Sam Ling
Personal information
Full name Samuel Jack Ling[1]
Date of birth (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Broxbourne, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Dagenham & Redbridge
Number 19
Youth career
2013–2016 Leyton Orient
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Leyton Orient 0 (0)
2015 → Grays Athletic (loan) 0 (0)
2016 → Histon (loan) 7 (1)
2016–2018 Dagenham & Redbridge 40 (3)
2018–2021 Leyton Orient 80 (1)
2021– Dagenham & Redbridge 98 (4)
International career
2018 England C 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:49, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

Samuel Jack Ling (born 17 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League club Dagenham & Redbridge.

Career

Ling began his career at Leyton Orient, progressing through the O's academy to become Youth Team captain and also featured on the bench for the first-team a number of times.[3] He moved to Dagenham & Redbridge in 2016. On 7 February 2018, he returned to fellow National League and former club Leyton Orient for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half year contract.[4] Ling was one of a number of players to leave Dagenham due to the club's financial issues.[5] His father, Martin, was also director of football at Orient.[4] He made his long-awaited debut for the club on February 17, coming on as a substitute in the second-half against Chester.[3] He scored his first goal for the club on 15 March 2019 in a 3–2 away win at Barrow.[3] He played a key role at right-back as Orient won the National League title at the end of the 2018–19 season.[5] Ling started the 2019–20 season well and was nominated for the Orient's Player of the Month award in August.[3] On 9 September 2019 he signed a new one-year extension to his contract until the summer of 2021.[6] He had been an ever-present in the side since promotion and their return to the English Football League.[6] He made his 50th appearance for the club on 21 September 2019 in a 2–1 defeat to Colchester United.[3] He made a total of 87 appearances for Orient in three-and-a-half seasons before he was released in the summer of 2021 following the expiration of his contract.[7]

On 9 July 2021, Ling returned to National League side Dagenham & Redbridge on a free transfer.[7] Daggers boss, Daryl McMahon, spoke of his acquisition, "He obviously comes from a good footballing family, with his dad Martin. I've known Sam since he was about five or six, from when I played for Martin at Leyton Orient. He's been at the football club before and did really well here, so we know what we're getting."

Personal life

His father is Martin Ling.[6]

Career statistics

As of match played 24 February 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Leyton Orient 2013–14[8] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[8] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015–16[8] League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Grays Athletic (loan) 2014–15[9] IL Premier Division 0 0 — — — 0 0
Histon (loan) 2015–16[10] SL Premier Division 7 1 — — — 7 1
Dagenham & Redbridge 2016–17[8] National League 11 0 1 0 — 0 0 12 0
2017–18[8] National League 29 3 2 0 — 1[a] 0 32 3
Total 40 3 3 0 — 1 0 44 3
Leyton Orient 2017–18[8] National League 13 0 0 0 — 0 0 13 0
2018–19[8] National League 22 1 1 0 — 4[a] 0 27 1
2019–20[11] League Two 15 0 1 0 0 0 2[b] 0 18 0
2020–21[12] League Two 30 0 0 0 1 0 3[b] 1 34 1
Total 80 1 2 0 1 0 9 1 92 2
Dagenham & Redbridge 2021–22[13] National League 32 2 2 0 — 3[a] 0 37 2
2022–23[14] National League 34 1 1 0 — 1[a] 0 36 1
2023–24[15] National League 32 1 0 0 — 1[a] 1 33 2
Total 98 4 3 0 — 5 1 106 5
Career total 225 9 8 0 1 0 15 2 249 11
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in FA Trophy
  2. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Leyton Orient

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Sam Ling". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Sam Ling's Biography". Leyton Orient FC. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Sam Ling: Leyton Orient re-sign defender from Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b Ranson, Jacob (20 June 2021). "Dagenham & Redbridge interested in former Leyton Orient full-back Sam Ling". Barking & Dagenham Post. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Sam Ling: Leyton Orient defender agrees new contract at League Two club". BBC Sport. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Sam Ling Returns To The Daggers!". Dagenham & Redbridge FC. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Sam Ling at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "National League: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
    "Leyton Orient FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Sam Ling profile". Aylesbury United FC. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Games played by Sam Ling in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Games played by Sam Ling in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Games played by Sam Ling in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Games played by Sam Ling in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Games played by Sam Ling in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  16. ^ Stevens, Rob (19 May 2019). "AFC Fylde 1–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2019.

External links

Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. – current squad
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