John Hardiker

Who is John Hardiker?

John David Hardiker is an English footballer, currently playing for Ashton United.

Hardiker was a product of the academy system at Morecambe where he made his first full appearance at the age of 16. He moved in 2002 for a fee of £150,000 to Stockport County where he famously scored two goals in a historic victory over Manchester City. After making over 100 appearances for Stockport he moved to Bury before returning to Morecambe.

Hardiker was then released by Morecambe and spent some time at Fleetwood Town before being snapped up by Jim Harvey by signing a contract at Forest Green Rovers.

He had a turbulent 2008–09 season with Forest Green. He was appointed club captain until being sidelined for 4 months with injury, after which he made a dramatic return scoring twice in a 3–0 win over Northwich. Shortly after this, in late February 2009 he was suspended by the club over a non-club related matter. In March 2009 Hardiker resigned from his contract with Forest Green following his suspension.

On 19 March 2009 it was announced that Hardiker has signed a contract with Conference North side Stalybridge Celtic. In late 2010 he joined Droylsden after the two teams agreed an undisclosed fee.