Topic: Simon Russell

Simon Craig Russell (born 19 March 1985) is an English footballer who plays for York City as a midfielder. He previously played for Hull City and Kidderminster Harriers.

Russell was born on 19 March 1985 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and began his career as a trainee at Hull City and made his debut after coming on as a substitute in a Football League Trophy match against Port Vale on 22 October 2002, which was lost 3–1. He made his league debut in the Third Division in a 4–1 victory against Kidderminster Harriers on 26 April 2003. He made no appearances for Hull's first team during the 2003–04 season, but helped the reserves win the East Riding Senior Cup after scoring in the final, which finished 3–0. He was released by Hull in the summer of 2004 aftere making two substitute appearances for the club, and was signed by Kidderminster Harriers, whose manager Jan Mølby described him as, "... a tremendous engine and is likely to pop up with a goal or two."

He finished his first season at Kidderminster with 29 appearances and two goals as the side were relegated to the Conference National. He received a broken wrist in November 2005 that ruled him out for three months of the 2005–06 season, but made his return after two months when he featured as an 87th minute substitute against Woking in January 2006. He finished the season with 33 appearances and two goals. After making 46 appearances and scoring four goals in the 2006–07 season he signed a new one-year contract with the club, which saw him become their longest serving current player. He picked up a thigh injury that ruled him out of the beginning of the 2007–08 season and eventually played his first game of the season in a 3–1 victory against Droylsden. He finished the season with 31 appearances and six goals, and after making his third appearance of the 2008–09 season he joined fellow Conference side York City on a free transfer on 22 August 2008. He made his debut a day later as a 54th minute substitute in a 2–2 draw against Northwich Victoria. He suffered from a tight hamstring during York's game against Grays Athletic in December, which resulted in him missing the Histon game. He scored his first goal for York directly from a corner kick in a 3–1 defeat to Barrow in the Conference League Cup on 20 January 2009. He came on as a substitute in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium on 9 May 2009, which York lost 2–0 to Stevenage Borough.