Former Wolves and Cardiff City defender joins 21st club of his career at age 39
Former Wolves defender Greg Halford has prolonged his playing career by signing with another non-league team.
Halford, who was at Molineux as a player from 2009 to 2011, has signed for Blyth Spartans. Former Birmingham City goalkeeper David Stockdale has taken caretaker charge at Croft Park, following the departure of former Aston Villa midfielder Nolberto Solano.
Blyth Spartans are the 21st club of Halford’s career, which began at Colchester United in 2002. The Northumberland currently sit second from bottom in the Northern Premier League Division, which is the seventh tier of English football.
Speaking to the official club website, he said: “I’m really excited to be here and back up in the North-East, it has been a while.
“I’m looking forward to working under [David] Stockdale as well, who I’ve known for several years. I’m just really looking forward to it and meeting all of the lads.”
Halford had spent the past two seasons playing for viral social media club Hashtag United, and helped them win promotion in April 2023. He's been out of professional football since 2021 after joining League of Ireland side Waterford. Halford had a spell with Billericay Town in the National League South in the same campaign.
Upon his arrival, caretaker manager David Stockdale added: “He’s a good, experienced utility player, who has played everywhere over his career.
“He’s about bringing people in who know what the game is about and to help the young lads through and I’m ecstatic that he’s agreed to join us.”
The other teams Halford can include on his resume are Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United, Birmingham City, Cardiff, and Aberdeen. During his time with Cardiff, he helped them finish second in the Championship in 2017/18, playing a role in their promotion to the Premier League.
At Wolves, he made 20 appearances, having joined from Sunderland in 2009. Four games in to the 2010/11 campaign, he was loaned out to Portsmouth for the season, and would eventually sign for them on a permanent basis.