Huddersfield Town Stead began his career with home town club Huddersfield Town where he came through the club's academy. He made his league debut for
Huddersfield Town, as a nineteen-year-old against
Brentford on 10 August 2002 coming as a 69th-minute substitute in the 2–0 loss on the opening day of the season. In total Stead made 42 league appearances scoring six goals in the 2002–03 season. Stead marked his debut by scoring the only goal in a match against
Middlesbrough. He went on to score six goals, including vital winners against Fulham, Manchester United and Everton as Blackburn avoided relegation from the Premiership. However, the goals for Blackburn dried up the following season and with manager
Mark Hughes signing additional forwards including
Welsh international Craig Bellamy, Stead was transferred on 13 June 2005 to Sunderland in a deal worth £1.8 million.
Sunderland During his time at
Sunderland Stead scored two goals, the first of which was on 1 April 2006 against
Everton at
Goodison Park in a 2–2 draw, and after failing to find the back of the net in his first 6 games, he finally broke his Derby duck with the first goal in a 2–1 win away at
Coventry City on 11 November. He followed that goal with the opener in a 2–0 win at
Luton Town to make it two in eight appearances and then again went on to bag Derby's first in the 1–0 home win against
Leicester City. He was nominated for Powerade Player of the Month as a result of his form at Derby in November.
Sheffield United Stead was signed by
Sheffield United from Sunderland for a fee of £750,000, potentially rising to £1.2 million, on a three-and-a-half-year deal on 11 January 2007. On 13 January 2007, Stead played his first Premier League game with Sheffield United against
Portsmouth Stead found first team starts harder to come by the following season as he fell behind
James Beattie and
Billy Sharp in the pecking order but still managed to make over thirty appearances and score six goals. During the subsequent transfer window Stead signed on loan for
Championship rivals
Ipswich Town with a view to a permanent move.
Ipswich Town Stead made his move to
Ipswich permanent on 15 September 2008 after playing just one game on loan for a fee believed to be around £600,000. In that loan game he scored a 20-yard goal, which he described as "the best goal of his career to date". On 25 April 2009, Stead was the last ever senior player to score at
Ninian Park after a 3–0 win. On 15 February 2010, Stead joined
Coventry City on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent move. He made 10 appearances for the Sky Blues scoring twice before returning to Ipswich at the end of the season. He has scored in every year of his career to date, notching at least 2 goals for each of the clubs he has played for. Stead was linked with a move to
Blackpool in 2010.
Bristol City Stead joined
Bristol City on a three-year contract on 22 August 2010. He made his debut in the 2–0 loss at previous club
Ipswich Town. Stead scored his first goal for Bristol City when he netted in a 3–1 defeat against Portsmouth on 28 September 2010. He made his 2nd début for the club as a substitute in the 2–1 win over
Bradford City in the
Football League Cup on 6 August, followed by his league début on 24 August in the 5–1 win over
AFC Bournemouth. He scored his first goal for the club in the 3–2 win over
local rivals Leeds United on 26 October 2013.
Oldham Athletic (loan) On 31 January 2014, Stead joined
Oldham Athletic on an initial one-month loan.
Bradford City (loan) On 27 March 2014, Stead joined
League One side
Bradford City on loan until the end of the
2013–14 season. He made his debut two days later in a 1–0 win away to
Leyton Orient. Although he returned to Huddersfield at the end of the season, he rejoined Bradford City on loan on 17 October 2014. He scored four goals in fifteen games in his second loan spell, and briefly returned to Huddersfield in January before Bradford took him on loan for the rest of the 2014–15 season on 8 January. On 24 January 2015 Stead scored one goal and set up a further two in a
much deserved 4–2 win away at Chelsea in the FA Cup. In the next round of the FA Cup, Stead scored again; this time in a 2–0 win over his old club Sunderland.
Notts County On 2 July 2015 Stead signed for Notts County. He signed a new contract with Notts County at the end of the 2017–18 season. He was released by Notts County at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Harrogate Town On 11 June 2019, Stead joined
Harrogate Town of the
National League. He made his debut for Harrogate in a 2–2 draw with
Solihull Moors on 3 August. On 7 September, Stead scored a brace in a 2–4 defeat to
Torquay United, in a match in which he was later sent-off. He helped Harrogate win promotion from the National League through the play-offs during his first season at the club, beating his former club Notts County in the final. ==Coaching career==