Ipswich Town banked ex-Premier League ace - his contract was ripped up after just 19 apps | OneFootball

Nathan Ellington's spell at Portman Road proved disastrous

Nathan Ellington is a name who supporters of many Championship clubs will remember with differing emotions, with the forward featuring for 13 different sides across his senior career between 1998 and 2018.

The Bradford-born striker would embark on a journey which took him from non-league to the Premier League in less than a decade, although he is best remembered for his time in the second tier, it must be said.

After making his senior debut for Tooting and Mitcham United at just 16 years of age, Ellington's first spell of league football would come with Bristol Rovers in 1999, and his spell in the West Country was one which certainly lit the blue touchpaper when it came to swiftly progressing up the EFL ladder.

Indeed, he would subsequently become a cult hero during his days at Wigan Athletic, during which he played a starring role in the Latics' first-ever promotion to the Premier League under Paul Jewell in 2004/05 alongside his former Rovers strike partner, Jason Roberts.

Fast-forward a handful of years, though, and Ellington's career, which was still hugely respectable in comparison to that of many others, had somewhat regressed, and by the mid-2010s, he found himself signing for Ipswich Town.

Much like their newly-signed forward, the East Anglian side had endured the first years of a stagnant period in the Championship which lasted for 17 years, as they were relegated from the Premier League in 2002 and failed to return until Kieran McKenna was able to mastermind back-to-back promotions from the starting position of League One between 2022 and 2024, some five years after their time was initially up in the second tier - for all the wrong reasons - under the management of Paul Lambert.

Ipswich had developed a reputation for signing a raft of experienced players during this period, so it perhaps wasn't the greatest of surprises that Ellington made a switch to Suffolk in June 2011.

However, his stint with the Blues would prove to be anything but successful, and it was the last time that he would feature in the Championship during a lengthy career.

As previously mentioned, the best days of Ellington's career would come at the Brick Community Stadium under Paul Jewell, with Wigan striking a then-club-record £1.2m deal with Bristol Rovers.

During three full seasons with the Latics, the striker hit double-figures in each of those, which included a Championship-leading total of 22 in their promotion-winning campaign, before also scoring eight times in the Premier League the following year with West Bromwich Albion.

After leaving The Hawthorns with 20 goals to his name, Ellington endured mixed spells with Watford and in loan stints with Derby County and Preston North End, before he was reunited with the aforementioned Jewell at Portman Road, penning a two-year contract on a free transfer.

The experienced forward made his debut through a two-minute substitute cameo on the opening day of the 2011/12 campaign against Bristol City, before being introduced on 78 minutes for his home bow against Hull City a week later.

Joining Ipswich at the same time as Michael Chopra, who ended the season as top scorer with 14 goals, Ellington was largely utilised as a squad player, although all 15 of his league appearances this particular campaign would be registered by January 2012, with the last of those coming in a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City at St. Andrew's.

Nathan Ellington had his Ipswich Town contract terminated after an 18-month stint

The 2012/13 season saw Ellington's gametime at Ipswich significantly diminish, despite his pre-established relationship with Jewell at Wigan and Derby.

Indeed, he would make just two further appearances for the Tractor Boys, coming off the bench against Charlton Athletic and Barnsley in September 2012 whilst failing to make a single other matchday squad before his three-time manager was dismissed by Marcus Evans and replaced by Mick McCarthy two months later.

Two weeks later, the striker joined Scunthorpe United of League One on loan, but his shortcomings in front of goal continued at Glanford Park despite dropping a division.

As such, his contract was mutually terminated with six months left to run, and he revealed exactly what forced said course of action.

“I didn’t see any future here and I think there will be a lot more opportunity for me at another club," said Ellington.

“I’d like to find a new club as quickly as possible really because you don’t want to miss out on playing and training for too long because you need to keep your sharpness up. That’s the aim and then I can continue the rest of the season and finish on a good note.

He would then move to Crewe Alexandra in March 2013 on a short-term deal, and one which expired five months later, before experiencing challenges on the non-league circuit and in Indonesia with the likes of Southport and Persija Jakarta, although the latter would be extremely short-lived.