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Liam Fontaine

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Liam Fontaine
Fontaine playing for Bristol City
Personal information
Full name Liam Vaughan Henry Fontaine
Date of birth (1986-01-07) 7 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Beckenham, London, England
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Fulham 1 (0)
2004 → Yeovil Town (loan) 15 (0)
2005 → Kilmarnock (loan) 3 (0)
2005 → Yeovil Town (loan) 10 (0)
2006 → Bristol City (loan) 15 (0)
2006–2014 Bristol City 247 (6)
2013–2014 → Yeovil Town (loan) 5 (0)
2014–2018 Hibernian 70 (2)
2018–2020 Ross County 45 (1)
2020–2022 Dundee 37 (4)
2022–2024 Edinburgh City 41 (1)
Total 489 (14)
International career
2001–2002 England U16 7 (0)
2002 England U17 2 (0)
2005 England U20 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:13, 28 January 2024 (UTC)

Liam Vaughan Henry Fontaine[1] (born 7 January 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He has previously played in the English leagues for Fulham, Yeovil Town and Bristol City, and in the Scottish leagues for Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Ross County, Dundee and Edinburgh City. Fontaine retired in 2024, having compiled a lengthy and successful career of over 550 appearances and honours such as the Scottish Cup with Hibernian.

Career

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Fulham

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Fontaine, who was a youth player at Fulham, represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. Fontaine spent some time at Yeovil Town in the first part of the 2004–05 season. His loan move was initially for a single month, but was later extended by a further two months. He made a couple of first team appearances for Fulham in January 2005. His debut came in a Premier League game against Southampton at St. Mary's on 5 January, which was drawn 3–3.[2] He enjoyed a further loan spell in the latter part of the 2004–05 season with Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League.[3]

Bristol City

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After being brought to Yeovil by then manager Gary Johnson, Fontaine then went back to Fulham until he was brought to Bristol City on loan by his former Yeovil manager Johnson.[4] The loan spell was made permanent at the end of that season with Fontaine signing a two-year contract, with City having to pay Fulham an undisclosed fee through tribunal.[5] A key member of the 2006–07 promotion team and flourished once more at Championship level, he became centre stage when his goal against Wolves in November left his manager Gary Johnson red-faced – having previously told his defender he would "bare my backside in Burton's window" if he found the net.[citation needed] Fontaine signed a new deal with Bristol City on 12 January 2012 to keep him at the club until the end of 2014 season, stating his ambition is to be the club's captain on a permanent basis.

On 2 September 2013, Fontaine joined Championship side Yeovil Town, for a third spell, on loan until January 2014.[6] At the end of the 2013–14 season, Fontaine was released by Bristol City.

Hibernian

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On 26 August 2014, Fontaine joined Scottish Championship side Hibernian.[7] He made his debut the same day, in Hibernian's 3–2 victory against Dumbarton in the Scottish League Cup.[8] Fontaine made 38 appearances and scored two goals in the 2014–15 season.[9] In June 2015, he signed a two-year contract with Hibernian.[9] He scored a goal in the March 2016 Scottish League Cup Final, which Hibs lost 2–1 to Ross County.[10] Fontaine played the first 70 minutes of the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, which Hibs won 3–2 against Rangers.[11]

In June 2017, Fontaine signed a contract with Hibs for the 2017–18 season.[12] He suffered an ankle injury playing for the Hibs under-20 side in September 2017, which head coach Neil Lennon said would prevent Fontaine from playing for at least 10 weeks.[13]

Ross County

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On 31 January 2018, Fontaine joined Scottish Premiership team Ross County on a free transfer.[14] He made his debut later that day, in a 4–2 defeat against Aberdeen.[15] County were relegated from the Premiership at the end of the 2017–18 season, but Fontaine helped them win promotion from the Scottish Championship in 2018–19.[16] He left County by mutual consent in October 2020.[16]

Dundee

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On 20 November 2020 after a trial period, Fontaine joined Scottish Championship side Dundee until the end of the season.[17] He would make his debut the next day as a substitute against Ayr United.[18] Fontaine had a prolific December, scoring 3 goals in 4 games for the club going into the new year.[19][20] Fontaine would be a key piece in the Dundee side leading up to and in the Premiership play-offs, and helped the club to gain promotion to the Premiership.[21] On 28 May 2021, Fontaine signed a one-year extension with Dundee.[22] Fontaine would leave Dundee following the end of his contract in May 2022.[23]

Edinburgh City

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Fontaine signed for Scottish League One club Edinburgh in July 2022.[24] After a strong season as team captain, Fontaine would renew his contract for another season in July 2023 for the renamed Edinburgh City.[25] Fontaine departed the club in January 2024, following Edinburgh City being docked points for failing to pay player wages.[26]

On 16 March 2024, Fontaine announced publicly that he was retiring from professional football.[27]

Personal life

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During a period out of football due to injury, Fontaine began playing the guitar.[28] In September 2018 he released a single called "Life Lessons".[28][29]

Career statistics

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As of 6 January 2024[30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham 2004–05[31] Premier League 1 0 1 0 0 0 — 2 0
2005–06[32] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 1 0 1 0 0 0 — 2 0
Yeovil Town (loan) 2004–05[31] League Two 15 0 — 2 0 1[a] 0 18 0
Kilmarnock (loan) 2004–05[31] Scottish Premier League 3 0 2 0 0 0 — 5 0
Yeovil Town (loan) 2005–06[32] League One 10 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 0
Bristol City (loan) 2005–06[32] League One 15 0 — — 0 0 15 0
Bristol City 2006–07[33] League One 30 0 4 0 1 0 5[a] 0 40 0
2007–08[34] Championship 38 1 1 1 2 0 3[b] 0 44 2
2008–09[35] Championship 42 2 2 0 2 0 — 46 2
2009–10[36] Championship 36 2 2 0 2 0 — 40 2
2010–11[37] Championship 31 0 1 0 1 0 — 33 0
2011–12[38] Championship 26 0 0 0 0 0 — 26 0
2012–13[39] Championship 41 1 1 0 1 0 — 43 1
2013–14[40] League One 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 7 0
Total 262 6 13 1 11 0 8 0 294 7
Yeovil Town (loan) 2013–14[40] Championship 5 0 — — — 5 0
Hibernian 2014–15[41] Scottish Championship 29 1 4 1 3 0 2[c] 0 38 2
2015–16[42] Scottish Championship 26 1 4 0 6 1 3[d] 0 39 2
2016–17[43][note 1] Scottish Championship 15 0 3 0 1 0 2[e] 0 21 0
2017–18[44] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 2 0 — 2 0
Total 70 2 11 1 12 1 7 0 100 4
Ross County 2017–18[44] Scottish Premiership 14 0 0 0 — — 14 0
2018–19[45] Scottish Championship 9 0 0 0 2 0 2[f] 0 13 0
2019–20[46] Scottish Premiership 22 1 1 0 4 0 — 27 1
2020–21[47] 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 45 1 1 0 6 0 2 0 54 1
Dundee 2020–21[47] Scottish Championship 18 4 2 0 1 0 3[g] 0 24 4
2021–22[48] Scottish Premiership 19 0 0 0 5 0 — 24 0
Total 37 4 2 0 6 0 3 0 48 4
Edinburgh City 2022–23[49] Scottish League One 28 1 1 0 4 0 1[h] 0 34 1
2023–24[50] 13 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 16 0
Total 41 1 2 0 6 0 1 0 50 1
Career total 489 14 33 2 44 1 22 0 588 17
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs
  4. ^ Two appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs, one in Scottish Challenge Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
  7. ^ Appearances in Scottish Premiership play-offs
  8. ^ Appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup

Honours

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Player

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Hibernian
Ross County

Bristol City Championship Play-Off Final: Runner Up

Notes

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  1. ^ Soccerbase did not record two appearances made by Fontaine against Brondby IF on 14 July and 21 July 2016.

References

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  1. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Edinburgh: Mainstream. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  2. ^ "Southampton 3-3 Fulham". BBC Sport. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Fontaine goes to Killie on loan". BBC Sport. 28 January 2005. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Bristol City seal Fontaine deal". BBC Sport. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Pair seal moves to Bristol City". BBC Sport. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Liam Fontaine: Yeovil Town sign Bristol City defender on loan". BBC Sport. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  7. ^ "DEFENDER FONTAINE JOINS". Hibernian F.C. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  8. ^ "HIBERNIAN 3 DUMBARTON 2". Hibernian F.C. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  9. ^ a b "FONTAINE SIGNS NEW CONTRACT". www.hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian FC. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  10. ^ Wilson, Richard (13 March 2016). "Scottish League Cup Final: Hibernian 1 Ross County 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Hibernian: New contracts for Martin Boyle and Liam Fontaine". BBC Sport. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  13. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (15 September 2017). "Hibernian defenders Liam Fontaine and Darren McGregor face spell on the sidelines". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Liam Fontaine: Ross County sign defender from Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Ross County 2–4 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  16. ^ a b Fowler, Craig (7 October 2020). "Hibs cup-winning hero Liam Fontaine leaves Ross County". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Liam joins". dundeefc.co.uk. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Ayr United v Dundee". BBC. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  19. ^ Crawford, Kenny (29 December 2020). "Dundee 3–1 Alloa Athletic: Sow scores double in hosts' win". BBC. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  20. ^ "@DundeeFC on Twitter". Twitter. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Dundee promoted as Kilmarnock drop down for first time in 28 years". BBC. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Liam signs new deal". dundeefc.co.uk. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Player Departures". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  24. ^ Banks, Ben (10 July 2022). "Hibs Scottish Cup hero signs for FC Edinburgh as he relishes 'intriguing' challenge". msn.com. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  25. ^ "@FC_Edinburgh on Twitter". Twitter. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  26. ^ "SPFL statement: Edinburgh City | SPFL". spfl.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  27. ^ "@LiamFontaine on Twitter". twitter.com. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  28. ^ a b Skinner, Andy (27 September 2018). "Ross County defender Liam Fontaine credits music with steering him through injury troubles following debut single". Press & Journal. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Liam Fontaine: Ross County defender releases single". BBC Sport. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  30. ^ Liam Fontaine at Soccerbase
  31. ^ a b c "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  32. ^ a b c "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  34. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  36. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  37. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  40. ^ a b "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  41. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  42. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  43. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  44. ^ a b "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  45. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  46. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  47. ^ a b "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  48. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  49. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  50. ^ "Games played by Liam Fontaine in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  51. ^ "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  52. ^ "Ross County Secure title and promotion". BBC. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  53. ^ "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
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