Ben May

Club career Millwall May started his career at Southampton's youth academy in 1998, and went on to spend one season at Fulham's centre of excellence. He made his debut for Millwall at the start of the 2002–03 season, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute in Millwall's 0–0 draw away to Watford on 13 August 2002. May scored his first goal in the club's following match against Ipswich Town, giving Millwall the lead in a game that ended 1–1. The club's website reported that "May was perfectly placed to stab home from close range after Neil Harris worked well to carve out an opening". He joined Colchester United on loan on 27 March 2003, with the agreement running until the end of the season. He made his Colchester debut two days later, playing the full match as Colchester secured a 1–0 victory over Swindon Town. May made five further appearances for Colchester, before returning to Millwall in May 2003.

May did not feature for Millwall at the start of the 2003–04 season and was loaned to Brentford on 25 August 2003. He joined the club on an initial three-month loan deal. May scored his first goal for Brentford on 6 September 2003, in a 3–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle, equalising briefly to make the score 1–1. He received the first red card of his career when he was sent off for violent conduct in a Football League Trophy match against Barnet on 14 October 2003. His loan was extended until the end of the 2003–04 season on 27 November 2003. Millwall manager Dennis Wise stated: "He will do very well under Brentford manager Wally Downes and will learn a lot under him. I didn't feel he was quite ready for our first team just yet". He returned to his parent club on 13 May 2004.

Ahead of the 2004–05 campaign, May rejoined Colchester United on a two-month loan, having impressed in a pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory at AFC Bournemouth on 11 September 2004. His loan was extended, and he made 15 appearances, scoring twice. During the spell, May was charged with violent conduct following "a brawl that broke out late in the game following an off-the-ball incident" against Blackpool and served a three-match suspension. Colchester were also fined £6,000 for failing to control their players. In December 2004, May returned to Brentford on loan, where he had spent the previous season. His loan spell was subsequently extended for a further month in January 2005. He made 16 appearances and scored once before returning to Millwall in March 2005.

Millwall exercised the option to extend May's contract on 18 May 2005, keeping him at the club for the 2005–06 season. In April 2006, May was offered a new two-year contract, which he signed after discussions with incoming manager Nigel Spackman in May 2006. Ahead of the 2006–07 season, May injured his shoulder in pre-season training, missing the club's pre-season tour of Iceland and the first two months of the season. He returned on 31 October 2006, scoring with his first touch after coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 Football League Trophy win against Bournemouth. After Millwall's 2–0 home win against Bradford City, a game in which May assisted Filipe Morais in scoring Millwall's first goal, new manager Willie Donachie praised both May and Darren Byfield as "committed, honest players". May scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory at Yeovil Town on 3 February 2007, but suffered an ankle injury in the same match, ruling him out for the rest of the 2006–07 season. However, he returned as a substitute on the final day, assisting a goal in a 2–2 draw at Bradford City. May scored four times in 19 appearances in a season disrupted by injuries.

After making a number of substitute appearances at the start of the 2007–08 season, May joined Championship club Scunthorpe United on a three-month loan deal. He made his debut in Scunthorpe's 1–0 win at Colchester United on 29 September 2007. On his return to Millwall, May played in four games for the club, his last match for the club. The day after signing, May made his debut for the club, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Ipswich Town on 22 March 2008, a consolation goal in stoppage time. May made 21 appearances for Scunthorpe during the second half of the 2007–08 season, six of which were starts, scoring once. He sustained an ankle ligament injury on 15 January 2009, ruling him out of the first team for two months. Following his return, May made four late substitute appearances, although he was not involved in Scunthorpe's play-off campaign, as the club were promoted back to the Championship with a 3–2 victory over May's former club, Millwall, in May 2009. May made 29 appearances during the 2008–09 season, scoring four goals.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, May scored five second-half goals in Scunthorpe's 12–0 pre-season victory against Brigg Town. He was an unused substitute in the club's first three fixtures of the 2009–10 season, before sustaining an ankle injury that ruled him out for a month. After returning to training in October 2009, May injured his other ankle, consequently ruling him out of first-team action for six weeks. It was his only appearance of the season, May made 51 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year spell at Scunthorpe, scoring five times. He signed for Stevenage on a permanent basis a day later. Due to his injury history, he signed a contract that was predominantly appearance-based. Stevenage manager Graham Westley stated: "It's fantastic to see a player putting their football before pound notes". May scored his first goal for Stevenage on 7 May 2011, in the club's 3–3 draw with Bury, a result that ensured Stevenage qualified for the play-offs in their first Football League season. May was injured in the act of scoring and was immediately substituted for Chris Beardsley. His season was disrupted by injuries; he made 22 appearances, including seven starts.

Having made ten appearances for Stevenage in the opening six months of the 2011–12 season, May joined League Two club Barnet on loan on 10 March 2012, on an agreement until the end of the season. He made a scoring debut, converting from close range as Barnet came from a goal down to win 2–1 at Port Vale on 10 March 2012. May played regularly during his time at Barnet, making 11 appearances, as the club avoided relegation on the final day of the season. During his two-month spell, he scored four goals. He was released by Stevenage in May 2012.

Dover Athletic Ahead of the 2012–13 season, May trialled with League Two club Gillingham, training with the first team for a number of weeks and playing in several pre-season friendlies. With no contract offered, he joined Conference South club Dover Athletic on a free transfer on 8 August 2012. May made his competitive debut for Dover in a 2–2 away draw against Sutton United on 21 August 2012, and scored his first goal in a 3–1 win at Eastleigh on 1 September 2012. He scored in seven consecutive games running from September to November 2012, five of which in the league and a further two in the FA Cup, He scored four times in March 2013, meaning he had scored over 20 goals for the season, the first time May had reached this milestone in his career. May scored a dipping volley as Dover took a 3–1 lead in the first leg, chesting the ball with his back to goal, turning and hitting the ball from 25 yards past goalkeeper Ross Flitney. Dover progressed to the final, but lost 3–2 to Salisbury City after extra-time, with May featuring in all three play-off matches. During his one season at Dover, May finished the season as the club's leading goalscorer, scoring 24 times in 45 matches.

Ebbsfleet United May signed for Conference South club Ebbsfleet United, his hometown club, on 5 June 2013. On joining Ebbsfleet, May stated: "It's all exciting stuff; Steve Brown showed an interest in signing me as soon as he knew he would be manager of Ebbsfleet. I'm currently enjoying a nice little break from football but I'm itching to lace my boots up and get back on the pitch". and scored his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Gosport Borough on 19 October 2013. May helped the club win the Kent Senior Cup with a 4–0 victory in the final over former club Dover Athletic on 5 May 2014. He scored 12 goals in 42 appearances during the season, as Ebbsfleet lost in the Conference South play-off final to Dover five days after the two clubs had met in the Kent Senior Cup. He signed a new contract with Ebbsfleet later that month.

Having not made any first-team appearances during the first half of the 2014–15 season due to injury, He made his Bromley debut the following day, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 away defeat to Whitehawk. May scored his first goal for the club in a 6–0 win at Staines Town on 7 February 2015. He made nine appearances during the second half of the season as Bromley secured promotion to the National League by winning the Conference South. May remained at Bromley for their first season in the National League during the 2015–16 season,

Coaching career Whilst playing for Dover Athletic, May completed a diploma in personal training. May was appointed Bromley's strength and conditioning coach in 2016. Johnson later described the incident as a misunderstanding, explaining that they had swapped a toilet seat for a more expensive model without realising the price difference. When stopped by security and offered the choice of paying a fine or going to court, they opted to pay on-the-spot fines, although Johnson stated this made them "look guilty".

May owns a delicatessen in Eltham, London, which opened in 2023.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2002–03 First Division

2003–04 First Division

2004–05 Championship

2005–06 Championship

2006–07 League One

2007–08 League One

2009–10 League Two

2011–12 Conference South

2014–15 Conference South

30!!5!!4!!0!!0!!0!!8!!7!!42!!12

2014–15

Stevenage Football League Two play-offs: 2011