[66][67] When he attempted to make a comeback, he injured his other ankle in a reserve game with Scunthorpe United and was forced to undergo the first operation of his career which kept him out until January 2009.

[70] He returned to action for the reserves against Doncaster Rovers in February, before making his long-awaited debut on 7 March 2009 against Aldershot Town with City three goals ahead in a game which finally finished 5–0.

[73] However, City missed out on promotion and Brandon's future was cast into doubt because of the size of his contract and budget cuts at the club.

[76] However, he continued to struggle to hold down a regular first-team place and when new manager Peter Taylor took over, Brandon was one of a number of players released early from his contract.

[2][82] At Chesterfield, his ability to take on opposition defenders, create openings for teammates and score "wonder goals" helped him to win a number of awards.