James Andrew Gibbons (born 16 March 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a full-back for EFL League One club Notts County.
A graduate of the Port Vale youth team, he enjoyed a short loan spell at Leek Town in the 2016–17 season and made his first-team debut at Vale Park in December 2016. He established himself in the first team during the 2017–18 season, and though he found himself frequently overlooked the following season, he managed to regain his first-team place during the 2019–20 campaign. He helped the club to win promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in 2022, before signing with Bristol Rovers in June 2022. He spent the second half of the 2023–24 season on loan at Cambridge United, after which he joined the club permanently. He was named as the club's Player of the Year for the 2025–26 League Two promotion-winning season, also being named on the PFA Team of the Year, though subsequently moved on to Notts County.
Contents
Career
Port Vale
Gibbons first joined Port Vale at the age of 11, though by the age of 15, coaches questioned whether he would make it in the game due to his small stature. At the age of 13 he was tasked with collecting donations for the club in a bucket as they battled administration. He went on to turn professional at the club under Rob Page in April 2016. He joined Northern Premier League Division One South club Leek Town on a one-month loan on 17 September 2016, and made his debut for the club later that day in a 2–1 defeat to Sheffield. He made a total of five starts for the club. He made his senior debut for the "Valiants" as a 60th-minute substitute for Paulo Tavares in a 4–0 victory over Hartlepool United in an FA Cup tie at Vale Park on 4 December 2016. He signed a new one-year contract in May 2017.
He did not make a first-team appearance under manager Michael Brown, but was selected by caretaker-managers David Kelly and Chris Morgan for his EFL League Two debut on 23 September 2017, and was sent off after receiving two yellow cards during what ended as a 1–1 draw at Yeovil Town. New manager Neil Aspin said that "I don't look at him as a young lad, I just look at him as a player. He is a player who deserves to be playing and I am happy with him." He signed a two-year contract extension in November to keep him at the club until 2020. He was sent off for the second time in his career on 12 December, again away at Yeovil, for committing a dangerous challenge; he was handed a four-match suspension. However, Aspin heavily criticised referee Gavin Ward and said, "there is no criticism from me [for Gibbons] in this instance because he is a competitive player and we want to keep that". Gibbons returned to the starting eleven after serving his suspension, and though the defensive line-up changed due to the departures of Gavin Gunning and Tom Anderson he refused to accept any excuses for what he admitted was a decline in the team's form and his performances. He was named as the club's Young Player of the Year at the end of the 2017–18 season.
He started the 2018–19 season in the starting eleven as a right-back and had only teenage loanee Mitch Clark as competition. However, he found himself out of the starting eleven as Aspin felt he was too inconsistent. A hip injury then saw him sidelined for a month. On 29 January 2019, he was sent off for the third time in his career during a 0–0 draw at Newport County, but the club successfully appealed the red card. He made the last of his 19 appearances of the season in a 1–0 defeat at Cheltenham Town on 23 February.
He started the 2019–20 season as new manager John Askey's first-choice right-back, ahead of new signing Callum Evans. He did, however, pick up five yellow cards in the league before October and was given a one match suspension, leading to Askey to criticise him for picking up "daft bookings". After a public vote held in December 2019, he was named by The Sentinel as Port Vale's second-best right-back of the 2010s with 27% of the vote, behind Adam Yates (62%) and ahead of Ben Purkiss (11%). On 14 January, he scored his first goal in professional football during a 2–1 defeat at Morecambe. It was revealed the next month that the club had an option to extend his contract beyond the summer. However, he instead signed a new contract to keep him at the club until summer 2022.
Bristol Rovers
On 22 June 2022, Gibbons joined fellow newly promoted League One side Bristol Rovers on a two-year deal, having turned down the offer of a new contract with Port Vale. Gibbons made his debut at the Memorial Stadium on the opening day of the 2022–23 season as Rovers fell to a late 2–1 defeat to another newly promoted side in Forest Green Rovers. Gibbons played the full ninety minutes in Rovers' first two matches of the season, before a scan revealed a stress fracture in his foot that would rule him out through injury for around eight to twelve weeks. Gibbons' return to first-team action came on 4 October when he came off of the bench in a 2–0 EFL Trophy victory over Crystal Palace U21. He dropped to the bench the following month as manager Joey Barton switched to a back three and preferred Scott Sinclair at right-wing-back.
He missed the start of the 2023–24 season due to injury. In his first appearance of the campaign, Gibbons scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 EFL Trophy Group stage victory over Cheltenham Town, later scoring an own goal. He made a further 13 appearances for Rovers, including an FA Cup game with Whitby Town in which he set up the opening goal. However, he lost his first-team place under new boss Matt Taylor, with Jack Hunt and Luke Thomas being preferred at right-back. Bristol Rovers released him in June 2024 at the end of his contract.
Cambridge United
On 30 January 2024, Gibbons joined fellow League One club Cambridge United on loan for the remainder of the 2023–24 season, saying that Neil Harris is "a gaffer that I want to play for and work for". He was named in the League One team of the week for his performance in a 4–0 win at Carlisle United on 17 February. He played at right-back, left-back, left-wing back and centre-half during his time at Cambridge. He signed a two-year contract with the club on 25 June.
Gibbons picked up a knee injury in a match against Peterborough United in November and was ruled out of action for three months. He returned to action in the new year, though was sent off on 1 March for a foul on Crawley Town's Charlie Barker. He featured 30 times in the 2024–25 campaign, which ended in relegation into League Two. He was nominated for the December 2025 PFA League Two fans' player of the month award. He was named in the EFL Team of the Week with 11 clearances and 11 duels in a "commanding display" during a 2–1 win at Fleetwood Town. He was nominated as League Two Player of the Month after Cambridge kept three clean sheets in six games throughout April, with Gibbons claiming three goals and an assist. He was named as Cambridge United Player of the Year for the 2025–26 season, which ended in Cambridge securing automatic promotion back into League One. He was named on the League Two Team of the Season, having more goal involvements than any other defender in the division. He was also named on the League Two PFA Team of the Year.
Notts County
On 29 May 2026, Gibbons agreed to join fellow newly promoted League One club Notts County on a two-year deal.
Style of play
Gibbons is a right-back, though can also fill in at left-back. His physicality has led to a poor disciplinary record and therefore suspensions, though Gibbons commented that "you are not going to win every tackle so it is going to happen". He is also adept at going forward and delivering crosses.
Career statistics
As of match played 2 May 2026
Honours
Port Vale
EFL League Two play-offs: 2022
Cambridge United
EFL League Two promotion: 2025–26
Individual
Cambridge United Player of the Year: 2025–26
PFA Team of the Year: 2025–26 League Two