Date / Year of birth: 21st May 1979

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 2010/11

Season of last appearance: 2010/11

Also played for: Corinthian, Dover Athletic, Ramsgate, Maidstone United, Hythe Town and Cray Wanderers

Powerful hard-working striker born in Ashington, Northumberland whose first club in the south was Corinthian. Shaun's performances for the Kent League club came to the attention of Dover and they signed him ahead of the 2003/04 season.

He found first team opportunities limited at Dover and after only featuring in ten Isthmian League Premier Division games without scoring during the first half of the 2004/05 campaign Shaun moved on to Ramsgate in January 2005.

He made an instant impact for the Rams by scoring 14 times in 18 Kent League outings as they finished 2004/05 as champions. Shaun's goal tally included a hat-trick in a 5-4 defeat at Thamesmead on 5.3.05.

During the 2005/06 season he scored 21 Isthmian League Division 1 South goals from 42 league outings for the Rams as they won the title and he got one hat-trick - in a 6-0 win over Newport IOW at Southwood on 8.4.06. Shaun also scored five goals in cup ties.

The 2006/07 campaign was another good one for him as he scored 18 times in 39 Isthmian League Premier Division appearances for the Rams and three times in cup matches. One of those goals came from the penalty spot in a 2-0 home win over Margate in the Isthmian League Cup on 12.9.06.

During the opening weeks of the 2007/08 season Shaun scored five goals for Ramsgate including a hat-trick in a 4-0 home win over Maidstone on 4.9.07 and at the end of October 2007 he rejoined Dover.

He went on to score ten times in 30 appearances (12 as sub) in all competitions for Dover during the remainder of 2007/08 as they won the Division 1 South title.

Shaun then played a key role as Dover stormed to the Premier Division title during the 2008/09 campaign - his fourth league success in five seasons. He scored 18 goals from 48 outings in all competitions (five as sub) and his tally included the only goal in a 1-0 home win over Margate on 25.8.08 - an 82nd minute winner after he'd come on as a substitute. He also scored both Dover's goals as they won the return fixture at Margate 2-0 on 3.1.09 but Shaun was sent off late on after a foul on Wayne Wilson. The Thanet Times said it was an "over-the-top challenge" and described Shaun as a "Geordie powerhouse".

He stayed at Dover for the 2009/10 campaign and scored 12 goals from 43 appearances (one as sub) in all competitions as the club adjusted to life in the Conference South. In May 2010 Shaun signed a new contract but after he'd only featured as a substitute in Dover's first two league games of the 2010/11 season he joined Margate for an undisclosed fee.

Shaun signed a two-year contract after new Dover boss Martin Hayes allowed him to leave the club and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said Shaun had been "a hero at Southwood" during his time with Ramsgate. Margate manager Iain O'Connell told the paper "Our supporters will be really happy with this signing. I wanted to get him before but there was no way Andy Hessenthaler would have let him leave when he was manager. He's strong, he scores goals, he holds the ball up well and works his a*** off. On top of that, he's a good lad and will fit in really well here. He's exactly what I was looking for."

Shaun made his debut in a 2-1 defeat at Lowestoft in the Isthmian League Premier Division on 28.8.10 and after three games without scoring he got his first two goals for Margate in a 2-0 win over Aveley at Hartsdown Park on 7.9.10. He found the net with two headers and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said "deliver quality crosses for Shaun Welford and he'll score for fun". The paper continued "he's worked his nuts off in every match so far, chasing down lost causes, bashing up centre-halves and winning flick-ons" and added "he'll always do that but this bloke's got plenty of goals in him, too, and he was finally given the service". The paper said Shaun's first goal from a Wayne Wilson corner had been a "bullet header" and his second headed effort came from a Wilson free-kick. Iain O'Connell said "Two great headers. I keep telling the players our crossing has got to get better."

Shaun followed up his brace against Aveley with a goal in a 3-0 win at Binfield in the FA Cup on 11.9.10 and he took his tally to four with a header from a Wayne Wilson free-kick in a 2-1 win at Folkestone on 21.9.10.

On 27.9.10 Shaun was sent off in extra time of an FA Cup replay at Kingstonian as Margate lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said the second yellow card he received was for a "nothing tackle". He later had to serve a one-match ban.

In its report on a 2-1 defeat at Sutton on 2.10.10 the Thanet Times said Shaun "put in a hell of a shift" and on 9.10.10 he scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 home win over Horsham with one of his goals coming from the penalty spot. Iain O'Connell told the Thanet Times "Shaun was unbelievable. He's such a difficult man to mark. He deserves a hat-trick for all the running he does."

Shaun then made it back-to-back hat-tricks when he scored three times in his next outing as Margate thrashed Whitehawk 5-1 in an FA Trophy tie at Hartsdown Park on 16.10.10. All of his goals came in the space of 25 second half minutes and Shaun's best effort was the one that sealed his treble as he picked the ball up on the left, cut inside and curled a shot into the top corner. The Thanet Times said he was "unplayable at times" and Iain O'Connell agreed saying "Shaun's on fire at the moment and the good thing about him is no matter how many goals he scores he'll always work harder than anyone else. He's got ten goals already and I'd love him to finish top scorer in our league. He'd deserve it for the sheer hard work he puts in."

Unfortunately a few days after the Whitehawk game Shaun picked up a groin injury in training and he missed Margate's next seven matches as a result before returning as a substitute in a 5-3 defeat at Croydon Athletic on 17.11.10. He was back in the number nine shirt for a home game against Folkestone on 23.11.10 but Shaun blazed a penalty over the bar as Margate lost 2-0 and the Isle of Thanet Gazette called it "one of the worst spot-kicks you'll ever see". However the paper did say that Shaun "looked Blues' biggest threat in the first half" and from then on he was ever-present in the Margate side for the remainder of the season.

On 27.11.10 Shaun got his 11th goal of the campaign in a 3-3 draw with Tooting & Mitcham at Hartsdown Park and he took his tally to 12 from 18 outings (one as sub) with a penalty in a 2-0 win over Maidstone at Ashford on 3.1.11. Remarkably that turned out to be the last time Shaun scored and he embarked on a run of 22 matches without finding the net. On 15.1.11 he had a penalty saved a few minutes from the end of a 2-0 defeat at Canvey Island but despite continuing to display a prodigious workrate for the rest of the season another goal never arrived. On 30.4.11 Shaun made his last appearance in a 3-3 draw with Kingstonian at Hartsdown Park and he finished 2010/11 with a record of 12 goals (two from the penalty spot) from 40 outings (one as sub). His goal tally was sufficient to make him Margate's top scorer.

At the start of June 2011 Shaun was transfer-listed and in July 2011 he joined Maidstone for an undisclosed fee. He was working as a fork-lift driver at that time and the Stones' player-manager Jay Saunders told the Kentish Football website "I've known Shaun for a long time and he is exactly what I was looking for to play up front for us this season. He will give the front line a focal point."

Shaun got his first goals for the Stones when he bagged a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at Crawley Down in the Isthmian League Division 1 South on 27.8.11 and a week later - on 3.9.11 - he scored five times in a 9-0 win at his old club Corinthian in the FA Cup. It was Maidstone's biggest FA Cup win of all time but remarkably they then won 9-1 at Banstead in the next round on 17.9.11 with Shaun scoring three times. By the end of 2011/12 he'd managed 23 goals from 37 league outings (three as sub) and another nine goals in cup ties.

On 14.7.12 Shaun played in the Stones first ever match at their new stadium in James Whatman Way - a 5-0 friendly defeat against Brighton - and he captained the side during the 2012/13 season as they won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. Shaun scored ten league goals from 37 appearances (six as sub) and also got four goals in cup ties. In January 2013 Hythe had approached Maidstone for his services.

Shaun was released by the Stones in May 2013 and Jay Saunders told Maidstone's website "Shaun wants to be playing week in, week out and has had a number of approaches, so it's only fair he has the opportunity to look at those. We will miss him on and off the pitch, he's a great character and whoever he signs for will get 110%."

Shortly afterwards Shaun signed for Division 1 South club Hythe and their manager Scott Porter told the club's website "I'm delighted, it's a massive signing for the club, and a player I've wanted for a long time. He has great experience and knowledge of the Ryman South as we look to go one step further than last season. Shaun is going to bring a lot of goals and good times to our club, and I'm so glad to have signed him as a lot of clubs were also in for his signature. He is one of four big signings that I want to make this summer." Shaun repaid Porter's faith in him with a tally of 38 goals from 51 appearances during 2013/14 but in May 2014 he moved on to Cray, newly-relegated to Division 1 North.