“Everyone wants to play at the top level and it’s all I’ve wanted to do.”

An Owl at heart (Sheffield Wednesday in case you were wondering), Worksop Town’s vice-captain, James Baxendale, has had a career that has taken him from the Lilywhites to the Tigers, via Yorkshire, Derbyshire, the West Midlands, and three years ago, in 2017, Orange County, USA.

Affectionately known as ‘Baxo,’ the Yorkshire-born footballer came up through the ranks at Leeds United, falling just short of pulling on the first teams’ famous white jersey during a period which, having fallen from grace, were plying their trade down in League One.

In departing Elland Road for pastures new in 2011, Baxo would have first brief spells with Doncaster Rovers, Buxton, and Hereford United, going on to make his Football League debut, with Doncaster, in the August of that year.

Over the space of four short days Baxo would make his Donny debut, in the League Cup, against Tranmere Rovers (won 3-0), and his league debut a couple of days later against West Ham United (lost 1-0), however, amidst the euphoria of those special moments, and subsequent loan spells, he was quickly moved on, heading to the West Midlands where he would find his feet.

Looking back on his beginnings, at Elland Road, Baxo told the Nottingham Sport: “I was there for about a decade all told, right up to my second year as a scholar.

“They were in League One at the time, under Simon Grayson, a massive club for the level, and had players like (Jermaine) Beckford, (Jonny) Howson, (Luciano) Becchio, and (Robert) Snodgrass playing for them.

“For me however, the grounding, the schooling, the facilities, were all second-to-none and I feel privileged to have been able to play for the reserves at Elland Road and I’ve got my grandfather to thank for it all; he pushed me into being the best that I can and would take me to games.”

Although luck would take Baxo to Doncaster, netting in two trial matches after a barren spell at Leeds, it would be a short spell at the Keepmoat Stadium, instead finding himself at the Banks’s (Bescot) Stadium, Walsall, in 2012.

A somewhat enjoyable four year spell at the Saddlers would culminate in their reaching the 2015 FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium, the pinnacle of any players’ career, Baxo coming on as a late substitute for Jordan Cook.

En-route to the final of the Football League’s showpiece, knock-out competition, where they would lose 2-0 against Bristol City, Walsall would see off Rochdale (1-0), Sheffield United (1-0), Tranmere Rovers (on penalties after a 2-2 draw), before beating Preston North End in the two-legged, Northern section final (2-0 win away, 0-0 draw at home).

“Walsall, to me, is a club similar to that which we’ve got here, at Worksop,” continued Baxo.

“I lived the dream at Walsall, and ended up at Wembley; I also made a habit of scoring goals from outside the box whilst there, but, towards the end, I had around six months without playing, and a footballer needs to play, so I soon found myself heading to Nottinghamshire.”

His first spell in Robin Hood country would see Baxo turn out for Mansfield Town, doubling up on his Stags debut when netting the winning goal in what was a man-of-the-match performance.

That was in January 2016, against Stevenage Borough, when initially on a one-month loan, Baxo playing all but the closing minutes of the League Two encounter, firing home from fully twenty yards out.

It wasn’t the nest of times with the League Two side though and, after feeling the elation of a cracking debut, an on-top-of-the-world felling, the effort which he felt he gave was to be unreciprocated.

And he ended up in America instead – he does still have dreams of playing abroad again…

“Orange County, that was a bizarre one,” laughed Baxo, “I was released early from my contract at Mansfield and felt that I needed to fix myself up quickly with another club, and I’d always dreamed of playing in Scandinavia if I’m honest, I still do.

“The feelers were then put out, and next you know, I’ve an agent on the phone asking if I’d be interested in playing for Orange County, in America.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d never heard of the place, Orange County, and had to google it to see where it was. But here I was, 25-years-old, and you know inside you’re never going to get another opportunity like that again.

“I didn’t sleep that night, and of course, it’s a dream for anyone, then, next thing, I’m playing places I’d never of visiting but you can only do what you can, irrespective of who you’re playing for, and against.”

Upon his return to British soil, Baxo dropped into the English non-league system, first with Alfreton Town, then Kidderminster Harriers, as well as brief spells at Mickleover, Grantham and more recently, Pontefract Collieries, he, and many others, this past summer, arriving at Sandy Lane, ushering in a new era at the Northern Premier League Division One South/East club.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @ChadNews James Baxendale in his playing days for Mansfield Town.