Luke Guttridge

Luke Guttridge

Born Barnstaple, Devon. A wide man then creative central midfielder, Luke was a giant in lower league football. Turning out for 10 different clubs in his career, he made a total of 564 appearances and scoring 82 goals.

Luke started out as a trainee at Torquay United who only offered a short term contract. Cambridge United offered a better deal and he went to the Abbey Stadium for nearly 5 seasons making 159 appearances and scoring 20 goals in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tiers. Cambridge’s slide down the league meant Luke was an attractive proposition and he went to Southend United in March 2005.

It was at Southend that Luke was moved to central midfield and things clicked with promotion secured to the Championship (2nd tier). Luke’s contribution was 42 appearances and 5 goals. The following season he lost his place and a loan then permanent move to Leyton Orient followed. A new contract was not agreed so the result was a free transfer to Colchester United. Northampton Town followed then Aldershot Town for two seasons before retuning to Northampton. In June 2013 he was released by the Cobblers.

Town manager John Still saw an opportunity and signed Luke as “an excellent addition”to his squad. That was an understatement. Playing in the number 10 role he pulled the strings in some amazing performances in the Conference Championship season. John Still describing him as “magnificent.” He made his debut in the first game of the season, an away defeat at Southport but things quickly turned. Luke would later comment - “In football you need chemistry and we had that in this team. It’s not about necessarily having the best individuals. It’s about partnerships all over the pitch. You need a blend of characters which you develop as a team over time. You don’t know you’ve got it until you start to play. We had leaders and personalities that were all a bit mis-fitting but it worked. For me, in midfield, I had Jonathan Smith alongside me who loved to do the things I hated. And he was my roommate. We clicked instantly.”

The Town eventually ran away with the title with Luke often pulling the strings in central midfield. Sadly he broke a bone in his foot against Alfreton at home in March so missed the end of a magnificent season.

Luke was fit again for the start of the 2014/15 season back in the Football League and had a good run of games. His foot however was painful and after being subbed at Burton in November, his next game was as a substitute at Mansfield on 17th February 2015. He was in and out of the starting 11 for the rest of the season.

A one year contract extension was triggered and Luke made an impact in his first League appearance away to Cambridge on 5th September 2015. A stunning 30 yard chip over the keeper set the Town on their way to a 3 1 win. A good run of game followed but his last came as a substitute in the Boxing Day defeat to Wycombe Wanderers. New manager Nathan Jones released Luke from his contract in January 2016. John Still, now manager at Dagenham and Redbridge, signed him two days later.

He could not prevent the Daggers relegation to the Conference and played 30 times the following season scoring 8 goals. He was released at the end of the 2016/17 season and became a player's agent.