Chris Lines

Born in Bristol,[1] Lines spent a year playing for Bitton as a 16-year-old,[2] before graduating through the Bristol Rovers-backed Bristol Academy of Sport at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He had previously been released from the Bristol Rovers youth programme, but was re-signed at the age of 16.[3] He made his first-team debut for Rovers on 21 January 2006, playing the last five minutes of a 2–1 win over Chester City at the Memorial Stadium.[4] After two further substitute appearances in League Two, he made his first league start on 6 May, in a 3–2 home defeat to Macclesfield Town.[5]

After three appearances in the 2006–07 campaign, he featured in six matches from March onwards, and was an extra-time substitute for Lewis Haldane in the Football League Trophy final defeat to Doncaster Rovers at the Millennium Stadium.[6] He was an unused substitute in the League Two play-off final, as the "Pirates" won promotion with a 3–1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Wembley.[7]

He became a first team regular under manager Paul Trollope in the 2007–08 season, playing 27 League One games and featuring in eight of the "Gasheads" nine FA Cup games en route to the quarter-finals. He put in an "excellent" performance as Rovers beat Premier League Fulham on penalties in the Third Round on 22 January, and was fouled by Dejan Stefanović in an incident which saw the Serbian sent off.[8] He scored his first goal in competitive football on 29 December, heading in the first goal of a 3–0 home win over Carlisle United.[9] He played 48 games in the 2008–09 season, and missed only one league game due a suspension he picked up whilst celebrating an injury-time equaliser he scored against Swindon Town on 22 November.[10]

Lines was nominated for the League One Player of the Month award in November 2009 after scoring a goal in each of his three league games that month.[11] He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2010, and was described by director of football Lennie Lawrence as "a fundamental part of our plans to take this club forward."[12] This came shortly after he was reported to be a transfer target for Southampton manager Alan Pardew.[13] The transfer rumours continued despite the new contract.[14] In total he scored ten goals in 46 appearances in the 2009–10 campaign.

He was sidelined for two weeks with a toe injury in February 2011, but thanked manager Dave Penney after he made an immediate return to the first team.[15] Despite this praise he publicly supported the board's decision to sack Penney the following month, and went on to praise the impact of caretaker-manager Stuart Campbell.[16] Following Rovers' relegation to League Two at the end of the 2010–11 season, Lines had a seven-day trial period with Championship side Crystal Palace in the summer.[17][18] New Rovers boss Paul Buckle admitted that he was unlikely to keep Lines for the following season.[19] He was still at the club though for the 2011–12 season opening victory over AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.[20]

Lines playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 2012

In August 2011, Lines joined League One club Sheffield Wednesday on a three-year contract for a £50,000 fee.[21] He went on to score four goals in 47 appearances in the 2011–12 campaign as the "Owls" secured promotion with a second-place finish, and was twice named on the League One Team of the Week.[22][23]

"It's all new to me, I had one promotion before but this was amazing, Saturday was amazing, to have that kind of crowd in League One is unreal. There were some mad scenes at the end but it was a great day. I'm proud to be at this club."

— Lines reflecting on the promotion success in May 2012.[24]

He picked up a groin injury at the start of the 2012–13 season, and was out of action for three months.[25] Manager Dave Jones played Lines in six Championship games in the buildup to Christmas, though did not play him in the new year. On 22 January 2013, Lines joined League One Milton Keynes Dons on loan for the remainder of the season after manager Karl Robinson admitted that Lines was "a player I have admired for a number of years now".[26] Robinson was in search of midfield options after Luke Chadwick and Stephen Gleeson both picked up injuries.[26] He featured in 18 games for the "Dons", including the 4–2 victory over Premier League side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.[27] After returning from Stadium mk, Lines had his contract at Hillsborough cancelled by mutual consent in July 2013.[28]

Lines signed for newly promoted League One side Port Vale on a one-year deal in July 2013.[29] In the first part of the 2013–14 season he began tracking back to help his defence whilst also being the key playmaker in central midfield, after a discussion with manager Micky Adams.[30] He scored his first goal for the "Valiants" with a "superb free-kick" from 25-yards in a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park on 29 September.[31] He went on to build an impressive partnership in midfield with Anthony Griffith; Griffith providing the tough-tackling and Lines providing the creative playmaking.[32] He signed a new two-year contract in the summer.[33] He said that the good team spirit at the club was a major factor in him signing the contract.[34]

He remained a key first team player in the first half of the 2014–15 season, being named on the Football League team of the week after he "pulled the strings" in a 4–1 win over Yeovil Town at Vale Park.[35] However he was sent off for violent conduct after thrusting his head towards Dele Alli in a 1–0 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons at Stadium mk on 22 November; manager Rob Page stated that Lines should have known better.[36] After returning from suspension he lost his midfield spot to Michael O'Connor and Michael Brown.[37]

On 9 March 2015, he rejoined his first professional club, Bristol Rovers, on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season; the club had fallen out of the English Football League in his absence, but were top of the Conference Premier division when manager Darrell Clarke re-signed him.[38] They ended the campaign in second place, but Lines scored a goal in a 3–0 aggregate victory over Forest Green Rovers in the play-off semi-finals to help Rovers to reach the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.[39] He played in the 1–1 draw with Grimsby Town in the play-off final and converted the first penalty of the shoot-out, which Rovers won to regain their Football League status.[40] He signed with Rovers on a permanent basis in June 2015, after his contract with Port Vale was cancelled by mutual consent.[41] Squad rotation and a recurring stomach injury limited Lines to 36 appearances as Rovers won promotion with a third-place finish in 2015–16.[42]

Lines scored his first goal since his full return to Bristol Rovers with a strike from 25-yards in a 1–0 victory over Cardiff City in the first round of the EFL Cup on 11 August 2016.[43] The goal secured Rovers a trip to Stamford Bridge and a second round tie against Chelsea, which they ultimately lost 3–2.[44] He scored his first league goal since his return in a late 2–1 comeback victory over Gillingham on 15 October as he embarked on a run from deep before calmly tucking the ball beyond "Gills" goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.[45] His consistently good performances were rewarded with a new undisclosed-length contract in March 2017.[46]

Speaking as the oldest member of the squad at the age of 32 in September 2017, he admitted to getting into vegetarianism as he restricted his diet in an attempt to extend his playing career.[47] On 2 April 2018, he was sent off during a 2–0 defeat at Fleetwood Town and was subsequently given abuse on social media by some of the club's supporters.[48] He ended the 2017–18 season with five goals in 47 appearances as Rovers posted a 13th-place finish in League One. On 21 August 2018, he scored a 76th-minute penalty in a 2–1 home defeat to Portsmouth, only to get sent off two minutes later for a studs up challenge on Brett Pitman.[49] However he lost his first team place after Graham Coughlan replaced Clarke as manager in December.[50]

On 8 May 2019, Lines was announced to be one of nine players who would be leaving the club at the end of their contract. Lines ended his second spell with his boyhood club having made 348 appearances, scoring 34 goals and having achieved three promotions during his two spells at the club.[51][52]

On 15 May 2019, Lines signed a two-year deal with League Two side Northampton Town; "Cobblers" manager Keith Curle said that "I think his attributes will really help us".[53] Darrell Clarke had tried to tempt him to join him at Walsall, but was unsuccessful.[50] He quickly established himself as a key first-team player under Curle, starting nine of Northampton's first ten league games of the 2019–20 season.[54] On 18 January, he scored a long-range volley in a 4–1 victory over Morecambe, which was later voted as goal of the season (so far) by readers of the Northampton Chronicle & Echo during the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[55][56]