Dene Shields (born 16 September 1982 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Brechin City. Shields has played for thirteen separate clubs in Scotland, England and Malta, in a career spanning three decades.

Dene Shields
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-09-16) 16 September 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Brechin City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Raith Rovers 8 (1)
2000–2003 Sunderland 0 (0)
2001–2002Scarborough (loan) 19 (12)
2002Doncaster Rovers (loan) 4 (0)
2003 Raith Rovers 13 (2)
2003 Brechin City 2 (1)
2003–2005Cowdenbeath 31 (12)
2003–2005 Cowdenbeath 18 (8)
2005–2007 Gretna 23 (09)
2005–2006Stranraer (loan) 10 (1)
2006Stirling Albion (loan) 17 (12)
2007–2009 Ross County 45 (21)
2008East Fife (loan) 9 (0)
2010 Raith Rovers 9 (0)
2010–2012 Hamrun Spartans 35 (23)
2012–2015 Xewkija Tigers 100 (93)
2015–2016 Brechin City 8 (4)
2018– Brechin City 4 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:29, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Career

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Raith & Sunderland

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Beginning his career in Kirkcaldy with Raith Rovers, Shields scored in his first full start for the side in a match against Airdrieonians.[1] After a successful start for The Rovers, Shields earned a move to Sunderland in December 2002, in a deal thought to be worth up to £100,000.[2] Despite spending three years at the Stadium of Light, Shields never made a first-team appearance and was loaned to Scarborough scoring nine goals and then to Doncaster Rovers[3] during his time in England. In January 2003, Shields returned to Raith on a free transfer,[4] two years after leaving.

Brechin, Cowdenbeath & Gretna

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Released after only spending a few months on his return as club went into administration Stark's Park,[5] Shields joined Brechin City at the start of the 2003–04 season, only to move on loan closer to his home town Cowdenbeath.[6] Cowden made the move permanent in early 2004, tying Shields to a two-and-a-half-year contract.[7]

A year later, Cowdenbeath chairman Gordon McDougall said it would take an "exceptional offer" to sell Shields after interest from Gretna and Hearts,[8] and it was Gretna's offer that saw Shields move to the Scottish Borders club in January 2005,[9] where he made only three substitute appearances in what was the remainder of Gretna's title-winning season. He took part in the side's historic Scottish Cup run, playing in the Scottish cup Semi-final at Hampden park against Dundee.[10]

Shields was loaned to Scottish First Division side Stranraer in the first few weeks of the 2005–06 season.[11] On his return to Raydale Park, Shields played nine matches of Gretna's second successive title win, missing out on a winner's medal by one match. Shields was loaned out again at the start of the following season, this time to Stirling Albion,[12] scoring nine goals in eighteen games, and although he played one match for Gretna on his return, it was to be his last before a January 2007 move to Ross County.[13]

Ross County, East Fife & Raith

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Shields spent two and half years in Dingwall winning the Scottish Second Division, scoring fourteen goals in thirty-six appearances. In September 2008, Shields made East Fife his eleventh club when he joined on loan for the rest of the year,[14] failing to score in ten appearances for the Methil side. On 19 February 2010 after being a free agent he re-signed for Raith Rovers.[15]

Malta

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Shields signed for Hamrun Spartans in the Maltese Premier League in August 2010,[16] spending two seasons with the side and scoring eighteen goals in twenty-eight games. Shields then signed for Xewkija Tigers in the Gozo First Division.[17] In his first season with the club Shields scored eighteen goals, finishing as the side top scorer.[18] His second season with The Tigers ended in a similar fashion to the first, with Shields again scoring eighteen goals in eighteen matches. In his final season with Xewkija, Shields helped the club win their seventh league title, scoring in a match against Kerċem Ajax.[19]

Return to Scotland

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After five years in Malta, Shields returned to Scotland signing for Scottish League One side Brechin City for a second time.[20] Shields lasted only six months in his homeland, leaving the club in January 2016 to return to Malta for personal reasons,[21] making his final appearance in a league match against Stenhousemuir which was abandoned after 45 minutes.[22] Shields made 9 appearances for the city, scoring 2 goals.

Statistics

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As of 17 January 2016[23]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Total
1999–00 Raith Rovers Scottish First Division 1 0 - - 1 0
2000–01 7 1 - 1 0 8 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Total
2000–01 Sunderland Premier League - - - 0 0
2001–02 - - - 0 0
Scarborough (loan) Conference 9 2 - - 9 2
2002–03 Sunderland Premier League - - - 0 0
Doncaster Rovers (loan) Conference 4 0 - - 4 0
Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Total
2002–03 Raith Rovers Scottish Second Division 13 2 - - 13 2
2003–04 Brechin City Scottish First Division 2 0 - - 2 0
Cowdenbeath (loan) Scottish Third Division 31 12 3 3 2 0 36 15
2004–05 Cowdenbeath 18 8 1 0 1 0 20 8
Gretna 3 0 - - 3 0
2005–06 Scottish Second Division 9 3 3 0 - 12 3
Stranraer (loan) Scottish First Division 10 1 - 1 0 11 1
2006–07 Stirling Albion (loan) Scottish Second Division 17 8 1 1 1 0 19 9
Ross County Scottish First Division 14 0 - - 14 0
2007–08 Scottish Second Division 22 14 3 3 1 0 26 8
2008–09 Scottish First Division 1 0 - - 1 0
East Fife Scottish Second Division 9 0 1 0 - 10 0
2009–10 Raith Rovers Scottish First Division 9 0 1 0 - 10 0
2015–16 Brechin City Scottish League One 8 2 0 0 1 0 9 2
Career total 188 44 13 7 8 0 236 88

Personal life

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His younger brother is Jay Shields, who is also a footballer.

References

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  1. ^ "Raith Rovers 1–1 Airdrieonians". BBC Sport. 21 October 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Shields signs for Sunderland". BBC Sport. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Doncaster snap up Shields". BBC Sport. 2 September 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  4. ^ "Shields back at Raith". BBC Sport. 11 January 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Moore stays at Stirling". BBC Sport. 13 May 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  6. ^ "Clyde sign Villa youth". BBC Sport. 30 August 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  7. ^ "Cowden in striker deals". BBC Sport. 8 January 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  8. ^ "Cowden deny Shields sale reports". BBC Sport. 26 January 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  9. ^ "Gretna sign Shields and Collins". BBC Sport. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  10. ^ "Dundee underdogs against Gretna". BBC Sport. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  11. ^ "Shields joins Stranraer on loan". BBC Sport. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  12. ^ "Stirling snap up Gretna's Shields". BBC Sport. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  13. ^ "Gretna's Shields moves to County". BBC Sport. 14 January 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  14. ^ "Shields goes on loan to East Fife". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  15. ^ "Shields re-signs for Raith". Raith Rovers FC. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Mid-way through the transfer market". maltafootball.com. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  17. ^ "Official: Tigers sign Dene Shields". xewkijatigersfc.com. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Shields wins top scorer award". xewkijatigersfc.com. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  19. ^ "Comeback gives Tigers their 7th title". xewkijatigersfc.com. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  20. ^ "Dene Shields joins Brechin City as James Dale deal is imminent". Brechin Advertiser. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Brechin boss looking for striker to leave on a high". The Courier. 16 January 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Stenhousemuir A–A Brechin". BBC Sport. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  23. ^ Dene Shields at Soccerbase
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