Manchester United Born in
Salford, Greater Manchester, Eckersley grew up in
Walkden. As a nine-year-old, he signed his first
contract with
Manchester United in 2002. He became a professional in July 2004. He was a member of the
United reserve team that won the quadruple in 2005. He made his senior team debut in the
League Cup on 26 October 2005, starting at left-back in the 4–1 home win over
Barnet. Eckersley then went on
loan to the
Belgian Second Division club
Royal Antwerp in January 2006, to gain further first-team match experience. Eckersley was linked with a move to
NEC of the Netherlands as a replacement for
Jeffrey Leiwakabessy in April 2006, but instead he was loaned out to
Brøndby in August 2006. However, he was injured during his stay at Brøndby and only played six matches for the club before the loan ended on 31 December 2006. He joined
Barnsley on 8 January 2007 on loan until the end of the season, but the loan was effectively cut short in April 2007 when Eckersley returned to Manchester United after suffering a
tore thigh muscle and did not play for Barnsley again. He was promoted to the first-team squad as cover for the injured
Mikaël Silvestre at the start of the 2007–08 season, before moving to
Port Vale on a month-long loan on 12 October 2007. He made his debut in a defeat to
Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 October 2007, in which he was
sent off. However, he only made one more appearance before picking up a knee injury and returning to Manchester United for treatment.
Port Vale On 1 January 2008, Eckersley moved back to Port Vale, this time permanently, though only signing a six-month deal, becoming
manager Lee Sinnott's first non-loan signing. Eckersley scored his first goal in English football and his first anywhere since a loan spell at Royal Antwerp in a 2–2 home draw with
Yeovil Town on 29 January 2008, but he soon left the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign, following Port Vale's
relegation to
League Two.
Horsens Prior to the
2008–09 season, he joined
Danish Superliga team
Horsens on a
free transfer. The "Yellow Danger" were relegated at the end of
2008–09, after manager
Kent Nielsen resigned and short-term replacement
Henrik Jensen failed to spark a revival; Horsens finished four points behind the safety of
SønderjyskE. The club made an immediate return to the top flight by topping the
1st Division in
2009–10 under
Johnny Mølby. Throughout his seasons, Eckersley made forty league appearances, scoring twice.
AGF Aarhus In the summer of 2010, Eckersley moved to
AGF Aarhus, manager
Peter Sørensen intending him to replace
Dennis Cagara. In
his first season, he helped the club to
promotion into the Danish top-flight as champions of the 1st Division. After some consistently great performances for AGF as attacking left-back and a tremendous first half-season in the
Danish Superliga, including a stunning free-kick goal against
Lyngby in round 13, he was selected for Les Rosbifs 'Team of the Year 2011' for best Englishmen playing overseas. AGF finished fifth in
2011–12, with Eckersley scoring seven goals in 48 appearances. The club finished in seventh place in
2012–13, and Eckersley played 35 games, including two
Europa League matches. AGF dropped out of the top-flight after relegation in
2013–14. At the end of the season, it was announced that Eckersley was being released by AGF and hinted that he may return to England.
Hearts In August 2014, Eckersley signed for
Scottish Championship side
Hearts until the end of the season, and having turned down an offer from a
Scottish Premiership club to join Hearts he stated that move was the "best decision of his career". He made his Hearts debut on 13 September, coming on as a
substitute for
Kevin McHattie, in a 0–0 draw with
Dumbarton. Eckersley then scored his first goal for Hearts, in a 1–0 win over
Alloa Athletic on 11 October, and he scored his second goal for the club in a 4–1 win over
Queen of the South on 6 December. He was a regular first-team player under manager
Robbie Neilson, and helped Hearts to win promotion as champions in the
2014–15 campaign. It was reported in the
Edinburgh Evening News that Hearts had decided in April 2015 not to renew Eckersley's contract for the next season. His agent stated that money was not an issue in negotiations, and that the club retracted an initial informal offer of a new contract.
Hibernian to FC Edmonton In September 2015, Eckersley signed a short-term contract with
Hibernian. Eckersley left Hibs after a four-month spell which was marred by injury. He signed with
FC Edmonton in the
North American Soccer League in January 2016. He missed the start of the
2016 season with a
groin injury.
St Mirren He returned to the Scottish Championship in January 2017 when he signed a short-term contract with
St Mirren. He made 15 appearances for
Jack Ross's "Buddies" in the second half of the
2016–17 campaign, including one in
the final of the
Scottish Challenge Cup at
Fir Park, which ended in a 2–1 defeat to
Dundee United. In May 2017, Eckersley signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at
St Mirren Park until the summer of 2019. He made 27 appearances across the
2017–18 campaign as the "Saints" secured promotion to the Scottish Premiership as champions of the Championship. Having been told he could look for a new club by then St. Mirren manager
Alan Stubbs in the summer of 2018, Eckersley and
Jamie Langfield were identified by television pundit
Chris Sutton as "snakes" in the team dressing room who led to Stubbs' sacking. Eckersley found first-team opportunities limited at St. Mirren as he struggled with injuries. In January 2019, manager
Oran Kearney agreed to allow him to join
Scottish League One side
Forfar Athletic on loan until the end of the
2018–19 season. The "Loons" ended the campaign in second-place and went on to lose 3–2 on
aggregate to
Raith Rovers in the play-off semi-finals.
Airdrieonians Eckersley had been due to join Forfar permanently in the summer of 2019 after signing a pre-contract agreement earlier in the year. A change of circumstances meant that this arrangement was cancelled by mutual agreement, and Eckersley instead signed for League One rivals
Airdrieonians. He was limited to just eight league appearances during the
2019–20 campaign;
Ian Murray's "Diamonds" finished the league in third-place. Eckersley was one of 17 players to leave the
Excelsior Stadium in June 2020 as the club opted to release the majority of their squad. ==Personal life==