Callum Tapping (born 5 June 1993)[1] is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for East Stirlingshire as a player/coach. He previously played for Hearts, Queen of the South, Brechin City, Forfar Athletic, Stenhousemuir, Edinburgh City, East Kilbride as well as Alloa Athletic on loan. Tapping also represented Scotland at Under-19 and Under-21 level.

Callum Tapping
Tapping with Heart of Midlothian in 2013
Personal information
Full name Callum Tapping
Date of birth (1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 30)
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
East Stirlingshire (Player/Coach)
Youth career
2003–2008 Celtic
2008–2009 Hamilton Academical
2009–2011 Tottenham Hotspur
2011–2012 Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Heart of Midlothian 30 (0)
2012Alloa Athletic (loan) 4 (0)
2014−2015 Brechin City 13 (0)
2015−2018 Queen of the South 32 (0)
2018−2019 Brechin City 35 (3)
2019-2020 Forfar Athletic 27 (1)
2020–2021 Stenhousemuir 17 (0)
2021–2023 Edinburgh City 30 (1)
2023–2024 East Kilbride 3 (1)
2024- East Stirling 1 (0)
International career
2011 Scotland U19 3 (0)
2013 Scotland U21 1 (0)
Managerial career
2020–2022 Dunipace (U-20 manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:18, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Background edit

Born in London to an English father and a Scottish mother,[2][3][4] Tapping moved to Scotland at 6 years old and attended Larbert High School in Stenhousemuir. He is the elder brother of Jordan Tapping who also plays football in the Scottish League set up.

Club career edit

Early career edit

Tapping played at youth level for Celtic and Hamilton Academical[5] before signing for Tottenham Hotspur in June 2009,[6] where he initially played for their under-18 team with 8 appearances. Tapping was then rewarded with his first professional contract at the White Hart Lane club in June 2010 and was promoted to their Premier Reserve League squad,[5] with 27 appearances during that season at the Reserve League level.[7]

Heart of Midlothian edit

On 31 August 2011, Tapping joined Hearts on a two-year contract with an option for a further year[8] and initially joined up with the Tynecastle club's Under-19 squad.[9] Prior to signing for Hearts, Tapping had played as a trialist[10] for the club during the Keyline Challenge Cup Tournament in Oban earlier that year.[11]

Loan to Alloa Athletic edit

In November 2012, Tapping joined Alloa Athletic[12] on a one-month loan deal to gain first-team experience.[13][14] Tapping made his senior football debut on 17 November 2012 as a 67th-minute substitute in a home league match versus Brechin City.[15] Alloa were keen to extend his loan spell,[13] although Tapping returned to Hearts after making only 4 appearances for the Clackmannanshire club.[16]

Tapping made his Hearts first-team debut[17] on 19 January 2013 as a 71st-minute substitute for Dylan McGowan[18] at Celtic Park in a 4-1 SPL defeat versus Celtic.[19] Tapping made his first start for Hearts the following week in the Scottish League Cup semi final win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[20] Tapping was released by Hearts at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Brechin City edit

Tapping then signed for the Angus club Brechin City at the start of the 2014–15 season, where he played in 13 league matches.

Queen of the South edit

Tapping then signed for Queen of the South for the start of the 2015–16 season.[21] Tapping was injured for seven months of his first season with the Dumfries club and was then out injured once again for eight months of the 2016–17 season. Tapping played in 32 league matches for the club. The Dumfries club announced his departure on 5 January 2018. Manager Gary Naysmith said, "Callum was a popular lad around the dressing room and a model professional. I am pleased to say that he never missed a days training this season since he returned from his knee injury at the tail end of last season and I would personally like to thank him for all that he has done for Queen of the South and hope that he stays injury free and enjoys his time at Brechin and beyond".[22]

Brechin City (2nd spell) edit

On 4 January 2018, Tapping re-joined Brechin City. He immediately become a first team regular starting all 17 remaining league games of that season after he joined. He debuted in this spell on 6 January 2018, in the 1–1 home draw v Morton. As at Christmas Day of season 2017/18 Tapping had made 21 appearances in the league, Scottish Cup and League Cup scoring four goals.

Forfar Athletic edit

On 3 June 2019, Tapping signed a one-year contract with Forfar Athletic.[23]

Stenhousemuir edit

On 3 August 2020, Stenhousemuir announced the signing of Tapping after his contract with Forfar came to an end.[24]

International career edit

Tapping was called up to the Scotland under-19 squad and debuted on 10 May 2011 versus Denmark and gained 3 caps in total.

Tapping debuted for the Scotland under-21s on 6 February 2013 versus Greece and this was his only appearance at this level.[25]

References edit

  1. ^ "Callum Tapping". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Brechin City Football Club".
  3. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur Second year". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Hearts sign Tottenham Hotspur youngster Callum Tapping". local.stv.tv. STV. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Hearts sign Tapping as one for future". The Scotsman. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Hearts take Tapping". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Hearts sign Spurs youngster". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Hearts secure Callum Tapping from Tottenham". BBC Sport. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Hearts sign Spurs youngster". Hearts News. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Hearts kid Callum Tapping can't wait to earn his Spurs at Tynecastle". Daily Record. Glasgow. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Tapping keen to impress at Tynecastle". The Scotsman. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Sell out for St Mirren". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian FC. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Callum Tapping into expertise of Hearts legend Paul Hartley". The Scotsman. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Callum Tapping joins Wasps". alloaathletic.co.uk. Alloa Athletic F.C. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Alloa Athletic 2–2 Brechin City". scottishfootballleague.com. Scottish Football League. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  16. ^ "Games played by Callum Tapping in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  17. ^ "Hearts' Scott Robinson winning fitness battle". The Scotsman. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  18. ^ "Celtic 4–1 Hearts". BBC Sport. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  19. ^ "Celtic 4–1 Hearts". Sky Sports. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  20. ^ "2013-01-26 Sat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Hearts 1".
  21. ^ "Callum Tapping Signs On". qosfc.com. Queen of the South FC. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  22. ^ "Callum Tapping Leaves" qosfc.com 5 January 2018
  23. ^ Coutts, Chris. "Callum Tapping moves to Station Park". forfarathletic.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  24. ^ Swinney, Jamie (3 August 2020). "Welcome to the Warriors Callum Tapping". Stenhousemuir FC. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Callum Tapping". scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 6 October 2012.

External links edit