James Frederick Alan Shepherd (born 23 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender.
Shepherd was born in the London Borough of Newham, and grew up in nearby Hornchurch.[3] He started his career with local side Dagenham & Redbridge in 2009, progressing through the youth system to sign a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2014.[4] In January 2016, he was sent out on loan to Isthmian League Premier Division side East Thurrock United to gain experience in senior football.[5] He made two appearances as a substitute during his one-month spell with the Rooks.[6] In February 2016, he was sent out on loan again to Isthmian League Division One North side Barkingside along with fellow scholars Kai Heather, Darren Foxley and David Nicol-Wilson.[7] He featured regularly as a starter for Barkingside as the team struggled near the bottom of the table, he returned to Dagenham in April having made eleven appearances.[8] He made his debut for Dagenham on 30 April in a 3–0 home win over Crawley Town.[9]
In August 2016, he signed for Southern League Premier Division side Hayes & Yeading United on a one-month loan deal.[10] He was a regular starter during his loan spell making six appearances in all competitions during the month.[11] In October 2016, he joined Southern Football League Division One Central side Egham Town on a one-month loan deal, where he went on to make eight first team appearances.[12] In December 2016, he joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Billericay Town on a one-month loan deal.[13] He went on to make four league appearances during the month.[14] In February 2017, he was sent out on loan again signing a one-month loan with National League South side Whitehawk.[15] He spent a month with the Hawks making a total of five appearances.[11] In March 2017, he was sent out on loan for the fourth time of the season, joining Isthmian League Division One South side East Grinstead Town for a month.[16] However, later in the month his contract with Dagenham was terminated and he remained with East Grinstead until the end of the season.[17]
In July 2017, he signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side Harlow Town, where he went on to make 26 appearances in all competitions.[18] In January 2018, he dropped down a division to sign for Isthmian League North Division Maldon & Tiptree.[19]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2015–16[9] | League Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016–17[20] | National League | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| East Thurrock United (loan) | 2015–16[6] | IL Premier Division | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Barkingside (loan) | 2015–16[8] | IL Division One North | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Hayes & Yeading United (loan) | 2016–17[11] | SL Premier Division | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Egham Town (loan) | 2016–17[11] | SL Division One Central | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Billericay Town (loan) | 2016–17[14] | IL Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Whitehawk (loan) | 2016–17[11] | National League South | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Harlow Town | 2017–18[21] | IL Premier Division | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[a] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Maldon & Tiptree | 2017–18[22] | IL North Division | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19[22] | IL North Division | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 89 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 99 | 2 | ||
