Joel Toby Senior (born 24 June 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right back for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joel Toby Senior[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Didsbury, England | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Right back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2014 | Oldham Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Hough End | ||
| 2015–2017 | Maine Road | ||
| 2017–2019 | F.C. United of Manchester | 58 | (0) |
| 2019 | Curzon Ashton | 10 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Burnley | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Altrincham | 61 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Carlisle United | 17 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Morecambe | 43 | (1) |
| 2024–2026 | Bristol Rovers | 50 | (0) |
| 2026– | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:02, 2 May 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early and personal life
editSenior was born in Didsbury.[3] His brothers are also footballers, who played in non-league for Maine Road.[3]
Career
editSenior spent nearly a decade with Oldham Athletic, but was released at the age of 15 for being too small.[3] He later described it was the worst day of his life.[3] He began playing non-league football around Greater Manchester, initially with Sunday league team Hough End.[3] At the age of 16 he was playing for Maine Road and working two days a week in an engineering and design company.[3] He was also included in the 2016 North West Counties Football League team of the year.[4]
He then made 68 appearances in all competitions for F.C. United of Manchester,[5][6] including 58 league appearances between 2017 and 2019.[7] His only goal for F.C. United of Manchester was in the 2017–18 Manchester Premier Cup final,[8] and he moved to Curzon Ashton in February 2019,[9] for whom he made ten league appearances in National League North.[7]
In May 2019 he signed a 12-month contract with Premier League club Burnley, with the option of a further year, with the intention that he would initially play with their under-23 team.[3][10][11]
He was released by Burnley at the end of the 2019–20 season.[12] He later signed for Altrincham.[13] He signed for Carlisle United in January 2022.[14]
On 30 May 2023, after Carlisle won promotion to League One, Carlisle manager Paul Simpson announced that Senior would be released once his contract expired.[15]
In June 2023, it was announced that he would sign for League Two side Morecambe on a one-year deal from 1 July 2023.[16] Following a successful first season, Senior was named as Morecambe's Player of the Year, also winning Players' Player of the Season.[17] Despite having been offered a new contract, he opted to depart the club at the end of the 2023–24 season.[18]
Bristol Rovers
editOn 29 June 2024, Senior agreed to join League One side Bristol Rovers on a two-year deal with the option for a further season.[19][20] In his fourth appearance for the club, a 2–0 defeat to Stockport County, Senior suffered a torn hamstring, likely to rule him out of action for a period of around two months according to manager Matt Taylor.[21]
On 19 June 2026, the club announced that manager Steve Evans had agreed to allow Senior to depart the club in order for the player to move closer to his family.[22]
Tranmere Rovers
editOn 29 June 2026, Senior agreed to join fellow League Two club Tranmere Rovers on a two-year deal. The move saw him reunite with his former Bristol Rovers manager from the first half of the previous season, Darrell Clarke.[23][24]
Career statistics
edit- As of end of 2025–26 season
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| F.C. United of Manchester | 2017–18[6][25] | National League North | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 1 | 45 | 1 | |
| 2018–19[6][26] | National League North | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 68 | 1 | ||
| Curzon Ashton | 2018–19[27] | National League North | 10 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Altrincham | 2020–21[27] | National League | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2021–2[27] | National League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 61 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 0 | ||
| Carlisle United | 2021–22[28] | League Two | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2022–23[29] | League Two | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Total | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Morecambe | 2023–24[30] | League Two | 43 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 50 | 1 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2024–25[31] | League One | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2025–26[32] | League Two | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 239 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 273 | 3 | ||
- ↑ One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in Manchester Premier Cup
- ↑ One appearance in FA Trophy, three appearances in Manchester Premier Cup
- 1 2 Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
- 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- ↑ Appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
Honours
editReferences
edit- ↑ "EFL squad list 2021/22 & U21 registered contracted players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ↑ "Joel Senior Football Statistics | WhoScored.com". www.whoscored.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tyrone Marshall (22 May 2019). "The incredible story of Manchester footballer Joel Senior's rise from non-league to Premier League". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ Barnett, Ray (21 May 2017). "JOEL SENIOR MAKES NWCFL TEAM OF THE YEAR". Maine Road Football Club. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Profile". FC United.ru. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Joel Senior". Football Club United of Manchester. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- 1 2 Joel Senior at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- 1 2 "FC United of Manchester 2 - 2 Trafford". Football Club United of Manchester. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Joel Senior makes Curzon Ashton switch". The Non-League Football Paper. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ "Senior Service For New Boy Joel". Burnley F.C. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ Adam Lord (16 May 2019). "Burnley sign Curzon Ashton right back Joel Senior". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ↑ "Clubs publish 2019/20 released lists". www.premierleague.com. 26 June 2020.
- ↑ "Joel Senior | Altrincham Football Club". www.altrinchamfc.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ↑ "Carlisle sign Altrincham defender Senior". BBC Sport.
- ↑ "Manager: Some tough decisions to make". Carlisle United Football Club. 30 May 2023.
- ↑ "Morecambe sign defender Senior after Carlisle exit". BBC Sport. 28 June 2023.
- 1 2 3 "End of Season Awards 2023/24". Morecambe FC. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ↑ "Shrimps confirm retained list". www.morecambefc.com. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Joel Senior completes Bristol Rovers transfer". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Joel Senior: Bristol Rovers sign right-back from Morecambe". BBC Sport. 29 June 2024.
- ↑ Hargraves, Daniel (29 August 2024). "Bristol Rovers injury news ahead of Cambridge United as Gas handed significant double blow". Bristol Post. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ↑ "Joel Senior departs". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 19 June 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- ↑ "Tranmere Rovers sign Joel Senior on two-year deal". www.tranmererovers.co.uk. 29 June 2026. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Joel Senior joins Tranmere Rovers from Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 29 June 2026.
- ↑ "Men's Team 2017/18 Season Results". Football Club United of Manchester. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ "Men's Team 2018/19 Season Results". Football Club United of Manchester. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Joel Senior at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Games played by Joel Senior in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Games played by Joel Senior in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Games played by Joel Senior in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ↑ "Games played by Joel Senior in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "Games played by Joel Senior in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "Carlisle United 1–1 Stockport County (5–4 pens)". BBC Sport. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.