User:Stephenjlong/sandbox

Ben (Ryan) Long (born 16 April 1990 in Harrow) is an English midfield footballer.

= Personal profile = He attended Nower Hill High School in Pinner. At school he showed himself to be an outstanding all round sportsman and athlete. He is 6 foot tall and weighs 12 stone. Long can play in any midfield role and at fullback, and can both make and score goals. Current and previous coaches have commented on his high work rate, pace, stamina, hard tackling, vision, distribution and all round enthusiasm. It has also been said that he has a very good first touch, can kick well with both feet and wins everything in the air. He takes all the long throws-in and can reach the goalmouth with the length of it. He has been likened to Tottenham’s Scott Parker in his playing style.

= Early career = Long played school football for Middlesex County from under-14 onwards, where as a forward, he scored four goals on his debut. At 14, he successfully trialed for Swansea FC in Wales, but the distance from home in London prevented him from taking up this opportunity. He later trialed for Brentford FC at 15, but a knee injury resulted in another missed opportunity.

= Career = Long then started his career as a youth player at Barnet FC’s Academy. He spent two years at Barnet where he finished his time there as the team’s captain. A number of English league teams showed an interest in him, but after successfully completing a trial period at The Heart of Midlothian from the Scottish Premier League, Long joined the under-19/Reserve Team Academy in April 2008. Soon after moving to Scotland, he was unlucky enough to contract glandular fever, which resulted in him not being able to train with the club for 2 months. This illness prevented him from fulfilling his potential at Hearts and after a season at the club he secured an opportunity to play for Grindavik FC in the Icelandic Premier League. He joined the club towards the end of the short Icelandic season, but quickly established himself as a regular first team member.

At the end of the Icelandic season, he returned to England to become a regular first team player for Hemel Hempstead FC in the Zamaretto Southern Premier League. He returned to Iceland in March 2010 to play a full season for Njardvik FC in the first division. After establishing himself as a first team regular, at the end of the season in October 2010, he returned to England to play for Wealdstone FC in the Ryman Isthmian Premier League. He returned to Iceland for a third spell to be signed by Keflavik FC in the Premier League for their 2011 season. He was subsequently loaned out to Reynir FC to gain regular first team games. At the end of the season, Long returned to England where he played for Staines Town FC and St. Albans City FC to begin to establish his football career back in England. For the 2012/13 English season, Long signed for Kettering Town FC in the Evostick Southern Premier League.