Dan Ellison makes move to the EFL
Young defender had a breakthrough season last season
Chippenham Town can now announce that subject to the necessary clearance, Dan Ellison has departed the Bluebirds and signed for Bristol Rovers of League One.
Of course, this is a bittersweet moment for Chippenham supporters with wanting to keep hold of our best players a priority at the club but we have never, and will never deny our players the opportunity to further their careers and of course, shine a light on the great work we do here at Chippenham Town FC with player development. Dan goes to the Gas with our best wishes, our collective support and an army of followers behind him from his old club that wish to see him push to the very top of our game.
Dan of course started with Joe Sharples in the CTFC Academy, rapidly becoming a standout player in a group littered with players that would go on to make their debuts for Chippenham Town FC. Dan capped his time with the Academy with what we have now come to know as a trademark Dan Ellison header, scoring the winning goal in the NYFL Cup at West Bromwich Albion giving the Bluebirds a 1-0 win over Rochdale. Dan then proceeded to spend time in and around the first team and was loaned to Westbury United at the beginning of last season to get some experience but even Dan couldn’t foresee the season he was about to have.
Recalled from his loan due to a shortage of options at the back, Dan came in and made his first team debut against Tonbridge in a 2–1 defeat at Hardenhuish Park. Ellison would then be a mainstay in Gary Horgan’s squad for the remainder of the season with sturdy defensive performances and doing his bit in the opposite box scoring 4 goals and forming an effective partnership with Luke Haines and Aaron Amadi-Holloway. Dan would go on to play 40+ games for the Bluebirds in his debut season and even captained the side at the County Ground to win the Wiltshire Premier Shield.
Dan’s best achievement was arguably yet to follow as Paul Fairclough put in the call and Chippenham Town had an England International on their hands! Playing his part in a 2-0 victory at home to Nepal, Ellison would wrap up the season by getting his hands on the Chippenham Town FC Young Player of the Season award and fared well in the Supporters Player of the Year vote as well reaching the top 5.
A lot of the chatter over the summer has been about where Ellison would end up spending time with Blackpool, Derby and attracting interest from various other clubs up and down the EFL, Ellison would eventually end speculation by signing for local club, Bristol Rovers with Dan himself stating that “Rovers had the best interests at heart regarding his development as a player”.
We will look forward to seeing Dan pull on a new kind of blue and white now that he has signed his first professional contract and look forward to the next talented youngster to come out of our academy finding his way into the Chippenham Town First XI.
