To mark the first anniversary of the untimely death of Exeter City striker Adam Stansfield from Bowel Cancer, we will look back at his career with both the Grecians and Yeovil Town.
The Glovers (2001-2004)
Adam joined Yeovil Town in November 2001 after he was spotted by the then Glovers’ manager Gary Johnson playing for Western League side Elmore against Yeovil reserves.
This was just reward for his persistence after he had previously been for trials with Exeter City, Torquay United and Wolves with no success.
After opening his account for the Glovers against Northwich Victoria in December, Adam soon established himself as a first team regular.
He scored in every round of Yeovil’s run to the final of the 2002 FA Trophy, including a brace against Tiverton Town in the third round, and was on target in their two goal victory over Stevenage Borough in the Final at Villa Park.
The following season saw Adam miss much of the Glovers’ Conference title winning campaign and he only made one appearance.
In the Glovers’ debut league season, the 2003-04 campaign, Adam made 32 appearances and scored six goals before he was released during the following summer.
The Grecians (2006-2010)
On his release from Yeovil Town, Adam returned to the Conference to join Hereford United.
He spent two years at Edgar Street and helped the Bulls return to the Football League during that time. However, in 2006, Adam opted to return ‘home’ to join Exeter City.
Whilst he was at St James’ Park, the Grecians experienced one of the successful eras in their history.
They reached the Conference Play-Off final in 2007, where they were defeated by Morecambe 2-1. Adam played a key role in helping Exeter reach the final as he netted a brace in their final regular league game of the season against Southport, which sealed the Grecians’ involvement in the Play-Offs.
The following season, Exeter went one better as they beat Cambridge United 1-0 in the final at Wembley to secure their return to the Football League.
Winning promotion gave Adam a second shot at playing in the Football League. It was an opportunity he grabbed with both hands as he scored ten goals in 37 appearances, which made him Exeter’s top scorer, as the Grecians won promotion from League Two at the first time of asking.
Adam also played a key role in helping Exeter to consolidate their League One status, scoring seven goals in 27 appearances.
He was also on target against Yeovil Town on April 16th 2010, but, ever the professional, he refused to celebrate scoring against the team who gave him his first taste of professional football.
The 2009-10 campaign ended prematurely for Adam in March 2010 after he was struck down with a mysterious stomach illness, which was later diagnosed as Bowel Cancer.
Sadly for Adam, Bowel Cancer proved to be too difficult opponent to overcome as he passed away on August 10th at the age of 31.
During his four years at St James Park, Adam scored 39 goals in 150 appearances.
Following his death, Exeter City have retired their Number Nine shirt in Adam’s memory and a charity has also been set up in his memory.
The Adam Stansfield Foundation aims to promote the community participation in healthy recreation for young people in Devon, Herefordshire and Somerset as well as promoting and raising the awareness of Bowel Cancer.
