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Jonathan David Nurse (born 28 March 1981) is a Barbadian football coach and former professional footballer who is head of football operations at National League South club Enfield Town. Primarily a striker, he was also deployed as a winger during his career.
Nurse began his senior career at Sutton United before signing for Stevenage Borough ahead of the 2004–05 season, during which he was loaned to Lewes. He played regularly on his return as the club reached the Conference National play-off final, and later had a brief loan at Woking. He remained at Stevenage for three seasons, helping them win the FA Trophy in 2007, the first competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium. That summer, he moved into the Football League with Dagenham & Redbridge, where he made 205 appearances across five years and scored the decisive goal in the 2010 League Two play-off final as the club secured promotion to League One.
He joined Barnet in 2012, spending three seasons with the club and contributing to their promotion back to the Football League during the 2014–15 season, by which time he assumed player-coach responsibilities. Nurse later signed for Metropolitan Police in the summer of 2015, where he was appointed player-coach before transitioning into full-time coaching. At international level, he earned six caps for Barbados.
Nurse was a regular throughout the 2005–06 season, during which he was utilised as both a right winger and a striker. He finished the season with nine goals in 44 appearances as Stevenage missed out on a place in the play-offs. His performances earned him the runner-up position in the club's Player of the Year awards, finishing behind goalkeeper Alan Julian. Ahead of the 2006–07 season, under the new management of Mark Stimson, Nurse signed a two-year contract extension on 6 June 2006. Following a recovery from a double hernia operation, he was loaned to fellow Conference National club Woking on 25 August 2006, in order to regain his fitness. He featured regularly during the month-long loan spell, scoring two goals in eight appearances. Woking manager Glenn Cockerill expressed interest in extending the loan, but the request was declined by Stimson, who recalled Nurse on 26 September 2006. He scored a week later in a 2–2 draw away at Rushden & Diamonds, a goal he later described as one of his favourites, marking his first since returning from injury and loan. Nurse finished the season with ten goals, contributing to Stevenage's FA Trophy campaign, during which he scored twice in six matches en route to the final, the first competitive fixture at the new Wembley Stadium. He was an unused substitute in the final as Stevenage came from two goals behind to defeat Kidderminster Harriers and win the trophy. Over the course of his time at Stevenage, Nurse made 106 appearances, scoring 21 goals.
After scoring his first goal of the 2008–09 season in a 2–1 away defeat to AFC Bournemouth on 21 October 2008, Nurse received praise from teammate Ben Strevens after the match, who stated that Nurse was often undervalued. During the season, Nurse made the majority of his appearances as a substitute, featuring in 39 matches, 18 of which were starts, and scored four times. Dagenham missed out on a play-off position, finishing one point behind seventh-placed Shrewsbury Town. Nurse signed a one-year contract extension on 30 June 2009, keeping him contracted to the club until the summer of 2010.
Nurse began the 2009–10 season by scoring three goals in his first three matches, as Dagenham briefly occupied first place in the League Two table during the early stages of the season. A goal in a 2–0 away victory against Darlington on 8 May 2010 helped the club secure qualification for the play-offs following a seventh-place finish. He started in the play-off final against Rotherham United at Wembley Stadium on 30 May 2010, scoring the decisive goal in the 70th-minute to secure a 3–2 victory. The win confirmed Dagenham's promotion to League One for the first time in the club's 18-year history. Nurse's goal came with the game level at 2–2, as the ball "dropped invitingly to him after Rotherham failed to clear a corner and his deflected strike came off Ellison and eluded Warrington". He finished the season with eight goals in 43 appearances. Following promotion and with his contract set to expire, Nurse signed a new two-year deal, keeping him contracted to Dagenham until May 2012.
Nurse played in Dagenham's first-ever League One fixture on 7 August 2010, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute in a 2–0 away defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season on 25 September 2010, an injury-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw at Charlton Athletic. The goal, scored in the third minute of additional time, proved to be his only goal during the first half of the season. He scored twice in a 3–0 home victory over Carlisle United on the penultimate game of the season, a result that left Dagenham requiring at least a draw in their final match, away to Peterborough United, combined with favourable results elsewhere, to avoid relegation. Nurse started the decisive fixture, as Dagenham were defeated 5–0, confirming their relegation to League Two. He scored ten times in 28 starts during the season, in addition to 14 appearances as a substitute.
Returning to League Two for the 2011–12 season, Nurse was a regular starter as Dagenham won three of their opening four fixtures. This run included a 1–0 away victory against Bradford City on 20 August 2011, in which Nurse scored the winning goal at Valley Parade. He also scored in the club's 3–2 victory over Rotherham United on 28 January 2012, in what was a repeat scoreline of the 2010 League Two play-off final. It ultimately turned out to be Nurse's final goal for Dagenham. Nurse made his last appearance for the club in a 1–0 away victory over Port Vale on 31 March 2012, before his season was curtailed by injury. He made 46 appearances that season, including 43 starts, and scored eight goals. In May 2012, Nurse was released upon the expiry of his contract, bringing an end to his five-year tenure with the east London club. Over the course of his time at Dagenham & Redbridge, he made 205 appearances, scoring 32 goals. On his departure, Nurse stated he had met with manager John Still at the end of the season and was informed that, due to budgetary constraints, he would not be offered a new contract unless other players could be moved off the wage bill.
Despite being placed on the transfer list, Nurse remained at Barnet for the 2013–14 season. He did not play in the opening two months of the season, eventually making his first appearance as an 88th-minute substitute in a 1–0 away victory over Hereford United on 19 October 2013. His first start of the season came in the Herts Senior Cup, scoring twice in a 4–1 win over Hatfield Town on 3 December 2013. He subsequently joined Conference South club Farnborough on a one-month deal on 31 January 2014. He scored once in five appearances during the loan agreement, before being recalled by Barnet on 27 February 2014 due to a number of injuries to the club's attacking options. Following the appointment of Martin Allen as manager, Nurse began playing more regularly, but at the end of the season, having made 19 appearances and scored twice, he was included in Barnet's list of released players. However, on 16 May 2014, he re-signed for Barnet as a player-coach, with Allen citing Nurse's UEFA 'B' Licence as a key factor in the decision to retain him in a dual role.
In his new role as player-coach for the 2014–15 season, Nurse played a largely peripheral role on the field, making 11 appearances, including five starts, as his coaching responsibilities became increasingly prominent. He was described as "an integral part of the coaching set-up" during the season. Barnet secured promotion back to League Two at the end of the season by winning the Conference Premier title, and Nurse was named Clubman of the Year at the club's annual Player of the Year awards ceremony. In June 2015, he departed Barnet by mutual consent in order to focus on his coaching career.
It was not initially disclosed whether Nurse would continue in his playing role going into the 2016–17 season and he did not feature in any of Met Police's matches in the opening two months of the season. However, he appeared as an 86th-minute substitute in a match away at Havant & Waterlooville on 18 October 2016, scoring the winning goal in stoppage time in a 2–1 victory. This proved to be one of two appearances Nurse would make during the season. He went on to make three substitute appearances in the opening months of the 2017–18 season, which marked the final competitive appearances of his playing career.
Nurse did not feature for Barbados again for over three years, but was recalled for two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in September 2011. He earned his fifth cap in a 2–0 away defeat to Guyana on 2 September 2011, a match in which his brother, Chris Nurse, was playing for the opposition. Four days later, on 6 September, he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago at the Barbados National Stadium. This proved to be his final appearance at international level.
| Sutton United | 2003–04 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 19 |
| Stevenage Borough | 2004–05 | Conference National | 3 |
| 2005–06 | Conference National | 9 | |
| 2006–07 | Conference National | 9 | |
| Lewes (loan) | 2004–05 | Conference South | 3 |
| Woking (loan) | 2006–07 | Conference National | 2 |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2007–08 | League Two | 2 |
| 2008–09 | League Two | 4 | |
| 2009–10 | League Two | 8 | |
| 2010–11 | League One | 10 | |
| 2011–12 | League Two | 8 | |
| Barnet | 2012–13 | League Two | 4 |
| 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 2 | |
| 2014–15 | Conference Premier | 0 | |
| Farnborough (loan) | 2013–14 | Conference South | 1 |
| Metropolitan Police | 2015–16 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 2 |
| 2016–17 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 1 | |
| 2017–18 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 0 | |
| Barbados | 0 |
| 0 | |
Dagenham & Redbridge
Barnet
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