Kevin Ellison (footballer)

Football career

Born in Liverpool, Ellison started his career in non-league football, playing for Southport, Chorley, Conwy United and Altrincham. In February 2001 he joined Leicester City for a £50,000 fee. He later joined Stockport County. In 2004, he was loaned out to Lincoln City. In August 2004 he was transferred to Chester City.

Ellison signed for Hull City in January 2005 for a £100,000 fee. Despite a solid work rate often struggled for form and was regularly in the shadow of Stuart Elliott, the Tigers most outstanding left winger of recent times. Ellison did however score a stunning individual goal away at Southampton in a 1–1 draw and was part of the 2004–05 team that gained promotion from the third tier to the Championship. In June 2006 Hull accepted a £100,000 for the player from Scunthorpe United, though Ellison refused the move. Instead he joined Tranmere Rovers for an undisclosed fee. In June 2007 he moved on to Chester City for £150,000, signing a three-year contract.

His first league game back at Chester was a goalless draw with Chesterfield on 11 August 2007. In January 2008 Wrexham put in a five-figure offer for the player, though he did not make the move. Stockport County also attempted to win his signature, but were also unsuccessful.

In the 2008–09 Football League Two campaign, Ellison scored a hat-trick for Chester in a 3–1 victory over Grimsby Town on 13 September 2008. He scored 12 other league goals during the season, which somehow ended with the club being relegated from The Football League. On 11 August 2009 he scored the winning goal as Rotherham surprisingly beat Championship side Derby County 2–1 in the first round of the Football League Cup.

In February 2011, Ellison was loaned to Rotherham's fellow League Two side Bradford City, with Omar Daley moving in the opposite direction. He scored on his Bradford debut and the only goal of a 1–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers.

Ellison returned to Rotherham on 3 May 2011, having not featured for Bradford City for seven weeks due to injury. Ellison was released by Rotherham at the end of the 2010–2011 season. On 31 May 2011, Ellison signed for Jim Bentley's Morecambe on a one-year contract.

Ellison made his Morecambe debut in a 2–0 win away at Barnsley in the League Cup, scoring the 2nd goal of the game to book the shrimps into the second round draw. Ellison made his league debut as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 3–0 away win over Hereford United. He then grabbed his first league goal for Morecambe three days later, with the winning goal, after coming on as a substitute, in injury time in a 2–1 away win at Cheltenham Town. Ellison then marked his first start for the Shrimps with another goal, but this a spectacular 30-yard left-foot volley in the 8th minute to help Morecambe on their way to a 2–0 victory over Aldershot Town, and a third consecutive league win for the team, and a fourth in all competitions.

On 1 January 2012, Ellison signed an extension to his Morecambe contract, which would keep him at the Globe Arena for a further 18 months. He was also given a golden boot award for the 15th round of League Two in late November for his hat-trick in the game at home to Wimbledon.

On 6 April 2013, Ellison scored the winning goal in a 2–1 home victory against his former club, Rotherham United. He celebrated by lifting up his shirt and celebrating in front of the Rotherham United fans, which subsequently resulted in a one-match ban for Ellison. Rotherham United fans targeted him at the end of the game but he quickly left down the tunnel. He was later pictured on Twitter celebrating and this annoyed the away supporters.

On 21 August 2015, Ellison was given a three match ban for pulling an opposing player's hair after the final whistle.

Honours

Hull City