Ben Reeves

Ben Reeves
Reeves training with Milton Keynes Dons in 2013
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Neil Reeves[1]
Date of birth (1991-11-19) 19 November 1991 (age 32)
Place of birth Verwood, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2001–2011 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Southampton 5 (0)
2012Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) 5 (0)
2013Southend United (loan) 6 (1)
2013Southend United (loan) 4 (0)
2013–2017 Milton Keynes Dons 110 (24)
2017–2019 Charlton Athletic 58 (7)
2019–2020 Milton Keynes Dons 17 (1)
2020–2021 Plymouth Argyle 28 (0)
2021–2023 Gillingham 35 (2)
2024 Eastleigh 13 (1)
Total 281 (36)
International career
2014–2015 Northern Ireland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benjamin Neil Reeves (born 19 November 1991) is a professional football coach and former player who is currently an Under-21s support player at Premier League club Southampton. Born in England, he has been capped twice for the Northern Ireland national team.

Club career

[edit]

Southampton

[edit]

Having started out in the youth team as a left back, he was later converted into an attacking midfielder. On 5 April 2011, Reeves signed his first professional contract on a two-year deal.[3]

On 21 September 2011, he made his debut for Southampton, playing the full 90 minutes in the League Cup third round match against Preston North End. He set up the first goal in a 2–1 win.[4] At the start of the 2012–13 season, Reeves scored his first goal for Southampton against Stevenage in the League Cup on 28 August 2012.[5] He made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park on 29 September.[6]

On 4 June 2013, at the end of the 2012–13 season, Reeves was released by Southampton.[7]

Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)

[edit]

He joined Dagenham & Redbridge on a month's loan on 23 February 2012,[8] making his debut for the club two days later, in a 0–0 draw against Plymouth Argyle.[9] Reeves made five appearances before returning to his parent club.[10]

Southend (loan)

[edit]

After six first-team appearances for the Saints in 2012–13, on 31 January 2013 Reeves joined Southend United on loan for a month.[10][11] He scored his first goal for the club on 12 February, in a 2–1 defeat at home to Cheltenham Town.[12] Eight days later, Reeves scored his second goal for the club, in the last minutes of the Football League Trophy Southern Area Final, as Southend beat Leyton Orient 3–2 on aggregate, to send the club to the final.[13]

On 15 March 2013, it was announced that Reeves had re-joined Southend United on loan, until the end of the season, in his second spell at the club.[14] Reeves played his first match in his second loan spell, providing an assist for Freddy Eastwood, in a 1–1 draw against Torquay United.[15] Reeves played in the final of the Football League Trophy against Crewe, where he came on as a substitute for Bilel Mohsni in the 57th minute, as Southend lost 2–0.[16]

Milton Keynes Dons

[edit]

On 13 July 2013, Reeves signed for Milton Keynes Dons on a one-year contract.[17]

2013–14 season

[edit]

After appearing on the bench in the opening game of the season against Shrewsbury Town, Reeves scored on his debut in the first round of the League Cup, with a 2–1 victory over Northampton Town.[18] Three days later, Reeves made his league debut for the club, playing as a left-back, in a 1–0 win over Crewe.[19] After appearing on the bench throughout August and September, Reeves played in an unusual position as a striker when he scored his league goal of the season, in a 3–2 win over Rotherham United on 19 October 2013.[20] December saw Reeves scored three against Dover Athletic in the second league round of FA Cup[21] and then followed up, scoring two league goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers[22] and Port Vale.[23] January then saw Reeves scored three goals, including twice against Wigan Athletic[24] and Bristol City.[25] Reeves later scored two league goals in February against Walsall[26] and Oldham Athletic[27] Unfortunately, Reeves suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for two games[28] and scored on his return from injury, in a 1–0 win over Stevenage on 22 March 2014 (which later earned him award for March's Goal of the Month).[29][30] However, his return was short-lived when he suffered ankle ligament damage that saw him out for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.[31]

Despite this, Reeves won four award (includes Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, MKDSA Player of the Year and Goal of the Year) at the club's award ceremony,[32] as well as, included for the LKO Team of the Season.[33] Not only that, the club opted to take up their option of a contract extension that would ensure Reeves remained under contract for the 2014–15 season.[34] Reeves finished his first season at Milton Keynes Dons, making thirty-five appearances and scoring eleven times in all competitions.

2014–15 season

[edit]

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Reeves returned from injury and resumed pre-season training.[35] At the beginning of July, Reeves signed a contract extension, keeping him at the Dons until 2016.[36]

It took until 13 September 2014 for Reeves score his first goal of the 2014–15 season, in a 5–3 win over Barnsley,[37] which he followed up by scoring seven days later, in a 6–1 win over Crewe.[38] His third goal later came on 29 November 2014, in a 6–0 win over Colchester United.[39] Reeves was out throughout December when he suffered a hamstring injury.[40]

After appearing two games in mid-January, Reeves was again out injured but returned from the sidelines to score in a 4–2 win over Gillingham on 14 February 2015,[41] followed up scoring twice seven days later, in a 3–0 win over Peterborough United, which earned him Man of the Match award for his good performance.[42][43] Then on 17 March 2015, Reeves scored his seventh goal of the season, in a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic.[44]

However, Reeves suffered a calf problem while on international duty, resulting in him initially being ruled out for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.[45] Despite this, Reeves returned to full training in early-May,[46] and made his return to the first team, where he came on as a substitute for Samir Carruthers in the 73rd minute, and set up the fifth goal for Dean Lewington, in a 5–1 win over Yeovil Town on the final day of the season to earn their first promotion to the Championship.[47] His second season saw Reeves make thirty-six appearances and score seven times in all competitions.

2015–16 season

[edit]

Reeves played his first Championship game in the opening match of the 2015–16 season, where he set up a goal for Dean Bowditch, in a 4–1 win over Rotherham United.[48] Three days after that, Reeves signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him at the Dons until 2017.[49] However, on 21 August, Reeves suffered a hamstring injury, which he sustained during a match against Preston North End which ruled him out for a month.[50]

He made his return to the side on 19 September when he came on as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat by Leeds United.[51] Reeves scored twice against Blackburn Rovers on 17 October, helping his team to a 3–0 victory, their first in the league since mid-August.[52]

Charlton Athletic

[edit]

On 3 August 2017, Reeves signed for League One side Charlton Athletic on a two-year contract., rejoining his former manager, Karl Robinson.[53] He scored his first goal for Charlton in an EFL Trophy tie against Crawley Town on 29 August 2017.[54] He was released by Charlton at the end of the 2018–19 season.[55]

Milton Keynes Dons (second spell)

[edit]

On 1 August 2019, Reeves returned to Milton Keynes Dons on a free transfer for a second spell having spent much of pre-season training with the club.[56] Despite enjoying a mostly injury-free season, Reeves was one of nine players released from the club at the conclusion of the campaign. In August 2020 he was on trial at Plymouth Argyle.[57]

Plymouth Argyle

[edit]

On 3 September 2020, Reeves signed for League One club Plymouth Argyle having spent a week on trial.[58] He scored his first goal for Plymouth on 10 November 2020 in an EFL Trophy group game against Newport County.[59]

Gillingham

[edit]

Following his release from Plymouth at the conclusion of the 2020–21 season,[60] Reeves signed for fellow League One side Gillingham.

He was released by the club at the end of the 2022–23 season.[61]

Eastleigh

[edit]

On 1 February 2024, Reeves joined National League club Eastleigh.[62] He departed the club at the end of the 2023–24 season.[63]

Coaching career

[edit]

On 15 August 2024, Reeves re-joined Southampton as part of the Under-21s setup, with his role seeing him support youth players within the academy.[64]

International career

[edit]

Reeves received his first international call-up for Northern Ireland in February 2014, qualifying as his grandparents hail from Fermanagh.[65] He made his debut on 14 October 2014, when he came on as a substitute in a Euro 2016 qualifier match against Greece,[66] described as "a high-pressure debut".[67]

Career statistics

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[68]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Southampton 2011–12 Championship 2 0 3 0 2 0 7 0
2012–13 Premier League 3 0 0 0 3 1 6 1
Total 5 0 3 0 5 1 13 1
Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) 2011–12 League Two 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Southend United (loan) 2012–13 League Two 10 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 13 2
Milton Keynes Dons 2013–14 League One 28 7 3 3 2 1 2 0 35 11
2014–15 League One 30 7 2 0 4 0 0 0 36 7
2015–16 Championship 18 3 2 1 2 0 22 4
2016–17 League One 34 7 4 2 1 0 3 1 41 10
Total 110 24 11 6 9 1 4 1 134 32
Charlton Athletic 2017–18 League One 29 3 1 2 1 0 5[a] 2 36 7
2018–19 League One 29 4 1 0 0 0 2[b] 0 32 4
Total 58 7 2 2 1 0 7 2 68 11
Milton Keynes Dons 2019–20 League One 17 1 1 0 0 0 1[b] 0 19 1
Plymouth Argyle 2020–21 League One 28 0 2 1 0 0 2[b] 1 32 2
Gillingham 2021–22 League One 20 2 2 0 1 0 3[b] 0 26 2
2022–23 League Two 15 0 3 0 3 0 1[b] 0 22 0
Total 35 2 5 0 4 0 4 0 48 2
Eastleigh 2023–24[69] National League 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 1
Career total 281 36 24 9 19 2 22 5 346 52
  1. ^ Four appearances in the EFL Trophy and one in the League One play-offs
  2. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours

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Southend United

Milton Keynes Dons

Charlton Athletic

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Ben Reeves". www.pafc.co.uk. Plymouth Argyle F.C. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Southampton sign Plymouth Argyle defender Jack Stephens". BBC Sport. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Southampton 2 – 1 Preston". BBC Sport. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Stevenage 1 – 4 Southampton". BBC Sport. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  6. ^ Johnston, Neil (29 September 2012). "Everton 3 – 1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ^ "2012/13 Released List". Southampton F.C. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Dagenham & Redbridge sign Jonathan Bond and Ben Reeves". BBC Sport. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Plymouth 0 – 0 Dagenham and Redbridge". BBC Sport. 25 February 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Reeves Set For Southend Spell". Southampton FC. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Southampton: Ben Reeves loaned to Southend United". BBC Sport. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Southend 1 – 2 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Southend 2–2 L Orient (agg 3–2)". BBC Sport. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Ben Reeves: Southend United re-sign JPT hero on loan". BBC Sport. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Southend United 1 Torquay United 1". Daily Echo. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Crewe 2–0 Southend". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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  19. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 1 – 0 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 3 – 2 Rotherham United". BBC Sport. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 1 – 0 Dover Athletic". BBC Sport. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 – 2 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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  33. ^ "Duo in LKO Team of the Season". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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  35. ^ "Trio fit for MK Dons training". Sky Sports. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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  37. ^ "Barnsley 3 – 5 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 6 – 1 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  39. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 6 – 0 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  40. ^ "Preview: Chesterfield". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  41. ^ "Report: Gillingham 4 – 2 Milton Keynes Dons F.C." Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  42. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 3 – 0 Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  43. ^ "Brilliant Ben earns place in TOTW". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 23 February 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  44. ^ "Oldham Athletic 1 – 3 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  45. ^ "Reeves ruled out for season". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  46. ^ "Preview: Yeovil Town". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 3 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  47. ^ "MK Dons 5 – 1 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  48. ^ "Rotherham United 1 – 4 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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  50. ^ "Injury update: Walsh/Reeves/Randall". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  51. ^ "MK Dons 1 – 2 Leeds". BBC Sport. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  52. ^ "MK Dons 3 – 0 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  53. ^ "Ben Reeves: Charlton Athletic sign former MK Dons midfielder". BBC Sport. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  54. ^ "Crawley Town 0 Charlton Athletic 2 – Ben Reeves off the mark and a first senior goal for George Lapslie". londonnewsonline.co.uk. 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  55. ^ "Charlton Athletic offer Patrick Bauer and Joe Aribo new contracts". BBC Sport. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  56. ^ "Ben Reeves: Milton Keynes Dons re-sign midfielder after two years at Charlton Athletic". BBC News. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  57. ^ "Moore-Taylor and Reeves among the NINE released by MK Dons". Milton Keynes Citizen. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  58. ^ "Reeves Signs". PAFC.co.uk. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  59. ^ "Plymouth Argyle 3 Newport County 1: Victory for Pilgrims in EFL Trophy". plymouthherald.co.uk. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  60. ^ Errington, Chris (13 May 2021). "Ryan Lowe explains why it did not work out for Ben Reeves at Argyle". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  61. ^ "Gillingham FC Retained List 2022/23". www.gillinghamfootballclub.com. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  62. ^ "NEWS | BEN REEVES JOINS THE SPITFIRES". www.eastleighfc.com. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  63. ^ "OFFICIAL | 2024/25 RELEASED & RETAINED LIST". www.eastleighfc.com. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  64. ^ "Reeves returns as Under-21s support player". Southampton FC. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  65. ^ "Ben Reeves named in Northern Ireland squad for Cyprus friendly". BBC Sport. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  66. ^ Petrie, Richard (14 October 2014). "Greece 0 Northern Ireland 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  67. ^ "Greece 0 Northern Ireland 2, Euro 2016 qualifier: Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ward maintain perfect start". Daily Telegraph. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  68. ^ "Games played by Ben Reeves". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by Ben Reeves in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  70. ^ "Starting Lineups - Crewe vs Southend". Sky Sports. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  71. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2015). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2015–2016. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-1-4722-2416-3.
  72. ^ Law, James (26 May 2019). "Charlton Athletic 2–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  73. ^ "Football: Ben Reeves scoops four gongs in MK Dons Player of the Year awards". OneMK. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2016.[dead link]
  74. ^ "Ben bags four awards". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
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